Title of the resource
Title of the resource in english
Publisher
PrimaryResources.co.uk
Primary resources offers free lesson plans, activities and various resources for primary teachers
Original language
Target and Age Group
7-9 year olds, 2nd-3rd grades
Link to resource
Direct link to the resource cannot be included for reasons of copyright, but may be found at:
https://www.primaryresources.co.uk/history/history5b.htm
Accessed on 5 August, 2020
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar- Ilan University, ayelet.peer@biu.ac.il
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Second Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk
Emily Collins
Contents & Purpose
This unit offers 14 lesson plans on ancient Greece for years 3/4. (7-9 year olds) The themes of the lessons are, the geography and climate of Greece, ancient Greece in time, Athens and Sparta, Greeks as fighters, Marathon and the war against the Persians, gods and temples, myths, theatre, performing Greek myths (by the students), Olympic games, everyday life, Greek activities afternoon.
Further comments
This unit encompasses the necessary elements required for the teaching of ancient Greece in primary schools. It provides the geographical knowledge with familiarity with ancient Greek culture, religion and everyday life. The various activities are meant to make the learning fun and engaging, with emphasis on group work.
For each unit the creator specifies learning objectives, learning outcomes, Opportunities for skills development, support, core plenary and resources. I shall not rewrite them all here as they are clearly explained in the curriculum presented on the website. However, the lessons are designed first to give the students understating of the geographical location and timeline of ancient Greece, to show them it really existed, they can see it in the map even if the old civilization is long gone. After the setting of ancient Greece are understood, the teacher can proceed to history, government, the comparison between Athens and Sparta.
After covering some historical events the students learn about Greek culture and religion. The curriculum encourages the use of visual materials and help the student deduct necessary information from visual elements, such as building, pottery.
In lesson 7, in the middle of the curriculum and after gaining knowledge of ancient Greece and its history, the students are introduced to Greek myths and their importance to Greek society and religion. The learning of myths leads to lessons on theatre which is linked to the myths and then to the performance of myths in class. Hence the lesson combine reading as well as more creative and artistic activities.
All the lesson come down to the final event which summarizes the theme of ancient Greece- the Greek Activities afternoon in which there is the final implementation of the studied material from all of the lessons.
To conclude, the curriculum encompasses various aspects of ancient Greece: history, geography, everyday life, religion and myth and provide the students the opportunity to receive a broad image of the ancient culture.
The teachers are encouraged to use Ginn History: Key Stage 2 Ancient Greece Pupil’s Book (1992), Eureka tape, storyboard, arts and crafts materials.