For Teachers
A WebQuest on Ancient Greece
west4980@pacificu.edu
This lesson was developed as part of an assignment for a Technology class at Pacific University. I plan to teach this lesson as part of my student teaching experience in February of 2007.
This lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting the Ancient Greece city-states of Athens and Sparta. Students will research Athens and Sparta as individual city-states to gain an understanding of each city-state's government, social class, roles of people, education and economy. Then students will use the provided graphic organizer to help them think about how the two cities were similar and how they differed. Finally, students will create a character that is either Athenian or Spartan and will write a letter to their family describing where they are from and what a typical day is like. As a class, students will read their letters and discuss how and why they chose their characters.
This lesson is geared toward the Ancient Greece unit of 6th grade social studies. It is expected that students will currently be studying Ancient Greece and will have some background knowledge on Ancient Greece. Therefore, students will be allowed to focus on the specific city-states of Athens and Sparta, while utilizing the online resources provided in the Webquest to discover similarities and differences between the two Ancient cities.
Oregon Social Studies Standards Addressed
SS.05.SA.02 – Gather, use and document information from multiple sources (e.g. print, electronic, human, primary, secondary).
SS.08.HS.05.02 – Understand the major characteristics and historical influence of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia,
Students will develop their note-taking, research and organizational skills. They will be asked to think critically as they compare and contrast the two cities. Finally, communication skills will be developed as they apply their new knowledge to create a letter.
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Everyone will be given an Ancient Greece journal in which to keep notes, ideas, and drawings of this unit.
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You and a partner will work together to research the two city-states on the computer. Take turns finding and reading the information on the online resources. Some of the information you find should be review. Both of you need to record your findings in your own journal.
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First, gather the following information about Athens. Be sure to note your discoveries in your journal.
4. Now gather the following information about Sparta. Be sure to note your discoveries in your journal.
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Locate Sparta on the two maps and describe its location in comparison to Athens. For example, is it North or South of Athens, is it near the water, what other cities are nearby, what seas are nearby. There are 2 maps, be sure to page down and look at BOTH maps.
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Sparta had different groups, or classes, of people. Go to the following websites to learn about military professionals (Spartiates), outsiders (Perioeci), women and slaves (Helots). Take careful notes on each group.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/8b_p1.html http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/government/spartans.htm |
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Describe a child's education in Sparta. Be sure to include boys, girls and slaves.
http://www.laconia.org/sparti_h_1.htm#Upbringing |
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What was a woman's role in Sparta?
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/culture/womenofsparta.html |
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What role did the military play in Sparta?
http://www.angliacampus.com/public/pri/history/greeks/page30.htm http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/athenssparta.htm |
5. Now that you have finished your research, it is time to think about how these two city-states are similar and how they are different. Use your notes and worksheet to help organize your thoughts.
6. Create a character for yourself that is either Athenian or Spartan. Write a letter to your family describing where you are from and what a typical day is like for you. Things to keep in mind are how old are you, are you male or female, do you go to school, are you in the military? Use the information you have just learned about Athens or Sparta to write this letter. Remember, a letter is written in 1st person.
7. First write a rough draft. Then, in your best cursive handwriting, write a final draft.
8. The final draft is due _______________________________________________.
Notes for Teachers
This project should take about 8 hours to complete. Begin with an introductory lesson that should last about 45 minutes. During this time explain the overall project and its various components. Then show students how to access the webquest and go over how to read the questions and your expectations of their behavior when using the Internet for the project. As a class, work on the first question together including reading the information and recording your findings in a journal.
Over the next 4 days (with about 45-60 minutes a day) give students time to research Athens and Sparta. Each student should take notes in their own journal and answer the questions. Check their journals daily to see how students are progressing and to determine if anything needs to be retaught. Encourage students to spend two days working on Athens and two days working on Sparta.
After students have finished researching, come back together as a class and hand out the graphic organizer. Have students thinks about how the two cities were similar and how they differed. You may want to jump-start this process by working on one section together so students get an idea of what is too much or too little information. Only one day should be spent on this in class, but students may have a couple of days to finish it themselves.
After students have completed their graphic organizer they should create a character that is either Athenian or Spartan and write a letter describing a typical day. Remind students that they need to first write a rough draft, then revise and edit it before completing a final draft.
Have students share their letters in class. Then, as a class, graph who chose to be Athenian vs. Spartan. Using the information from the letters, fill out your own graphic organizer and compare and contrast the government, economy, education and women's roles in a table format w/ bullets. Encourage students to explain WHY they made their choices. For example, how many chose to be slaves, or non-citizens, or in the military. Those things that AREN'T chosen are just as important as those that are. Try to get the students to explain why they DIDN'T choose something.
After the class discussion have students turn in their journals, graphic organizer and letter (including all rough drafts) for final evaluation.
- Computer Lab (each pair of students need access to a computer with access to the Interent)
- Computer hooked up to a projector for teacher's use
- Verify that you can access all of the websites and links in the webquest from the school's network
- A Greek journal for each student (in which to take notes)
- Copies of Graphic Organizer
One teacher is probably sufficient to complete the lesson. Although it is always helpful to have parental volunteers or aids who can help students that need more individual attention.
Each student will be evaluated individually. Your evaluation will be based on your overall effort for the research, the recording of notes in your journal, your compare and contrast organizer, your character letter and your participation in class discussions. The following rubric will help guide you through the assignment.
Note to Teachers: It would be worth your time to evaluate the journal on a daily basis to see how students are progressing and to provide feedback that would be helpful as they continue to take notes.
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Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
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Student's letter is complete; character is somewhat developed; clearly know if the character is Athenian or Spartan; follows proper formatting.
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Student's letter is complete; shows a fully developed character; clearly know if the character is Athenian or Spartan; describes in detail the character's typical day; is organized and follows proper formatting.
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Student's overall effort and participation |
Student's effort was minimal with researching, writing and class discussions.
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Student's effort was generally good in researching, writing and class discussions, but must be reminded at times to put forth his/her best effort.
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Student's effort in researching, writing and class discussions was adequate. Student uses computer appropriately.
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Student's effort in researching, writing and class discussions was high and consistent; student uses computer appropriately throughout the activity.
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The purpose of this webquest was to provide students an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of Ancient Greece's culture, government and economy. Using the Interent, students engage in an in-depth project that requires research, note-taking, organizing of information and creating a letter that brings together many ideas they have been studying.
http://www.crystalinks.com/greekcities.html
http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greeklife.html
http://www.angliacampus.com/public/pri/history/greeks/
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/32a.html
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/
http://www.historyforkids.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ancientgreece/
http://www.arwhead.com/Greeks/index.html#Athenian+soldiers
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/