unit plan
2-3 week Course Outline
Greek Culture Unit
Mn Social Studies Standard: III World History. World Civilizations and Religions, 1000 BC 500 AD. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek culture and its influence
throughout Eurasia, Africa, and the Mediterranean
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics,
and philosophy
Guiding Question: What is the lasting legacy of Classical Greek Civilization on the rest of the
world?
Evaluation:
1. Weekly quizzes that will address images of Greek civilization. The students will be
shown a series of slides and be asked to identify what is being shown or answer a
question associated with the image.
2. Unit test (identification, Multiple choice, and essay) on important elements of Greek
Religion, art, politics and philosophy.
3. Complete a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences between the Greek
form of democracy and our contemporary form of democracy
4. Students will look for and identify elements of Greek culture in our contemporary
architecture and write a brief summary of what they found.
Lesson 1
Topic: An Introduction to Greek culture
Students will:
1. List what they know of Greek culture coming into class
2. Be introduced to the geography of the Mediterranean region
Academic Language: Mediterranean, Hellenistic, Ionian, Aegean
-The class will begin with a question period with the students telling me what they know about
Greek culture and me writing those results on the smart board. This will give me a gauge as to
what the kids bring with them to class and the types of things they are interested in. After this, I
will go through a slide show of images from Greek culture (Ancient sites, items found from the
Minoan, Mycenaean, dark ages, geometric period, orientializing period, archaic period, classical
period, temples, and statuary) At the end of the slide show I will give the students some liberty as
to what narratives we will cover (Iliad, Odyssey, comedies, tragedies, etc…)
*what I chose to include in this unit outline is what I find is most beneficial to know about the
Greeks and what my hypothetical class chooses may be a little different
Lesson 2
Topic: Minoans, Mycenaean's and Dark ages
Students will:
1. Be introduced to the cultures preceding the Greeks
2. Explore possible reasons for the disappearance of the Mycenaean's and Minoans from the
region in the centuries prior to 1200 bce
Academic Language: Mycenaean, Minoan
-The earliest evidence of Greek peoples is that of the Minoans and the Mycenaean's. The class
will begin with a lecture slideshow of items and remains from the Minoan civilization on the
Island of Crete. Next we will look at the Mycenaean culture on the mainland of Greece which
flourished roughly around the same time as the Minoans. Finally we will discuss what is known
as the Greek Dark Ages, a period lasting from about 1200 b.c.e. to 776 b.c.e during which the
culture that had inhabited Greece seem to disappear and about which very little is known. We
will conclude the class with a discussion of what may have caused the fall of the two earliest
Greek cultures.
Lesson 3
Topic: Greek pottery styles
Students will:
1. look at images of Greek pottery styles from the protogeometric period to the classical
period
2. be able to identify which period certain pottery styles come from
Academic Language: protogeometric, archaic, classical, black or red, red on black
-The best evidence we have about the life of the reemerging Greek culture is the pottery
recovered from the period between 776-500 b.c.e. Slide show lecture will be delivered
highlighting the different types of pottery styles through the periods and we will end at the
beginning of the archaic period, during which we will begin to explore the increasing number of
statuary recovered that can be classified as "Archaic"
Lesson 4
Topic: The Classical Period
Students will:
1. Be introduced to what is meant by the Greek "Classical Period"
2. Be able to identify the refined art styles that can be found in the literature, art, and
architecture during the classical period
Academic language: Classical Period
-The so called "classical period" is the time during which the Greeks have a coming of age. The
art styles become much more refined, we begin to see the large scale civic building projects such
as stadiums and temples, and epic poems such as the Iliad and Odyssey are written down for the
first time. A slide show lecture will be delivered highlighting all of the major developments of
the classical period. A quiz on the first four days of class will be given at the beginning of the
next Monday. At the end of the class I will go over a study guide of the types of things that may
be found on the quiz.
Lesson 5
Topic: Foundation Myths…quiz 1 given
Students will:
1. Take a slideshow quiz covering the first four lesson in the unit.
2. Be told of the foundation figures and their actions which brought about the more
traditional Greek gods that are known today .
3. Be read excerpts from classical literature addressing the foundation myths
Academic Language: Chronus, Rhea, Uranus, Gaia, Eros, Titanomachy, Gigantomachy
-a quiz from the first week will be given at the beginning of the period covering days 1-4 of
class. The format will be short answer and identifications of slides; it will roughly be 10
questions in length.
This class will introduce the students to classical mythology starting with the formation of the
heavens and earth by the marriage of Sky and Earth, (Uranus and Gaia) the birth of their
children, (Titans, Cyclopes, hechatonchires) The victory of the first generation (gigantomachy)
the birth of the second generation (Zeus, Hera, artemis) and their victory over the second
generation (titanomachy) slides will be delivered showing images of this foundation period and
excerpts for Hesiod's, "theogany" will be read in class.
Lesson 6
Topic: The Twelve Olympians
Students will:
1. Be introduced to the Olympian gods that are most widely know today
2. Associate certain attributes or iconography to the Olympian gods who possess them
3. Be read excerpts from classical literature addressing the rise of the Olympian gods to the
Greek Pantheon
Academic Language: Pantheon, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Athena, Hephaestus,
Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes
Images of the major god of Greek society will be shown in lecture slides. We will further explore
the defeat of the Titans by Zeus and his siblings, which eventually lead him to be master of the
Greek pantheon. Excerpts from Hesiod's "theogony" "works and days" and Ovid's
"Metamorphoses" will be read in class. This lesson will explore the inhabitation of Mount
Olympus by the 12 most important gods of the period, the Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon,
Demeter, Hestia, Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, )
Iconography will be discussed in slides so students will be able to identify the gods by what they
have or wear and what their characteristics are.
Lesson 7
Topic: Hades and the underworld
Students Will:
1. Understand the differences between the Greek concept of the underworld and how it
differs from other religions of the world
Academic Language: Hades, Cerberus, Chiron, Elysium
Although Hades is a first generation god he is not considered an Olympian because he resides in
the underworld and not on Olympus. Images will be shown in lecture and excerpts will be taken
from "the Odyssey" and Hesiod which describe Hades and the underworld. Cerberus and Chiron
the ferryman will be introduced and we will conclude class with a discussion of the similarities
and differences between the Greek underworld and the contemporary view of the afterlife.
Lesson 8
Topic: demigods
Students will:
1. Be introduced to a minor form of deities that inhabit the ancient Greek world
2. Associate the demigods with certain natural features or the Olympian god with whom the
are often accompanying
Academic Language: Demigods, Nymphs, Semele, Leto, Nereids, Maenads
An often forgotten aspect to Greek culture and worship is that the Olympians were typically
worshipped on a civic level, all of which having sanctuaries devoted to them. In addition to the
Olympians there was a myriad of other divine beings that inhabited the world. We will find out
who some of these figure were and why they were important. Images will be shown and students
will be introduced to Semele, the Muses, the neriads, the nymphs, Leto etc…..the class will
discuss why such a web of divine figures was woven by the Greeks.
Lesson 9
Topic: Heroes
Students will:
1. take quiz 2 will at the beginning of the class on the gods covered in lessons 5-8.
2. be introduced to images of the heroes of Greek culture (Achilles, Heracles, Odysseus,
Theseus, and Perseus) and we will discuss why stories were constructed in which mortals
or half mortals are able to successfully defy the gods.
3. Split into groups and each group will read the mythologies of each of the heroes and
report back to class the narratives of the heroes
Aademic Language: Achilles, Troy, Trojan War, Kleos, Odysseus, Lystrogonians, Cyclops,
Schylla, Charybdis, Heracles, 12 labors, Perseus, Medusa, Theseus, Labyrinth, Minotaur
- Achilles
Arguably the greatest and most fickle of Greek heroes images of Achilles will be shown in class,
excerpts will be taken from the Iliad in which Achilles is the protagonist, and the students will be
introduced to "kleos" or what we call glory and how Achilles uses glory as a means of
questioning the gods meddlesome nature in humanity. Class will conclude with the tragic end of
hero.
- Odysseus
-Images will be shown of Odysseus in Greek art. We will fly through the Odyssey by briefly
reading excerpts from the book and my giving a synopsis of the travels of Odysseus. We will
explore the Lystrogonians, the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis and all other things the hero
encounters.
- Heracles
Images of Heracles will be shown in lecture and we will discuss the 12 labors of Heracles in
detail. Heracles is a great example to use in highlighting that some mortals had won the favor of
the gods and others had angered them, in Heracles case the labors must be performed because he
upset Hera.
-Perseus and Theseus
Images of the two heroes will be shown in lecture. We will condense the two into one day
because of their secondary nature compared to Achilles, Heracles, and Odysseus. The story of
Theseus and the Minotaur will be introduced. The story of Perseus and Medusa. The Medusa
narrative will give us a chance to highlight the reoccurring theme of gorgon heads in Greek and
roman art.
Lesson 10
Topic: Greek warfare
Students will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Be shown images of the way the Greeks fought their conflicts
Be read excerpts from Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire"
Construct their own Hoplon
Form a phalanx with their classmates and move together through a series of cones
Academic language: Hoplite, Hoplon, Phalanx
We will explore the major conflicts that the Greeks were involved in during the classical age
such as the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian wars. Students will be schooled on the use of the
Phalanx as a major component of Greek warfare. I will bring in 3 foot cardboard circles for the
class to act as "hoplons" and we will clear find a place in the school to construct our own phalanx
and try to move around as a unit.
Lesson 11
Topic: Philosophy
Students will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Be introduced to the teachings of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.
We will discuss how these philosophies challenged social stratification.
Read excerpts from Plato's republic.
Discuss the nature of Justice as it applies to contemporary times.
Academic Language: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Republic, Lyceum, The Academy,
This class period will be structured as a Socratic seminar with the purpose of the seminar being
the discussion on the nature of Justice in our contemporary world
Lesson 13
Topic: Democracy
Students will:
1. Be introduced to the earliest form of democracy in western civilization
2. Explore the strengths and weakness of the system
3. Understand the earlier form of city-state governments that predated the Greek direct
democracy
4. Be handed the unit study guide for the upcoming unit test.
Academic Language: Pericles, Solon, Delian League, Direct Democracy, Ostraca, Persian War,
Peloponesian War
Students will learn that the foundation of choosing elected officials began in Greece in the years
following the Persian wars. We will discuss the delian league which formed as a crude Greek
governing body after the war and we will see images of recovered potshards which were the very
first forms of "voter ballots" At the conclusion of class (prob the last 20 mins) the students will
be given a study guide that we will go over in class for the unit test .
Lesson 14
Topic: Greek architecture and political system field trip
Students will:
1. Get a first- hand look at our current system of democracy by touring the state capitol
2. Look for images and elements of Greek culture in our modern architecture and Museums
3. Tour the classical civilization rooms at the Minneapolis Institute of art
Academic Language: Doric, Ionic, Pediment, Relief,
For the final day of the lesson students will take a field trip to the state capitol for two purposes.
The first will to observe our state legislature first hand. We will set a meeting with our local
representative and he or she will explain the daily procedures of how our state government
operates. The goal here will to compare the similarities and differences between Greek
Democracy and that of our own. The second element to this field trip will be to find elements of
Greek architecture in our modern world. Capitals, pediments, columns, and mythological figures
will all be fair game. The State Capitol will be the first place we will look, but we will also tour
the basilica and cathedral and the Minneapolis Institute of Art to find elements of Greek
Architecture. The students will also be encouraged to observe elements as we take Summit
Avenue from St. Paul to Minneapolis passing by Macalester College, St Thomas, and The U of
M.