Lapbooking Project: Ancient Greece
What is a lapbook anyway?
A lapbook is a collection of mini-books from a particular study topic that has been
gathered and displayed in a folder-book that fits in your lap.
You will be asked to complete a lapbook about Ancient Greece. First, you need to do some research so
you can gather enough interesting information to put your project together. For each of these topics, you’ll
make a mini-book that highlights the facts you’ve found about that topic. Each mini-book can come in
different shapes and sizes. They can pop up; be a series of folds; pocket-style, etc. Be creative with your
designs! (Instructions on how to make each mini-book will be available in class and on the blog.) Each
mini-book should reveal interesting information about that topic. You should also add graphics that make
it look amazing. These can be hand-drawn, computer printouts, magazine scraps, etc.
Here is a list of topics you can choose from but the true list is endless. Feel free to use as many as you
wish, depending on the space you have.
Military
• Trojan War
• Peloponnesian Wars
• Sparta vs. Athens Persian
Wars
• Greek soldiers/army
• weaponry
Things Mythological
• Minotaur
• Ikarus
• Medusa
• Kraken
• Pegasus
• King Midas
• Heracles (Hercules)
• Achilles
• The Titans
Gods
• Zeus
• Apollo
• Helios
• Athena
• Hera
• Aphrodite
• Poseidon
• Hermes
• Hades
Technology & Industry
• farming (tools, methods)
• temples and monuments
• housing
• toilets ☺
Society
• roles of men, women &
children
• clothing
• foods & farming
• education & learning
• games/Olympics
• Greek alphabet
• art, music, theatre
Important People
• Herodotus
• Plato
• Aristotle
• Alexander the Great
• Socrates
• Homer
• Pythagoras
• Helen of Troy
Miscellaneous
• interesting facts
• map(s)
• timeline(s)
Once you’ve prepared a series of mini-books about your topic, you’re ready to add them to your lapbook
base (made from file folders). Arrange the mini-books as you see fit but your goal should be to make the
entire lapbook fascinating. Use a wide variety of craft materials and add your own creative ideas to the
finished product.
Looking to go the extra mile? Check out this website for an endless list of ideas and web links for making
your lapbook phenomenal!
http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking#module2304669
Additional websites to help with your research will be available on the blog.
How to Fold a Lapbook
For each lapbook, you will need a file folder. Open up the folder.
Fold each side in to meet in the middle. You will glue each of the activities into this to
make a lapbook.
If you need additional room, you can add an extension.
Use a sheet of card stock, or cut a file folder in half. Use wide packing tape
to tape it to the top of your lapbook. Fold it down to close the book.
Lapbook Rubric
Name: ________________________
Criteria
Research: content
Level 1
D-
D
Level 2
D+
• Mini-books are missing,
incomplete or reveal is very
limited amount of
information; more
researching was required.
Research: variety
D-
D
D+
• Information presented is
irrelevant or very narrow in
scope; more researching
was required.
Layout &
Presentation
Ideas, Time &
Effort
Wows!
Hmmms…
D-
D
D+
• Lapbook is messy and/or
poorly constructed; there
are many empty spaces
and little has been done to
make it appealing.
D-
D
D+
• Very little time and effort
have been invested;
virtually no creative ideas
have been added.
C-
C
Level 3
C+
• Mini-books offer some
relevant information but
barely scratch the surface;
more detail is needed.
C-
C
C+
• Information presented had
some variety but more
topics could have been
factored into the lapbook.
C-
C
C+
• Lapbook may have been
rushed; layout is
uninteresting or not clearly
thought out; only some
attention has been paid to
presentation.
C-
C
C+
• Some time and effort have
been added but it could
have used more; few
creative ideas have been
added.
B-
B
Level 4
B+
• Mini-books cover the topics
adequately; reader gets a
good sense of what is trying
to be shared.
B-
B
B+
• Information was plentiful
and varied; reader gets a
wide spectrum of
information from the
lapbook.
B-
B
B+
• Lapbook has been carefully
planned and has many
added features to make it
look organized and
appealing.
B-
B
• Lapbook has been
B+
completed with care and
effort; a great deal of time
has been invested; some
creative ideas have been
added.
A-
A
A+
• Mini-books go into great
detail about the topic
featured; few if any
questions are left
unanswered.
A-
A
A+
• Information presented
covers a wide range of
topics with a high level of
intrigue; mini-book topics
were carefully chosen.
A-
A
A+
• Lapbook has been planned
very carefully with a special
attention to detail; a wealth
of planning went into the
layout and presentation.
A-
A
A+
• Almost every aspect of the
lapbook has been attended
to; it is clear there is a lot of
creative energy invested in
the project.