What Do I Know about Ancient Greece? (9-12)
A mind mapping activity
Mind mapping is a brainstorming activity in which students arrange images and ideas in clusters
around a stimulus word. Mapping helps students to see the natural, non-linear relationships among
their ideas, feelings, and images on a given subject. This strategy may be used throughout the
learning process. As a pre-writing strategy, mapping helps students to generate and organize ideas.
Purposes:
1. To activate prior knowledge
2. To generate ideas for future inquiry.
Steps:
1. Each student makes a circle on a piece of paper and puts the stimulus word or topic in the
middle. In this case the student could start with words like Zeus, or Acropolis, Athens or, more
generally, Ancient Greece.
2. Individually, students brainstorm for ideas, images, and feelings. They place words, phrases, or
images around the stimulus word in clusters which eventually reveal connections and patterns.
3. Students discuss their clusters with a partner and add ideas or connections. Students can then
share with the entire class. The teacher will then have an opportunity to extend students’ prior
knowledge and to correct misconceptions by making a map for the whole class.
4. The personal maps can become small works of art when images and colours are added. They may
also serve to focus the direction a student will take in their future inquiries.
Image retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/h930p/ancient-greece-mind-map-ppt-puig-10a
Classroom Curating (9-12)
Purpose:
This research project culminates in students creating their own artwork based on and inspired by
historical works. It can be executed using any time period or a chosen combination of time and
place.
Students will identify the unique features of their chosen work and ultimately contextualize it
within the finalized work of the class by exhibiting the finished pieces.
Procedure:
Students can look online or in the library for a work of art that connects is inspirational. Encourage
works that are less known that have potential to push student learning beyond what they are
familiar with. Use the questions below as a guideline for research.
Before beginning the art making, allow students to meet in small groups and discuss how they are
going to proceed; what work have they chosen and what did they find out about it, what materials
do they need, do they know the techniques required to create their artwork, where can they get the
help they need, how do the works they chose complement one another?
After making their art, students will meet in small groups again to discuss their successes and
problems and decide how they want to exhibit the work.
Art Making:
Students will create their own version of their chosen artwork. The completed work can then be
curated, grouped, and displayed according to the criteria established by the students in their small
groups.
Some Considerations:
 In the event you are not in an art room it may be difficult to create works that are ‘messy’
or that conform to the original materials used by the artist. This is where students must get
creative with approaches that both work in the space you have as well as express something
essential about the artwork that they have chosen to represent.
 It is not so important that the work they create be a replica of the original but instead it
must reflect something that is essential to the original, whether it be the ideals behind the
work, something about the artist that inspired their own creativity etc. The student needs
to be able to succinctly explain their choices.
Research Questions:
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Who is the artist?
What time period is the artist working in?
What year was this artwork created in?
Where is the artist from and where did they make the work?
What is the title of the work? If it doesn’t have one what is the reason?
What medium does the artist use?
What techniques does the artist use; carving, collage, editing, drawing etc?
What was it that ‘drew’ you to this work?
What is the purpose of this artwork (religious, commemorative, commissioned, an
expression of concern/interest of the artist)
What do you think the subject of this work is and what visual evidence do you have to
support your thinking?
What is the artist trying to communicate with this work?
Have they made other artworks that deal with similar themes and ideas?
How does this piece fit in with the others chosen by your classmates?
Some Websites to Explore:
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Contemporary Art http://www.art21.org/
Arts and Crafts of Early Civilizations (2500000BCE-400CE) http://www.visualarts-cork.com/ancient-art.htm
Art History at Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/arthistory-basics
Art of the Ancient Near East http://arthistoryresources.net/ARTHneareast.html
BBC’s history of the World in 100 Objects
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Historical Timeline
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/
Art Through Time: A Global View http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/
The Art Story http://www.theartstory.org/
MoMA Learning http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/advancedplacement-art-history-exam
A Shrine in Time (9-12)
Using found objects and recycled materials
Suggested Materials:
Magazines and books with images that can be cut up
Scissors
Pencils and paper
Cardboard
Wire
Foam core
Glue guns, glue, tape
Found/discarded/recycled objects
*take a trip to Artsjunktion for free supplies including books and magazines http://artsjunktion.mb.ca/
Introduction:
This project will have students consider the qualities and characteristics of our present day society in
comparison to ancient times.
How do we live our lives, what do we care about or even worship, as a society. How is this similar or
different from the lives that were lived in Ancient Greece or Rome?
Inspiration:
Geoffrey Farmer-The Last 2 Million Years (2007)
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/farmer-the-last-two-million-years-t14227/text-summary
http://www.ngcmagazine.ca/exhibitions/making-the-personal-universal-geoffrey-farmer-at-thevancouver-art-gallery
Procedure:
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Try beginning with the Mind mapping activity at the beginning of this lesson. You may also want to
have your students look at our Online Resources as a starting point for their research.
Once students have gathered and organized (a mind map perhaps) their information about life in
ancient Greece, they should begin to draw parallels between our lives today and those who lived
over 2000 years ago.
In ancient times society built shrines to their various god and goddesses. These deities were often
times ill-mannered, vengeful, and emotionally dysfunctional. Just the same, sacrifices were made to
them and celebrations were held in their honor throughout the year. Have students try to imagine,
if the gods were alive today, what contemporary celebrity would fill their role? Who would be the
king of all gods/goddesses, the ruler of the oceans, the huntress etcetera?
Now imagine what a shrine today might look like. Have students get out art supplies and begin
making their contemporary god/goddess and the shrine that they will live in.
Create or find a saying to attach to the shrine that sums up the belief of this god/goddess. For
example, “My way or the Highway”, “Art is the foundation of all we do”, “Protect and Prevail”
Once the structures are complete, display them and have students discuss their ideas and process of
making their project. What do they think was successful, what would they like to change.