Lesson plan based on Cycladic Figure

Compare the ancient Greek method of schooling and writing to contemporary methods

Skills and Focus: Discussion, Cultural Comparisons, Hands-on

Subject Area: English Language Arts

Thematic Connection: Literature, Comparing Cultures, Connecting Past and Present

Grade Level: Elementary School

Time Needed: 90 minutes

Objectives

• Understand the ancient Greek method of schooling and compare it to contemporary school activities.

• Participate in an activity from an ancient Greek curriculum, using the tools used by students of that period.

• Recognize and use the letters of the Greek alphabet.

Instructional Materials Needed

Wet clay, rolled out so that each student has at least a 5" square

Popsicle sticks (one per student), cut so that one end has a sharp point

Print Resources:

• Guide to the Greek alphabet, including the corresponding English letters: The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. p. 350

• Books about ancient Greek schooling:

Burrell, Roy. The Greeks. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. pp. 42-43.

Freeman, Charles. Spotlights: The Ancient Greeks. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. pp. 32-33.

Activity

Step 1: Introduce students to the information presented in the above resources (or any others that you may find). In Burrell's The Greeks, there is a short passage, beginning on the bottom of page 42, that is told from the point of view of an ancient Greek student, Timon, taking the reader into Timon’s personal experience. Encourage students to read this passage aloud.

Step 2: Create a list on the chalkboard or overhead projector of the similarities and differences between ancient Greek and contemporary U.S. schooling, such as the following:

Ancient Greek and Contemporary U.S. Schooling
Similarities to U.S.	Differences from U.S.
classes taught: history, literature, arithmetic, geometry, music, physical education	students went to school with their personal slaves, or pedagogues
writing taught by repeated practice	students write on wax tablets with pointed sticks
different teachers for different subjects	no punctuation or spaces between words
learning to read aloud and memorization considered important	only boys go to school, beginning at age 7

Step 3: Show students the Greek alphabet and how it corresponds to the English alphabet with 24 letters instead of 26. The word alphabet comes from the first two words in the Greek alphabet: alpha and beta. Distribute the clay and the Popsicle sticks, telling students that they are going to practice writing as the ancient Greeks did.

Step 4: Ask students to copy the Greek alphabet, keeping in mind that the ancient Greek way to correct mistakes was to smooth out the writing surface with the flat end of the writing tool, or stylus, and start over.

Step 5: Once students are familiar with the characters of the Greek alphabet, they can begin to use them to write. Encourage students to write their first and middle names in the clay, remembering not to use capitalization or to leave a space between words.

Goals

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 2: Understand explicit and implicit meaning in literature representing individual, community, national, world, and historical perspectives.

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.

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