World History Lesson Plans August 29-Sept. 2

Sources: /
  • textbook: pg. 114-117
  • PowerPoint:"Archaic Greece."
  • reading:"The Trojan War."

Questions/
Activities:
/
  1. What were the major geographic features of the island of Crete?
  2. How did their geography affect the development of early Minoan culture?
  3. From the pictures of Minoan artifacts in the PowerPoint, what clues do they give you
    about the culture of the Minoan people [lifestyle, government, religion, social structure, etc.]?
  4. Why did the Minoan civilization decline by 1450 BCE?
  5. How did the Mycenaeans develop a strong culture led by wealthy warrior-kings?
  6. What aspects of Minoan civilization were preserved and spread by the Mycenaeans?
  7. What were the mythical AND the real causes of the Trojan War?
  8. What role did Homer's epics play in Greek culture?
  9. What were the effects of the Dorian migrations on Greek civilization?

Terms: /
  • Minoans
  • Knossos
  • Sir Arthur Evans
  • matriarchy
  • Mycenaeans
/
  • Helen of Troy
  • Trojan War
  • Homer
  • epic
  • Iliad
/
  • Odyssey
  • "Trojan horse"
  • Heinrich Schliemann
  • Dorians
  • Greek "Dark Age"
  • patriarchy

Tuesday-Wednesday:
Sources: /
  • reading:"Ancient Sparta."
  • web research:"The GreekPolis."
  • chart: "Different Forms of Government in Ancient Greece."
  • Comparison diagram: Athens and Sparta

Questions/
Activities:
/
  1. What is apolis? Identify some of its general characteristics.
  2. Identify the different ways that a polis could be governed.
  3. How did the Spartans achieve the domination of the Peloponnesus?
  4. Why did the city-state of Sparta develop into a military state?
  5. You are a social scientist trying to understand the culture, values, and society of the
    polisof ancient Sparta. As a social scientist, you want to know the following about
    this city-state:
    * geographic location and physical environment [geographer]
    * social classes [sociologist]
    * government structure and laws [political scientist]
    * diplomacy/foreign policy [historian/political scientist]
    * military capabilities [historian]
    * commerce and trade [economist]
    * education system [sociologist/anthropologist]
    * art/architecture [archaeologist]
    * ideals and values of the society [sociologist/anthropologist]
    As you go through the reading above, take good notes on these categories so that you will be able to intelligently analyze ancient Sparta in class.

Terms: /
  • polis
  • acropolis
  • monarchy
/
  • aristocracy
  • oligarchy
  • phalanx
/
  • helot
  • Tyrant
  • citizen

Thursday:
Sources: /
  • reading:"Pericles' Funeral Oration."
  • textbook:pp. 124-129

Questions/
Activities:
/
  1. Write your own personal definition for the word "democracy." Now go to a dictionary
    and get a formal definition.
  2. Answer these questions as you do the reading:
    *According to Pericles, what precisely makes Athens great?
    *How does this compare to other city-states?
    * What is Pericles’ definition of democracy?
    * What are the responsibilities of Athenian citizenship?
    * Why does Pericles need to defend the Athenian system?
    * In what ways does way of life in Athens differ from other Greek city-states?
    * What problems do you see in Pericles’ description of Athens?
    * Where does Pericles directly or indirectly make verbal attacks on Sparta?
    * How do we in the United States today define democracy? Is it the same
    way as Pericles’ definition?
    * Is a funeral oration a reliable source for information about a culture? Why or why not?
  3. What were the causes and effects of the Persian Wars on the Greek city-states?

Terms: /
  • direct democracy
/
  • indirect democracy
/
  • Pericles

Friday:
  • Pericles

Sources: /
  • textbook: pg. 36 to top of pg. 39.
  • reading:an excerpt from Sophocles play,Antigone.

Questions/
Activities:
/
  1. Why was Herodotus called the "Father of History?"
  2. Why could it be argued that Thucydides more rightly deserved that title?
  3. What was the origin of the Greek drama? What was its original purpose?
  4. How did Greek theater serve the same purpose as our media [television, movies, and
    printed news] does today?
  5. Do the reading and answer these questions:
    * Why does Antigone feel that she was justified in breaking the law? Does an individual
    have a moral right to break laws that he/she thinks are unjust? Defend your position.
    * Why did the playwright Sophocles think that this theme was important enough to
    base a play on?
    * How does this play reflect the status that women occupied in ancient Greece?
  6. Identify the two fundamental questions that only Greek philosophers wanted answered.
  7. How did the scientific philosophers Thales, Democritus, and Pythagorus attempt to
    answer that first fundamental question?

Terms: /
  • Herodotus
/
  • Thucydides
/
  • philosophy

Work on special project