Hour of the Olympics- Missions
Chapter 1- Jack and Annie are traveling to Ancient Greece on a mission to retrieve another story for Morgan
Le Fay. They get the book A Day in Ancient Greece from Morgan Le Fay for research. What kind of information
could that book contain?
Mission- Read Chapter 3 in Ancient Greece and the Olympics, split topics (Housing, Clothing, Education, and
Fun) into groups. Learn about life in Ancient Greece, take notes from the book on your group’s topic. Use the
Ancient Greece chart (as a class) to compare it to our lives today.
Materials Needed- Ancient Greece chart, copies of Ancient Greece and the Olympics, markers, paper, pencils
Chapter 2- Jack and Annie arrive in Ancient Greece and discover that they arrived at the start of an Ancient
Olympics. What kinds of things would you find in at the Ancient Olympics, besides a lack of girls?
Mission- View news segments of this year’s Olympics through YouTube. Write a news segment (in small
groups) describing what is going on at the Ancient Olympics. If you have time you can record the segments
with an iPad.
Materials Needed- YouTube news clips (links on MC website), News Segment outline, pencils, iPad (optional)
Chapter 3- Jack and Annie meet Plato who leads them to the “secret poet” who has written the story they
are supposed to rescue for Morgan Le Fay. Why is the young woman a “secret poet” What kinds of things
could women do in Ancient Greece?
Mission- Read Chapter 3 in Ancient Greece and the Olympics and news article on Women in Ancient Greece.
Write a journal entry, 3-4 sentences written as a woman from Ancient Greece, what did you do today?
Materials Needed- Copies of Ancient Greece and the Olympics, news article, journal outline, pencils
Chapter 4- Jack and Annie talk to the “secret poet” who wants her name to be listed as Anonymous on her
story. It was too dangerous for the young women to admit she had written a book, she hopes someday
women everywhere will write books.
Mission- Brainstorm (as a class) your favorite women authors, make a list on the white board. You should
write down 1-2 authors so that next time you check out books, you can look for a woman author. Visit Mary
Pope Osborne’s website to learn about the female author of this book, the one you will be meeting!
Materials Needed- white board, dry erase markers, paper, pencil, classroom computer/projector, Mary Pope
Osborne’s website (link on Media Center webpage)
Chapter 5- Jack leaves Annie and goes with Plato to the Olympic games. They passed a statue of Nike, the
goddess of victory, a lesser god of Ancient Greek mythology. Then they went into a building with columns and
saw an enormous statue of Zeus. Zeus is one of the Olympic twelve, the most important of the Greek Gods
and Godesses.
Mission- Watch “Statue of Zeus” video clip on Discovery Education. Pick a Greek God or Goddess to learn
about. Use Greek God and Goddess trading cards and Chapter 2 in Ancient Greece and the Olympics to learn
about the Greek Gods and Goddess. Create a poster (on a piece of construction paper) with a picture of the
God/Goddess, what they are God of, and what special powers they might have.
Materials Needed- Greek God and Goddess trading cards, copies of Ancient Greece and the Olympics,
construction paper, markers or colored pencils
Chapter 6- Jack and Plato go watch the Olympic parade and wait for the first event, the chariot race to
begin. What events would you have found at the Ancient Olympics? How does that compare with the events
you find at the current Olympics? At the Ancient Olympics the chariot race is the most popular event and the
one that was the greatest honor to win.
Mission- As a class or in small groups, look at Olympic sporting events website. Which event at the current
Olympics do you think is the most important, the one that is the greatest honor to win? Graph the results as a
class on your white board. Take a picture of the graph with the classroom iPad.
Materials Needed- Classroom computer/projector, Olympic sporting events website (link on Media Center),
white board, dry erase markers, iPad.
Chapter 7- Jack realizes Annie is in a costume from the theater and used the disguise to sneak into the
Olympics where women are forbidden. Why are women forbidden from the Olympic games? Imagine today if
certain people were not allowed to participate in the Olympic games.
Mission- Have a class debate, half the class will debate why they think women should be allowed at the
Olympic games and the other half of the class will debate why women should not be allowed at the Olympic
games.
Materials Needed- debate talking points
Chapter 8- Annie is discovered in her disguise and the crowd is cheering to arrest her. She might be arrest if
the chariot racing toward Jack and Annie cannot save them. What is a chariot? What were they used for?
Mission- Learn more about chariots on the chariot website (link on the Media Center website). Use the
transportation chart(as a class) to compare different types of transportation. What are the pros and cons of
each.
Materials Needed- classroom computer/projector, chariot website, transportation chart, markers
Chapter 9- Jack and Annie escape from the guards in the back of the chariot, pulled by a beautiful horse.
After galloping away from the chariot race the horse sprouts wings and begins to fly. A flying horse, called a
Pegasus is a mythical creature from Greek mythology. What are some other mythical creatures from Greek
Mythology.
Mission- Learn about some of the mythical creatures of Greek mythology from the Mythical Creatures trading
cards. Choose one and create a postcard of a mythical creature (use blank template to draw your own picture
or picture template if you do not want to draw). Write a message, 2-3 sentences on the back to Jack and Annie
explaining what the creature is.
Materials Needed- Mythical Creatures trading cards, postcard templates, crayons/markers/colored pencils
(optional), pencils
Chapter 10- Jack and Annie return home but are missing the Pegasus. Morgan Le Fay tells them the
characters from the story will always be with them and shows them the constellations from the stories they
have rescued.
Mission- Watch “The Universe: The Constellations” on YouTube (link on Media Center webpage) to learn more
about constellations. Design your own constellation (draw with white colored pencil on a black piece of
construction paper). Write 2-3 sentences describing what the constellation stands for and why it is important.
It must be related to the Olympics or Ancient Greece. (see example)
Materials Needed- classroom computer/projector, black construction paper, white colored pencils, plain
white paper, pencils