Best Practices Lesson Plan Design – Elementary SS Example
Goal:


To explain the political roots of our modern democracy in
the United States of America. (SS3H1)
Locate Greece on a world map (SS3G1)
Themes.
Using the connecting theme beliefs and ideals, students will explore
concrete examples of Greek influence on United States architecture
and the modern Olympic games; then they will learn about the more
abstract influence of Greek government on the United States
Government
Priority Standards:
 Support Standards
 Pre-requisite Learning
By understanding location, students will understand where the United
States is in relation to other places (Greece) in the world and continue
to develop basic map skills.
SS3H1: TSW explain the political roots of our modern democracy
in the United States of America.
a. Identify the influence of Greek architecture (columns on the
Parthenon, U.S. Supreme Court building), law, and the
Olympic Games on the present.
b. Explain the ancient Athenians’ idea that a community
should choose its own leaders.
c. Compare and contrast Athens as a direct democracy with
the United States as a representative democracy.
SS3G1: TSW locate major topographical features.
d. Locate Greece on a world map.
Resources for Instruction
TCSS Website
Georgia Experience
Studies Weekly
Brainpop
Pictures of Parthenon and U.S. Supreme Court Buidling
Time Allocated
7 days
EQ
How did Greek architecture influence columns on American
government buildings?
How does the present day Olympics compare to ancient Greek
Olympics?
How does direct democracy differ from representative
democracy?
What influence did ancient Greek democracy have on the modern
democracy in the US?
Where is Greece located in relation to the United States?
What is a republican form of government?
Activator/Connection/Warm Up


Using the website, Brainpop, show students the video clips
on Athens, Olympics and Democracy. (Different one each
day) with a partner, have student write down five things
that they learned from the videos. Have students share.
Using the Pictures of the Parthenon and U.S. Supreme
Court Building: (slide 2) Show the pictures of the Parthenon
and the U.S. Supreme Court Building. With a partner, have
the student write down five similarities between the two
buildings. Have students share.
Instructional Delivery

Teaching Point/Mini
Lesson/Teacher Input (I
Do/Modeling)
Using the Georgia Experience, Chapter 1, and the Studies Weekly,
Weeks 1 & 2,, share the information about Greece and how they
influenced architecture, democracy (government) and the
Olympics in the United States.

Guided Instruction/
Differentiated Instruction
(We Do)
Democracy: students will participate in each type of election as a
class. Election number one will be using the direct democracy
approach in which each child votes individually on a topic. Some
possible topics include voting on playing kickball or free play for
recess, eating lunch in the cafeteria or the classroom, or choosing
a class nickname or motto, etc. The second election will be using
the representative democracy approach. Each group chooses a
leader to represent the whole group. Make sure the group leaders
know that their vote is supposed to represent “majority rule” not
their personal feelings. Vote on the same issue as you did for the
direct democracy and compare the results. Let each group take
turns choosing a new leader so that students see how the views of
the group as a whole should influence the decision of the group
leader.
Architecture: Show students pictures of the Parthenon in Greece
and the US Supreme Court Building. Ask students to compare the
2 building and write their responses on a chart. (The main focus of
this discussion will center on columns. Students do not need to
know the exact type of columns or the names of the different
types of columns.) Students will then conduct some research at
home or at school and bring in pictures of other buildings that
have columns from building they find in Washington, DC, Atlanta,
or their community to glue into their flip book.
Olympics: In pairs, have students read Origin and History of the
Olympic Games and The Modern Olympic Games. Using a Venn
Diagram, students will compare and contrast the ancient Olympic
games and the Modern Olympic Games. Venn Diagram

Independent Practice
(You Do)
Democracy: After the elections are completed, students will
complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast both types of
democracy. Discuss as a group the pros and cons of both
elections. Have students think about these questions: did each
voting topic still have the same outcome; why did the elections
turn out the way they did? Explain to students that we are a
representative democracy in the United States; modeled after the
ancient Greeks.
Students will write a story of their own. They will think of a time
when they were asked to do an important task. Using the example
set by Paul Revere, students will write a story describing the
job/task they were asked to do, how they felt about doing it, and
how they carried out the job or task, and how completing the
job/task helped others.
Architecture: Create a flip book using pictures/drawings to show
examples of how Ancient Greek architecture has influenced
modern day architecture locally and nationally (U.S. Supreme
Court Building).
Olympics: Students will write a speech to the International
Olympic Committee convincing the committee to hold the
Olympics in their hometown.
Think what the Committee is looking for:
•A plan to build sporting venues
•Good transportation
•Public support
•Strong security
Summarizer/Closure/Evaluation
of Lesson
Ticket out the Door:
Democracy: Ticket out the door: Do you think that the Athens
form of a direct democracy or our American representative
democracy is better? Explain your opinion.
Architecture: Students will write a short paragraph that describes
what we borrowed from the ancient Greeks that we see in many
important buildings today.
Olympics: List 3 differences between the Ancient and Modern Day
Olympics