Project Based Learning
Project Title: Ancient Greece: Democracy, Olympics, War, and a whole lot more!
Project Idea: For this project, students will spend a week and a half gaining a broad
knowledge of the ancient Greece civilization. The topics covered with include the
birth of democracy, the Olympics’ beginning, Greek gods and goddess, Greek wars
and Alexander the Great, and some Greek heritage. The students will be doing a
variety of activities to learn about this civilization. I hope that the students will learn
new information about Greece and be able to make the connections as to how the
lifestyle of the people has affected how we live our lives today with certain things
such as democracy and the Olympics.
Driving Question: Why should we study the Ancient Greece civilization? What can
we learn about our lives today through studying the people that lived back then?
Grade Level: 5th grade
Standards:
E.4.4 Describe the ways in which ethnic cultures influence the daily lives of people
B.4.1 Identify and examine various sources of information that are used for
constructing an understanding of the past, such as artifacts, documents, letters,
diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, paintings, architecture, oral presentations, graphs,
and charts
A.4.5 Use media and technology to create and present information use draw, paint
or graphics software to create simple signs, posters, banners, charts, visuals, etc.
Student Objectives: The students will be able to demonstrate and summarize the
information that they had gained throughout the week about the topic of Ancient
Greece. The students will demonstrate this through a variety of activities including,
journal writing, computer based projects, quizzes, individual and group projects.
Assessment: The following are the assessments for the Ancient Greece Unit
 Pre assessment with two short answer questions
 A worksheet on democracy
 Journal entry about the Olympics
 Prezi about a good or goddess
 A Venn diagram comparing wars
 A short quiz on Greek heritage
 A vase art project

A final assessment with two short answer questions
Resources: The following are the resources I would use to make this project
successful
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The British Museum website about Ancient Greece
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/
The World and its People by Silver Burdett Ginn
Prezi website: http://prezi.com/
For each individual lesson, a variety of resources and materials were used
and can be found within the lesson
Weekly Sequence: The following sheets for the lesson in which I would teach for
the eight days in which we would spend on the Ancient Greece Unit.
Lesson: Introduction to Ancient Greece
Day 1
Objective: Student will be introduced to the topic of Ancient Greece and begin to
identify information about the civilization.
Materials/Resources
Computer
Prezi presentation about the facts of Ancient Greece
Pre assessment for each student (half sheet)
Half a sheet of paper for each student to write their question
Procedure:

To begin the lesson, the teacher will introduce the topic that we will be
studying for the next week and a half, Ancient Greece.

The students will be taking a pre assessment so that the teacher can assess
what knowledge they already have about the topic.

After the pre assessment, the teacher will have the students take out their
notebooks and go through the Prezi that will introduce basic facts about
Greece and also introduce how a Prezi presentations works as the student
will be making their own Prezi later in the week.
-The Greece flag
-Capital: Athens
-Official Language- Greek
-Topography: mountainous, dry with few rivers
-Geography: a peninsula located in Europe, near Italy and Bulgaria
- Believe in gods and goddesses
-Started democracy
-Big on architecture
-Started the Olympics games
-Clothing: Togas

After going over the notes briefly, the teacher will give a brief overview of the
activities for the rest of the week. During this time, the teacher will present
the class with two questions to think about during the next week and a half.
-Why should we study the Ancient Greece civilization?
-What can we learn about our lives today through studying the people that
lived back then?

To finish the teacher will ask the students to write down one question they
are wondering about Ancient Greece.
Assessment:
The assessment for this lesson is the pre assessment given in the beginning of the
class and also the one question that the students are wondering about.
Pre-assessment
Ancient Greece
1. Please list things that you know about Ancient Greece or ancient civilizations
Please list 1 question you would like to learn about the Ancient Greece civilization
Lesson: Birth of Democracy
Day 2
Objective: Students will gain knowledge on the ideas of the terms democracy and
jury and be able to participate in real example to further their knowledge level on
the subject.
Materials/Resources
-Worksheet for every student
-Blue and red rocks
-A jar
-White board
-Whiteboard markers
Procedure:
 The teacher will begin by writing the word democracy on the board. The
teacher will ask what words come to mind when they see this word. The
teacher will then tell the students that today’s lesson is all about how
democracy was born and is still alive today.

The teacher will explain to the students that the definition of democracy is
participation in government by all citizens, not through representatives.
Before the Ancient Greeks had democracy they were led by kings and then
people called archon which were appointed by the wealthy landowners.

The teacher will continue to explain that the archon of Athens was named
Solan and he came up with the idea of democracy and wrote up a constitution
in which all male citizens could vote. The men met in an assembly where
issues were discussed and voted on.

The teacher will then tell the students that today we are going to practice this
direct democracy by voting on an issue as a class. Each student will get time
to say what they want about the issue and then as a class we will vote by
hand raise. The issue that will be discussed today is “Should we have our
next class inside or outside?”

The teacher will then allow student to talk and discuss and then vote on the
issue.

After the vote, the teacher will explain that this is how direct democracy
works. Another part of democracy that was developed by the Greeks was the
idea of a jury. A jury is a group of people called into court to give a verdict in
a dispute.

The teacher then tells the students that to practice this idea of a jury, as a
class we are going to have a pretend trail. The teacher asks for two students
to volunteer to stand trial. One student is accused of stealing the other
student’s cow from their farm.

The teacher will ask questions of the two students to have them explain the
pretend situation and tell their side of the story. After hearing both sides, all
the other students will get two colored rocks, blue means guilty and red
mean innocent. The jury of students will then cast their votes.

After the vote is read, the teacher will review the concepts learned today and
explain that this system of democracy and jury are still used in world today,
right here in the US too. The teacher will ask if there are any questions.

If there are no questions, the students will then do a worksheet for an
assessment.
Assessment:
The assessment for the day is a worksheet about democracy.
Worksheet on Democracy
Name
1. What does the word democracy mean?
2. Who appointed the archons?
3. Who is the man who helped start democracy?
4. What does the word jury mean?
5. How did it feel to be part of a jury and vote guilty or
innocent? Please explain your answer.
Lesson: A day at the Olympics
Day 3
Objective: Student will participate and experience what it would be like to be at the
very first Olympic Games held in Olympia.
Materials/Resources
-Large area such as a gym
-Old clothes (shirt, pants, hat)
-Noodles
-Paper plate discuses
- Plate shield
-Obstacle course
-Stick horse
-Tape
-Hula hoop
Procedure:

For today’s class, the teacher will be taking the students to a large area such
has a gym where the teacher will already have set up a series of obstacles
and events for the students.

Once the class as all arrived the teacher will welcome all the students to the
year 778 BC and to the very first Olympic Games right here in Olympia. The
teacher will tell all the students that they are male for the day because only
men and boys were allowed to participate in the Games.

Before doing any activities the teacher will explain that being in the gym is a
privilege and that students need to act appropriately.

The teacher will then separate students into groups of 5 students and each
group will be given an area of Greece to represent.

The teacher will then tell the students that today there will be five events for
the Olympic Games. One member of each team will participate in each event.
Originally only one event was held and then more were added on later. Most
of the events back then were running events so our Games are going to have
a slight twist. The five events will be as followed
-Chariot races: Students will be going through an obstacle
course with a stick house as their chariot to see how finishes
first.
-Javelin throw: Students will be skipping towards a line and
then throwing their noodle javelin to see which one goes the
farthest.
-Discus throw: Students will be standing in a ring and have to
throw their discus made out of two paper plates and some
beans for weight to see which discus goes the farthest.
-Hoplite race: Students will be putting on a shirt, hat, and pants
as their armor and grabbing a plate as their shield and skipping
around the gym arena to see who finishes first.
-Long jump: Student will be skipping up to the line and seeing
who can long the farthest.

After the teacher explains each event, the Games will begin. Each team will
get 1 point for 3rd place, 2 points for 2nd place, and 3 points for 1st place.

After the Games are finished, the teacher will award the winning and
congratulate everyone for a great effort.

The teacher will then explain that for an assignment, students will be writing
a 2-3 paragraphs journal entry on what it would be like to be present at the
First Olympic Games in Olympia in 776 BC in their writing notebooks. First
the students will do a rough draft before putting the paragraphs on their final
copy.
Assessment:
The assessment for this lesson is a journal entry that is at 2-3 paragraphs.
Lesson: Greek Gods and Goddess
Day 4 & 5
Objective: Students will identify and gain a basic understanding of different Greek
god and goddess. Students will be using the computer program prezi to put together
a presentation on one of the gods or goddess they choose after completing research
about them.
Materials/Resources
-Example prezi on Zeus
-Rubric for each student
-Books from the library on a variety of Greek gods, goddess, and mythology
-Computers
-Pictures of various Greek gods
Procedure:

The teacher will begin by hanging a handful of pictures (5-7) of Greek gods
and goddesses on the board. The teacher explain that today the students will
be learning about different gods and goddess worshiped by the Ancient
Greeks and then starting a project about one of the gods or goddess.

The teacher will explain how the Greeks worshipped their gods and
information about Greek mythology. The teacher will then discuss a little
about each of the gods/goddesses whose picture she has put on the board.
Some of the examples of the pictures would be Zeus, Athena, Hades, and
Poseidon.

After teaching about the gods and goddess, the teacher will explain the
project that the students will be working on for the next two days. The
students will be making a prezi about one god or goddess. First they will
research using the internet, books from the library, and their textbooks. Then
they will put together the presentation that will be presented to the class at
the end of the week.

The teacher will put together an example presentation on Zeus (so no
student can choose Zeus as their god) so the students know what to expect.

After finishing the presentation, student will get to choose the god or goddess
that they want to study. The order of who gets to pick first will be random
and the luck of the draw.


After each student has their god, the teacher will give each student a rubric
that has the requirements for the presentation as well as the due date. The
students will be given today and tomorrow to work on the project in class.
The remaining time in class, the students can begin researching. On day 2 the
students will be able to use a computer and start putting their presentation
together.
Assessment:
The assessment for this lesson is the prezi presentation that the students will
be completing.
Rubric for Prezi presentation
Information to include in
presentation
Point
Value
What are they the
god/goddess of?
5
What does he or she do?
5
Who is his/her family?
5
Three interesting facts
about them
5
Include at least 3 pictures
5
Put your name and date
on the project
5
Used the Prezi computer
program correctly
10
Used research from the
internet, books, and the
textbooks to help you with
your project
Turned project in on time
5
5
SelfTeacher
Evaluation Evaluation
Lesson: Greek Wars and Alexander the Great
Day 6
Objective: Students will be gain knowledge of who Alexander the Great was and how
he affected the Greek people. Students will also demonstrate knowledge of three
great wars fought in Ancient Greece by completing a Venn diagram comparing two
of the three wars.
Materials/Resources
-Book Alexander the Great by Demi
-Whiteboard
-Whiteboard markers
-3 big Venn diagram
Procedure:

The teacher will begin by reading the students parts of a story about
Alexander the Great and what made him great. The book is called Alexander
the Great written by Demi.

After reading the story the teacher will explain to the students that before
Alexander was ruler, the Ancient Greeks fought many wars for power. The
students will be taking notes on 3 different wars that occurred in Greece
from the year 1200 BC and 404 BC
-Greece vs. Trojans
-Persians vs. Greece
-Athens vs. Sparta

The teacher will be giving students information about each of the wars
including who fought, where is occurred, what was the outcome, and what
happened because of the war.

After finishing taking notes, the teacher will spilt the class into 3 groups. Each
group will be constructing a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting two of
the three Greek wars. The group will need to appoint a recorder and a time
watcher. The teacher will give the students 20 minutes to make a rough draft
and a final copy on the big Venn diagram provided by the teacher. Each
student will need to contribute to the project.

If there is enough time, the group will come up in the front of the class and
explain their Venn diagram.
Assessment:
The only assessment for this lesson is the teacher observing if all members of
the group are actively participating in the Venn diagram activity.
Example of one of the Venn diagrams
Athens vs.
Sparta
Greece vs.
Trojans
Both
Lesson: Everything else Greek
Day 7
Objective: Students will be learning other information pertaining to living in Ancient
Greece. Some of these topics include architectures, philosophers, poets like Homer,
frescoes, and the importance of the sea. Students will identify how this heritage has
been pasted on through the years.
Materials/Resources
-Paragraphs written on big construction paper
-Small pieces of construction paper, black and bright colors
-White crayons
-A quiz for every student
Procedure:

To begin the lesson, the teacher will reminding the students that there Prezi
project is due the next day and that the assessment for Ancient Greece will be
tomorrow.

The teacher will explain that today we are going to be going over more about
life during Ancient Greece and how some of these still exist in our lives today.

Around the room, the teacher will place big sheets of construction paper with
a short paragraph written on it. Each of the pieces of paper will have a
different topic about Greek life. Students will go around to each of the poster
and read the information. The students will be answering questions on a
short quiz about what they read. The topics for the quiz include
-The role that the sea played in Greece
-The first island settled in Greece
-Architecture
-Homer and his poetry
-Drama
-Philosophy

After completing the short quiz, the student will be doing a short art project
in which they will be drawing frescoes, or depictions of Greek life, on a vase
on construction paper. The students will first cut their vase shape out of
black construction paper. The students will then take a pencil and sketch out
their design before doing it in white crayon. After finishing their design, the
student will be gluing their vase to a piece of bright colored construction
paper. Students can use any image about Ancient Greek that we have learned
about.
Assessment:
The assessment for this lesson is the short quiz about the Greek heritage. The
art project will be full credit for completion of the project.
Quiz on Greek Heritage
Name
1. Why was it so much fastest to travel and trade using the sea?
2. When and where did the first civilization of Greece begin?
3. What are the three types of Greek columns used in Ancient architecture?
4. What did Homer write about in his poetry?
5. Name two of the four most famous playwrights in Ancient Greece?
6. How did philosophers learn?
Answers
1. The land was very mountainous
2. On the island of Crete about 5,000 years ago
3. Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
4. He wrote about war and the heroic deeds of men
5. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes
6. Philosophers learned by asking questions.
Lesson: Presentations and Assessment
Day 8
Objective: Student will be coming up in front of class and presenting the Prezi that
they developed about one god or goddess. After every student, the teacher will be
giving the students an assessment to see the knowledge they have gained over the
past week and a half.
Materials/Resources
- Computer
-Projector
-Assessment sheet for each student
Procedure:
 The class will begin by coming up in front of the room and sharing the Prezi
that they have completed about their god or goddess. The student will need
to go over the information in their presentation and the teacher needs to
remind the students to speak loud and clear.

After each student has presented the class with clap for them and continue
on to the next student until every student has gotten a chance to present
their Prezi.

After every student has gone, the teacher will hand out the assessment to the
student. The assessment will be short and simple and will consist of only two
questions, the driving questions from the first day of the unit.
-Why should we study the Ancient Greece civilization?
-What can we learn about our lives today through studying the
people that lived back then?

After completing the assessment, students will be handing it in to the teacher
to be graded.
Assessment:
The assessment for this lesson is the final assessment on the two driving
questions.
Assessment for Ancient Greece Unit
Name
1. Why should we study the Ancient Greece civilization?
2. What can we learn about our lives today through studying the people that lived
back then?