Melissa Suarez
November 5, 2013
EDSE 457
Lesson Plan #3: Greek, Roman, Judaism, and Christianity
CA Standards:
10.1.1 Analyze the similarities and differences in Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman
views of law, reason and faith, and duties of the individual.
Objective:
Students will analyze the differences and similarities of Judeo-Christian views and
Greco-Roman views to make connections about the influence these views had on
morality, values, and law.
Language Objective:
Students will analyze Judeo-Christian views and Greco-Roman views by writing the
differences and similarities, and by writing how such views have influenced law and
morality in a group activity.
Warm-Up:
Students will come into class and answer the following warm-up question through
writing and by doing the Think-Pair-Share activity.
 In your own words explain what you think it means to be “moral.” What are
some examples of “morals?” What other words can you use to describe “morals.”
Students will write their answer, then share their answers with a partner, and then
share with the class. I will draw on the board a brainstorm web with the word “moral”
in the center. As students share their answers I will write down their answers in the
bubbles around the word “moral.”
Ex.
Student
Answer
To be a
good
person.
Moral
Student
Answer
To follow
rules &
the law.
Rationale:
Students are answering the warm-up question through Think-Pair-Share because
this activity gives students the opportunity to express what they know through
discussion and writing. By listening to a peer’s answer exposes the student to a
different perspective about other ways to define the word or other meanings it may
have. Writing down different answers from different students on the board will
further expose students to multiple meanings and ways of defining “moral.”
Since the lesson will bring up topics related to developments of values, faith, reason,
and views, it is important that students to think about their own views about values,
faith, reason, etc. I am also attempting to build on schema to present the lesson in a
way (scaffold if necessary) that will further expand their understanding of the word
moral.
PowerPoint Lecture:
A PowerPoint lecture will be provided to students as their main source of
information about Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian views. There will be 11 slides
in total that consists of the following information on each slide:
Slide 1: Title page is “Greco-Roman & Judeo-Christian View,” that summarizes two
main perspectives that students will learn about. On this slide the main concepts are
introduced.
Slide 2: An outline of broad concepts (perspectives/views) that students will learn
about and breaks down “Greco-Roman” to Greek and to Roman views. “JudeoChristian” is also broken down to Judaism and to Christianity. Four pictures are also
included; that can describe four main concepts that the outline breaks down. First
picture is an animation of a philosopher or a Greek God, whichever students may
feel it is. The second animation is of a Roman soldier. The third picture is another
animation of items that are usually associated with Judaism. The fourth picture is a
common image of Jesus, but this picture is photo-shopped to have Jesus pointing,
with thumbs up, and winking. On this slide, students will be informed of the order
they will learn the concepts.
Slide 3: An outline of concepts that describe government and classical Greece in the
5th and 4th century. And, a picture of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece—a huge
landmark. On this slide, concepts will be defined orally, students will write as they
are discussed and described.
Slide 4: Lists main Greek philosophers during the 5th-4th century that have influence
government policy and society. There are also three pictures of statues of Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle. On this slide, background information and the influence of each
philosopher will be described orally as students write this information.
Slide 5: An outline of main concepts that describes the Roman Republic. Also, two
pictures—one of Roman Republic that illustrates how Romans organized and met
with one another to make laws—the second picture of the Roman Code of Law, an
engraved stone, that illustrates how Romans wrote laws in documents. On this slide,
concepts on the slide will be described and discussed orally as students write this
information.
Slide 6: An outline of main concepts that describe Judaism. There is also a picture of
the Torah, Menorah, and Star of David. Again, students write as the concepts and
ideas on the slides are described and discussed orally.
Slide 7: An outline of main concepts and events that describe origins of Christianity.
A picture of the cross, the bible, and three candles that usually illustrate Christianity
is on the slide. Students continue to write notes down as ideas and concepts of
Christianity are discussed and defined orally.
Slide 8: A Venn diagram titled “Greek and Roman Views.” The left circle is titled
“Greek Views” and the right circle is titled “Roman Views.” On this slide students
draw a Venn diagram on their notes to compare and contrast Greek and Roman
views.
Slide 9: A Venn diagram titled “Judaism and Christianity.” The left circle is titled
“Jewish Views” and the circle on the right is titled “Christian Views.” On this slide
students will draw a Venn diagram on their notes to compare and contrast Judaism
and Christianity.
Slide 10: A Venn diagram titled “Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian.” The circle on
the left is titled “Greco-Roman Views” and the circle on the right is titled “JudeoChristian Views.” On this slide students draw the Venn diagram on their notes to
compare and contrast Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian views. We fill out the Venn
diagrams together as a class.
Slide 11: There are four questions in total on the last slide. We will go over each
question one by one. Students answer the questions on the last slide in writing, then
discuss answers as a class. We move on to the next question, again, students write
their answers and we discuss, and so on.
Rationale:
Concepts on the slides are presented in a somewhat chronological order and
categorically so that students are
Slide 1: Students are right away exposed to the main and broad concepts, GrecoRoman and Judeo-Christianity. Students need to be exposed to the main and broad
concepts first so that they understand and see the bigger picture of what they are
about to learn. As opposed to begin with a lecture of the classical era, then
Slide 2: This outline is breaks down Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christianity for
students to see that these concepts are combinations of other ideas/views/concepts.
Students are able to take a closer look of the picture once they explicitly told that
these concepts break down to four other important concepts. The outline is also
somewhat chronological and organized by category so that they understand the
order in which ideas and believes within each concept developed. Also, they are in
category so that students understand better the differences and similarities of eac
view.
Slide 3-7: Within each (Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian) views, only main
concepts/ideas/believes/events are on the slides for students to quickly write
down. Explicit or specific information is not provided on the PowerPoint because it
will be provided orally. Information is provided orally because students sometimes
focus too much on writing every single word down from the slides and miss on
information I am giving them orally; which is why the PowerPoint is more like an
outline of broad concepts. I will explicitly point out when it is important for students
to write and what they should write. Students see the concept and write the concept
to learn which concepts they need to know. As students listen to the teacher
describe and explain concepts, students will write down the
explanation/description to help them process and learn about these concepts.
Everything students write down is to help them process and learn the information.
Students write notes how they want to write them because it will allow them to
express how they understand the information. Students are writing to learn.
Slide 8-10: This first Venn diagram helps students express in writing how they
understand the differences and similarities between Greek and Roman views. For
students to truly understand the differences and similarities between both views,
they need a graphic organizer that constructs them to focus on those differences and
similarities. The same goes for the second Venn diagram about Judaism and
Christianity. The same also goes for the third Venn diagram, Greco-Roman and
Judeo-Christian views. In the third Venn diagram, however, puts the two main
concepts back together. Students back again at the bigger picture. These Venn
diagrams help students analyze the differences and similarities of each
view/concept. Students write down these differences and similarities to learn how
to compare and contrast these views/concepts. Again, students write to learn.
Slide 11: These questions stimulate thinking about how “reason” and “values” are
defined by each view. Students also need to critically think about how philosophy
and religion are associated with one another, and think about what makes them
different and similar. Most importantly, these questions will guide students to think
about how they relate to these views and helps students form their own opinions;
whether they agree/disagree or like/dislike with these views.
Students answer these questions in the end to think about the different types of
reason there are and who uses which reasons.
Students also need to think about how some define values.
Students need to critically think about how philosophy and religion are associated
with one another, and think about what makes them different and similar.
Not only that but students will probably identify with at least one idea in a concept. I
want students to write to express which concepts they identify. It is important that
students write what they identify with because it will help them write to connect.
And, going through the questions will allow me assess how students understand the
content.
Activity:
Create Your Own Society:
In this activity, students will be given a handout on how to make their own society
based on one of the following perspectives:
-Judaism
-Christianity
-Greek Law
-Roman Law
Students are divided into groups of 4 to 5. Students need to make up 7 rules
minimum. They will write down why they came up with these rules and how they
are associated with the religion or philosophy they were assigned to. Students will
draw and color how their city/society will look like. Students will not only use their
notes from lecture, but they will also use the textbook as a resource. Students will
be provided with materials such as a poster board, blank paper, and markers.
Rationale:
It is essential that students are not just able to write down about what they just
learned. But, it is also important that they talk about what they learn, which is why I
created a very interactive class activity. In this activity they will expand their
schema. Students learned about different views and perspectives. It is important
that students adopt and relate what they learned to real life society, by creating
their own rules and laws. They will create their own rules based on a certain view,
which will expand and further their schema of these concepts. Students write rules
of their own society to learn.
This activity also allows students to express their understanding in not just writing
rules, but being creative through art—by drawing/coloring how their city will look
like.
This activity also will help me assess students’ levels of thinking and how they
understand the content. Using the textbook also helps the students to not only seek
information, but use the book to confirm their understanding of the content.
Closing Activity:
Students will present with the society they created with their group to the rest of
the class.
Rationale:
This allows students to express how they understand the content. As students
present their creative ideas, other students are exposed to more ways of expressing
their schema. This is also an exciting and engaging for students to look at other
students’ work.
Work Cited
Source of CA Social Studies Standards:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/histsocscistnd.pdf
PowerPoint Resources:
Judaism Image:
http://us.123rf.com/450wm/bruno1998/bruno19981212/bruno1998121200016/16819562cartoon-illustration-showing-a-jewish-hanukkah-menorah-alongside-a-traditionalspinning-top-and-the-.jpg
http://www.islamdenouncesantisemitism.com/images/bcg8.jpg
Christianity Image:
http://godswillchurch.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/microsoft_christianity.jpg
Plato Image:
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/history/carnegie/plato/plato_bust.jpg
Socrates Image:
http://www.livius.org/a/1/greeks/socrates_louvre.JPG
Aristotle Image:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/
Parthenon Image:
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/parthenon-and-the-acropolis-landmark.htm
Greek Philosopher Cartoon:
http://www.123rf.com/photo_7905634_illustration-of-the-ancient-greek-philosopher.html
Roman Cartoon:
http://1.s3.envato.com/files/51437027/roman%20legionary_preview.jpg
Venn Diagram:
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/science/cell/2venn.gif
Activity Idea:
-From my 5th grade class, Ms. Murrell, create your own Utopia.