VIDEO LESSON PLAN 1

Introduction

• Contributions of Greek culture to Western civilization

• Two (2)-90 minute blocks and 30 minutes of another block

• Virginia SOL’s WHI.5e, f

o The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greece in terms of its impact on

Western civilization by

e) characterizing life in Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles;

f) citing contributions in drama, poetry, history, sculpture, architecture, science,

mathematics, and philosophy, with emphasis on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Cognitive Objectives

Students will:

• research one historical figure of Greece to acquire an understanding of his/her

contributions to Greek culture and Western civilization.

• create a video commercial detailing the cultural contributions to Western civilization of

their assigned historical figure using video editing software.

• develop an understanding of the contributions of the people of Greece to Western

civilization, including democracy, literature, history, art, science, mathematics,

philosophy, and architecture through watching and discussing the videos of all the

students.

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation

Materials/Technology:

• “Contributions of Greek Culture to Western Civilization” handout

• Digital projector and screen or whiteboard

VIDEO LESSON PLAN 2

• students’ laptops with Internet access, video editing software, and microphones

• students’ textbooks, World History: Patterns of Interaction

• materials for students to create scenery, props, and visuals if they wish

• video camera (There is only one for the class, but students can use their own or a digital

camera that takes video if they have one.)

Advanced Preparation:

• Organize students in groups of two prior to class to cover the fifteen historical figures

who are the subjects of the videos (lesson based on 30 students in the class).

o The historical figures are Pericles, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Homer, Herodotus,

Thucydides, Phidias, Archimedes, Hippocrates, Euclid, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato,

Aristotle, and a Greek architect

o Select partners based on personalities previously demonstrated in the classroom.

ƒ Pair outgoing students with more quiet students to bring out the personalities of

the quiet students.

o If there are more than 30 students, then add one student to the following assigned

people in this order: Pericles, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Homer.

o If there are less than 30 students, then take away the architect.

ƒ If there are less than 28 students, then take away Sophocles and use the video the

teacher created when it is time to view and discuss the Sophocles commercial.

• List on the classroom board key points about the video assignment:

o Commercials must be between 30 and 60 seconds long.

o Focus on your person’s contributions to Western civilization – What did they do that

still influences us today?

VIDEO LESSON PLAN 3

o Ideas for video content: acting, edited videos from the Internet, still photos,

animation, text, narration

Teaching and Learning Sequence

• Introduction/Anticipatory Set

o As students enter the room, teacher will direct them to sit beside their partner

according to the predetermined list of groups on the overhead display.

o Teacher will review the “Contributions of Greek Culture to Western Civilization”

handout that was assigned for reading as homework during the last class.

• Ask the students questions based on the handout ranging from recalling basic

facts to more analytical questions. Examples:

• What are Homer’s two most famous epics?

• Based on the picture in the handout, compare and describe the differences of

the three Greek columns.

o Teacher will clarify that the information covered in the handout is only the basic facts

about the historical figures and aspects of Greek culture, but more in-depth

information is necessary in order to completely understand how these people

contributed to Western civilization.

o Teacher will tell the students the reason they are in pairs and assigned to a Greek

historical figure is because they are going to create a video in the form of a

commercial with the purpose of convincing the audience (classmates) that their

person contributed the most to Western civilization.

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• Teacher will advise the students to think of the video like a political commercial

where the overall theme is, “Vote for me because I did _______ to contribute to

Western civilization.”

• Teacher will show the “Why Vote for Donald Greenleaf?” video at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaRwp39VuY0 as an example.

• Lesson Development

o Teacher will explain that each video needs to be between 30 and 60 seconds long –

the length of the average TV commercial.

• Teacher will point out that the Greenleaf video was only 20 seconds long, but it

included a lot of information.

o Teacher will explain that the commercial must include the accomplishments of the

person but the main focus is on what he/she did to contribute to Western civilization.

• What did they accomplish during their life?

• Where can we see evidence of their influence in today’s society?

• The video can include modern uses, pictures, or videos of the historic figure’s

contributions.

• Teacher will encourage the students to use their creativity to make the

commercials both entertaining and informative.

o Teacher will ask students to get out their laptops, and then the teacher will give a

demonstration on how to upload videos, pictures, and sounds into the video editing

software and edit them to make the final product.

• Teacher will answer any questions the students have about making videos.
VIDEO LESSON PLAN 5

o Students will research their assigned person in their textbook to get a general idea and

then on the Internet to develop the content of their commercial.

• Teacher will explain to the group assigned the Greek architect that they do not

have a specific person, so they can choose to create a fictional architect or use one

they find in their research. Focus the group on the building types and styles of

columns.

• Teacher will walk around the room while students are conducting research to

answer any questions, evaluate the progress of the groups, and point out the key

points of the assignment listed on the classroom board.

• Students will have the remainder of the class block to conduct their research and

brainstorm ideas for creating their commercial.

o Teacher will explain that for homework the students must complete their research and

be ready to start creating their commercials during the next class block.

• Students can start on their videos as homework if they wish, but they will have the

next class block to work on them.

• Teacher will encourage students to bring their own video cameras or digital

cameras that take videos if they want to use them during the next class.

o During the next class block, the pairs of students will work on creating their

commercials.

• There is one Sony Bloggie video camera for the class to use, but the students must

share and only use the camera when they are ready to record.
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o Teacher will walk around the room and assist the students with any technical video

editing or content questions. Teacher will also evaluate students’ progress and ask

questions to ensure that the students are meeting the assignment objectives.

o Teacher will explain that the students must finish their commercials for homework

but they have over the weekend to complete the assignment. The videos must be

uploaded to the class website by Monday or Tuesday’s class, depending on the block

schedule for the class.

o During Monday or Tuesday’s class block, the teacher will play all the commercials

for the class to view in the order they appear on the “Contributions of Greek Culture

to Western Civilization” handout to keep the topics organized together.

• Teacher will encourage students to take notes on the videos.

o All students will have a chance to ask questions of the creators of the commercials

after each viewing.

o Teacher will follow up with positive comments and if necessary, clarifying questions

to ensure the essential knowledge of the SOL Curriculum Framework was covered.

• Closure

o After watching all the videos, students will nominate Greek historical figures who

they thought had the most influence on Western civilization.

• Students who nominate a person must state why they believe their nominee was

influential.

o All students will vote by a show of hands for the historical figure they believe had the

most influence.
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• Teacher will tally the votes and include a separate tally for the number of boys

voting for each candidate.

• Teacher will create a list of the top three most influential Greeks based on the

votes of the entire class and a separate list of the top three candidates from the

boys-only tally.

• Is there a difference in the two votes?

• This exercise highlights a possible voting scenario in Athens because only

free adult males were allowed to vote, as previously covered under SOL

WHI.5c.

• Did only allowing men to vote contribute to Western civilization?

o Teacher will explain that the videos will remain on the class website, and the students

can use them along with their handout to study for the unit test.

Homework

After the first class block of research, students must complete their research for homework.

After the second class block of working on their videos, the students must complete their

commercials for homework and upload them to the class website before the following Monday

or Tuesday class.

Assessment

• Formative: Teacher will walk around the classroom while students are performing their

research and working on their videos to evaluate the progress of the research, the quality

of the Internet resources, and the materials student are selecting to put in their videos.

• Summative: The content of the lesson will be included on the unit test. Students will be

graded on their videos based on the following evaluation criteria:

VIDEO LESSON PLAN 8

o 30%: evidence of research beyond the textbook and handout

o 30%: accuracy of content

o 30%: contributions to Western civilization were clearly presented

o 10%: evidence of creativity and an attempt to be entertaining

References

Lesson plan adapted from:

Interview a famous Greek: Reconstructing the lives of the ancient Greeks. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/educational/lesson3.html

2001 Grolier Encyclopedia [computer software]. (2000).

Beck, R.B., Black, L., Krieger, L.S., Naylor, P.C., Shabaka, D.I. (2009). World History:
Patterns of Interaction (teacher’s edition). Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.

Kurtus, R. (2009). Archimedes: Early years and mathematics. Retrieved from

http://www.school-for-champions.com/biographies/archimedes.htm

Michaud, R. (n.d.). Do you like your job? Retrieved from

http://students.umf.maine.edu/~michaur/MATHWEBQUEST/index.html#Resources

Stohr-Hunt, P. (n.d.) Greek architecture. Retrieved from

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/greecerome/Greecearch1.html

Appended Materials

• “Contributions of Greek Culture to Western Civilization” handout

• Sophocles video example

WORLD HISTORY I
ANCIENT GREECE

Contributions of Greek Culture

To Western Civilization

Democracy
Pericles led Athens during its golden age, which occurred mostly between the
Persian and the Peloponnesian Wars and is sometimes referred to as the Golden
Age of Pericles. He had three goals: 1.) strengthen Athenian democracy; 2.)
hold and strengthen the empire; 3.) glorify Athens. Pericles extended democracy
where most adult males had an equal voice. After the Persian Wars, Pericles
had Athens rebuilt, and the Parthenon is an example of that reconstruction.

Drama
Aeschylus was a notable dramatist who wrote tragedies. His most famous work
was a trilogy called Oresteia, which was based on the family of Agamemnon and
examines the idea of justice.

Sophocles was a dramatist who wrote more than one hundred plays, including
the tragedies Oedipus the King and Antigone.

Poetry
Homer was a Greek storyteller who used the spoken word to tell his epics,
narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds. His works include the Iliad and the
Odyssey. The Trojan War is the backdrop of the Iliad.

History
Herodotus pioneered the accurate reporting of events. His book on the Persian
Wars is considered to be the first work of history.

Thucydides was the greatest historian of the classical age. He believed certain
types of events and political situations recur over time and studying those events
and situations would help in understanding the present.

Sculpture
Phidias worked on the Parthenon and sculpted the giant statue of Athena inside
the temple.

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WORLD HISTORY I
ANCIENT GREECE

Science
Archimedes was a Hellenistic scientist who
accurately estimated the value of pi, explained the
law of the lever, and invented the Archimedes screw
and the compound pulley.
Archimedes Screw

Hippocrates was a Greek physician who is often called the “father of medicine.”
He sought to rely on facts, observation, and experimentation in the diagnosis and
treatment of illness. Today, the Hippocratic oath serves as an ideal of ethics for
physicians.

Mathematics
Euclid was a mathematician who wrote the book Elements that contained 465
geometry propositions and proofs. His work is still the basis for courses on
geometry.

Pythagoras was the mathematician who is credited with

developing the theorem on right triangles, now known as the
Pythagorean Theorem, which states the square of the
hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the
squares of the other two sides.
Pythagorean Theorem

Philosophy
Socrates was a philosopher who believed that absolute standards exist for truth
and justice. He encouraged his students to examine their beliefs by asking a
series of leading questions. This question-and-answer approach to teaching is
now known as the Socratic Method. Socrates was tried for “corrupting the youth
of Athens” and condemned to death.

Plato was a student of Socrates who founded a school called the Academy. His
most famous written work was The Republic, and in it he set forth his vision of a
perfectly governed society.

Aristotle was a philosopher who questioned the nature of the world and of
human belief, thought, and knowledge. He opened a school in Athens called the
Lyceum. Aristotle’s work provides the basis of the scientific method used today.

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WORLD HISTORY I
ANCIENT GREECE

Architecture
The aim of classical Greek art and architecture was to express true ideals. To do
this, the Greeks used balance, harmony, and symmetry in their art and
architecture. The Greeks used a variety of columns in buildings to hold and
support the roofs. The picture below shows the types of columns you would see.
The Doric and Ionic (or Ionian) columns were used in ancient Greece while the
Corinthian column was used in ancient Rome. Many buildings in the United
States, especially public buildings, still use these column styles today.

For more information on Greek columns, please go to:

http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/dictionary/ClassicalOrders.html

The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, and it is the most
prominent example of classical Greek architecture. Note the use of Doric
columns.

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WORLD HISTORY I
ANCIENT GREECE

References

2001 Grolier Encyclopedia [computer software]. (2000).

Beck, R.B., Black, L., Krieger, L.S., Naylor, P.C., Shabaka, D.I. (2009). World History:
Patterns of Interaction (teacher’s edition). Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.

Kurtus, R. (2009). Archimedes: Early years and mathematics. Retrieved from

http://www.school-for-champions.com/biographies/archimedes.htm

Michaud, R. (n.d.). Do you like your job? Retrieved from

http://students.umf.maine.edu/~michaur/MATHWEBQUEST/index.html#Resourc
es

Stohr-Hunt, P. (n.d.) Greek architecture. Retrieved from

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/greecerome/Greecearch1.
html