National First Ladies' Library
Digging up the Past: Sir Arthur Evans and the Palace at Knossos
Middle schoolers explore the excavations of the Palace of Knossos on the Island of Crete. They create a simulated news broadcasting on the work of Sir Arthur Evans and his colleges. In their news investigation, learners cover such topics...
Curated OER
From Greece to Main Street
Students consider the influence of the Greeks on American architecture. In this American Greek Revival architecture lesson, students identify the attributes of architectural style as they compare the Parthenon with the Lincoln Memorial....
Curated OER
Sculpting a Modern Hero
Middle schoolers examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles. In this visual arts lesson, students choose a modern hero and create a sculpture that features the hero’s identity and attributes.
Curated OER
Referencing the Classical Past
Learners discuss the sculptural group of Three Goddessesby Joseph Nollekens in a study of the classical past. In this Classical history lesson, students describe the three figures in the painting and read an excerpt for the story the art...
Curated OER
Copper Tooling
Students examine different examples of Mycenaean masks. They discuss the history of the masks and why they might have been made. They give their opinions and their responses are recorded.
Curated OER
Prometheus, the Firebringer
Students explore the world of Greek mythology by studying briefly each of the Gods.
They explore the visual world of Greek mythology in ancient art and architecture and create original play-lets based on authentic myths through creative...
Curated OER
Introduction to Greek Theatre
Students create a tableau for a Greek myth. In this introduction to Greek theatre instructional activity, students discuss the history of Greek theatre and tableau and complete a handout. Students work in groups to choose a myth and...
Curated OER
Goddesses Are Personifications Too!
Students discover the use of personification as a way of expressing ideals. In this Language Arts lesson, students create an allegorical depiction of a contemporary ideal. Students write labels that clearly support the concepts that...
Curated OER
A Dash of Folk, A Pinch of Fairy Recipes for Playmaking
Young scholars examine the importance of oral traditions while reading various fairy and folk tales. Given a piece of clay, they can mold it into any shape they want and pass it to their neighbor which keeps building the object. They...
Curated OER
The Great Debate
Students research and debate the British Museum's ownership of the friezes from the Parthenon and Acropolis. Art controversy is discussed in this one-day lesson involving three groups of students within the class.
Curated OER
Colored Pencil Repoussé
Artists employ a basic metalworking technique by embossing lines and textures into a soft metal. They look for examples of embossed metals in historical and contemporary examples. This fascinating process has been used by many cultures...
Curated OER
Morality "Tails" East and West: European Fables and Buddhist Jataka Tales
Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...
Curated OER
The Fates
In this language arts worksheet, students read the article and define the concepts of life by comparing the parts of life that culminates in death.
Curated OER
Italian Renaissance
Fifth graders explore the Italian Rensissance in this six lessons unit. The prominent citizens, the ideas, values, art, philosophy, and literature of the are seen as a rediscovery of Ancient Greek and Roman times.
Curated OER
Exploring & Creating Mythology
Students read and compare mythological stories from ancient cultures from around the world. In small groups they read a myth and present the storyline and themes to the class, and write an original mythological story of their own...
Curated OER
The Olympic Games
Students research the history of the Olympics and the various countries that have hosted the games. They obtain information about some of the sports featured in the Olympics. Students then create a brochure using Microsoft Publisher.
Curated OER
Coin Content
Students calculate ancient Greek coin values as compared to their weight, equivalence in grain, and determine their worth today. They explain how to calculate fractions of a given weight and how to use decimal numbers.
Newspaper in Education
The Iliad: A Young Reader Adventure
Is The Iliad part of your curriculum? Check out a resource that offers something for those new to teaching the classic and those with lots of experience using Homer's epic. Plot summaries, discussion questions, activities abound in this...
NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.
Curated OER
Rooting One's Way To Meaning
Students use a thesaurus on the internet to explore the meanings of Greek and Latin roots. They find definitions of given words, draw a concept map for root words, and write four synonyms for each word. Students discover how Latin and...
Curated OER
The Odyssey of a CoinC
High schoolers create a fictitious newspaper article to document the travels of an ancient Greek coin. They evaluate the economic conditions that existed in ancient Greece and analyze the impact Alexander the Great had on the ancient world.
Curated OER
Explaining a Legend
Learners explain the place of the legend of Herakles in ancient Greek life and compare ancient and modern legends in an essay.
Curated OER
The Renaissance
Fifth graders examine the rise of the Renaissance and the contributions and roles of various groups such as ancient Greeks, Muslim scholars, the aristocracy, the Catholic Church, and tradesmen. They develop and write a report on a...