Do you know more about Ancient Greece than the children?

【Star Arrow, Saint Fighter】

Athena, Parthenon, Zeus, Poseiden……

You may have encountered these familiar words in Grade 3?

And also these,

Aristocracy, Helots, Oligarchy, Forced migration……

But are these specialised words actually required to be known by  Grade 4 students?

Let’s take a closer look at the IPC Unit “The Great, the bold, the brave” and see how these words relate to the history of Ancient Greece and Sparta.

From the battle of the Gods to Ancient Greece

Perseuse, Hades, Zeus, Medusa, Athena … Many of the children first encountered these Olympian Gods through watching the movie “Clash of the Titans”.

After watching the movie, the children recalled the plot of th emovie in their exercise books.

【The children started watching the movie after thinking of some questions they wanted answered.】

The film introduced the children to Ancient Greek mythology and also inspired them to ask more questions. The children recorded the things they already knew (Knowledge) and questions they wanted answered on the KWL chart and arranged them around the classroom. As the unit progresses their questions are answered one by one.

【The KWL chart shows the children’s knowledge that they already knew, the questions they wanted answered and what have they learnt as the unit progresses. For example, this child says he knows that Zeus is PErseus’s father and wants to know how long the history of Ancient Greece? Why did the people of Ancient Greece think of Gods?】

When children type “Ancient Greece” in the search engine, the terms Athens and Sparta appear in the search box automatically. As two important city states in ancient Greece, what are the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta?

【In the Venn diagram, the children compare the differences between Athens and Sparta: political system, democratic system and social structure. In these two city states, slaves were at the bottom of society】

【Many children completed the challenging task using different colours to mark the land, ocean, high mountains and depressions on the map.】

Ancient Greece and Sociology

Ancient Greece is the birthplace of Western civilization. The people in the sixth century BC Greece were engaged in a variety of occupations and wore a variety of clothing. There were people of all different social classes. Different genders enjoyed different social status.

【Every student studied a social class in Ancient Greece.】

The children studying the same social class formed a group to exchange their research findings and thoughts, then completed the information poster together.

【”Spartan Women are so cool!” by Kelly, Cici and Carlo of Grade 4A】

【Research posters showing all the different social classes found in Ancient Greece are displayed in the classroom.】

As the children learned about the different social classes in Ancient Greece they were able to begin to form a social structure pyramid.

【This pyramid compares the social classes found in Ancient Athens and Chinese families】

Architecture and Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek architecture is one of the main elements of European architecture. In order to better understand different architectural styles, the children learn to draw ancient Greek temples, which involves the knowledge of the Mathematical terms “parallel” and “vertical”. These terms were learned in the fourth grade Math class.

【Practicing using a right-angled triangle ruler to draw a vertical line.】

After the main structure of the temple was finished, the children painted statues, labeling the names of the various parts of the roof and the types of columns.

The Ancient Greece study unit is still going on. After learning about the geography, society and architecture of Ancient Greece, the children are about to start learning its history. Interdisciplinary learning, cross-cultural comparison, group cooperation and exploration all make learning in Shangyin both excellent and enjoyable!

 History CAN be TERRIFIC in Shangyin!