Subject: Social Studies
Lesson Length: 1 hour
Topic: Greek City-States
Brief Description: Students will identify the similarities and differences between the Greek city-states, Sparta and Athens.
Know Before You Start: Students should have some understanding of the different city-states that developed throughout Ancient Greece; specifically Athens and Sparta.
Hook:
- Display the words: men, women, and children.
- Brainstorm what daily life looks like for these three groups of people in America today.
- Which responses would not exist in Sparta or Athens?
- Which responses would only exist in either Sparta or Athens?
- Imagine and discuss what life must have been like during Ancient Greek times.
Activity:
- Have students work in pairs to create a two-panel comic comparing one aspect of life in Athens or Sparta with their own life and experiences. Topics may include: government, gender roles, role of children, etc.
- Panel 1: Using the sample comic as a guide, depict one aspect of life in Athens or Sparta.
- Panel 2: Illustrate how the depiction in Panel 1 compares to your current life. For example, you might depict your appreciation for the right to vote in our country.
Closure:
- Have student pairs briefly present their comics to the class.
- Have the Athens comics go first, then the Sparta comics.
- As an exit ticket, have students decide which city-state they would prefer to be a part of and why.
Differentiation:
- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
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Allow students to use a Venn Diagram to compare life in Ancient Greece to the present day.
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Provide visuals as needed.
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Provide sentence frames as needed.
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Allow students to work in small groups.
Suggested Content Packs:
Make a comic about Ancient Greece
Suggested Story Starters:
