A Day at the Ancient Olympics
Grade Levels: 6 - 8
Overview
Students explore an online resource and learn how athletes from different
ancient Greek city-states would behave at the Olympic Games.
Objective
Students will learn about the lifestyles, attitudes, and behavior of people in an ancient civilization.
Materials
Procedures
- Begin the lesson by having students share what they know about the Olympic Games. Where did they begin? When did they begin? What was their original purpose? Tell students that they are going to write a screenplay for a television drama about the Olympic Games in ancient Greece.
- Have students form pairs or small groups and distribute the A Day at the Olympics worksheet. Tell students to find profiles of the Olympic participants from each city-state and to use the worksheet to take notes on them. These notes will help students develop characters for their screenplay later on.
- When students have finished taking notes, give them ample time in their
groups to plan their screenplays. Instruct them to begin by writing brief
sketches of the characters and a short synopsis of the plot. Encourage them
to base their sketches and plots on the information they acquired from the
site as well as on their own imaginations. If time allows, have them write
complete screenplays and read them aloud, or circulate
them for others to read.
Extension
- Discover cross-curricular lessons and activities in the Olympics theme.
- If you have access to equipment, students can produce videos based on their screenplays. Have them cast each other in the roles.
Provided by Scott Foresman, an imprint of Pearson, the world's leading elementary educational publisher. Its line of educational resources supports teachers and helps schools and districts meet demands for adequate yearly progress and reporting.
