Greek Education & Culture Lesson Plan

1.  Descriptive Data

Teacher ___Dustin Dearman____  Subject Area _Social Studies________  Date _12-3-12____ 

Grade Level _7___  Unit Title __Culture__________   Lesson Number _1 

2.     Plan the Lesson:

      Learning Purpose: To discuss and debate culture differences between Greeks in Athens and those in Sparta, primarily the differences between the intellectual state and a warrior state. What are their values, cultural identity and how did their institutions reflect their culture?

Standards (list local, state, or national standards which will be met upon completion of this

lesson):

H.6.7.30
Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta (e.g., the role of citizens, social classes, Olympic games)

H.6.7.3
Investigate characteristics of civilizations (e.g., writing, development of communities, government, religion, specialized workers, advanced technology, economic systems, education)

H.6.7.7
Examine contributions that past civilizations made to the modern world (e.g., arts, architecture, aqueducts, legal system, math, language, science, transportation)

Common Core Writing Standard

3. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

a.  Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what
is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/ effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

c.  Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

e.  Establish and maintain a formal style.

f.  Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

4. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.

d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.

Goal(s): Students will have an appreciation and understanding how culture from ancient civilizations influence our present-day lives. Students will press themselves to ask “Social Scientist Questions” Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How?

Lesson Objective(s): Students will construct foldables noting differences in Athenian and Spartan Culture and values based on research from library resources. Students will identify each city-state based on a cultural moray or value system with 85% accuracy. Students will write a paragraph from the perception of a child attending the Spartan Agoge using 4-7 details from history backing up the historical accuracy of the short story.

Essential Questions:

How does culture affect a civilization? In what ways does culture shape governments, education, and other institutions? What would it have been like to go to school in Athens/Sparta?

      Related Subject Connections:

            Writing/Research/Scientific reasoning/Arts

Modifications for special needs and gifted: For special needs studetns, a foldable will already be created. They would just have to fill in the notes. For some students who have difficulty taking notes, they will be provided. Also, lower level books will be available for students to read. For gifted students, I would ask them to design a short play using puppets or with themselves as actors to identify different cultural values in either Athens or Sparta.

Assessment of Student Learning:  Formative assessment will be conducted in two ways, 1) through the foldables, the students will find six identifying characteristics of each civilizations 2) through 4-7 accurate examples of Agoge life.

Materials and Equipment needed: Cardboard paper foldables, research materials, pencil.

3.    Implement the Lesson:

      Grouping for lesson: _x_ whole group _x_ small group _x_ individual

(__5_ minutes) Set

How does culture affect a society? What aspects of our society would be different if our culture and values were different?

 (_10_ minutes) Making the Content Comprehensible (C² ):  

Using foldables, find and identify six characteristics of Athenian and Spartan Culture which make them unique.

       (_25__ minutes) Group Activity:

       Students can work in small groups or individually to research.

      

       (15 minutes) Independent Activity:

       Students will write a first-person historical fiction narrative of a child going through school in either Athens or Sparta.

4.      Conclude and Extend the Lesson:  (NMSA Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)

(_5_ minutes) Closure:

Gather students to share their thought about the differences between Athenian and Spartan life. They will share their foldables and their stories. What were the Spartan’s main cultural values? Athens? How do those values affect daily life, government, education, etc.?

State & District Policies

Parental and family involvement in schools is needed for a nurturing, affective, positive learning atmosphere. Without parental support, whether it is with after-school events or in-class academics, the full potential of a school in not realized. School boards and state policies can have an impact as to what and how local schools involve parents and the community.

The Saint Paul Public School District in Middletown, Conn., realized this need when it adopted its Family Involvement Policy in 2006. The policy’s purpose was made clear by its premise statement, “The Board believes that the involvement of families in the children’s educations every year…has positive impact on the student’s success in school.”

This revised policy directly references the six pillars of parental involvement while also adding three bullets as to the goals of the policy. The Family Involvement Policy requires each school to plan, strategize and organize ways to better involve and activate parents within the school concerning specific elements: parenting, communication, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and community collaboration. The goal of this policy is to increase participation and opportunities for parental involvement within the school and recognize that the school, students and parents share the responsibility for each child’s education.

The Board understands that a supportive home environment is vital for student success; varied and persistent communication is key to make the home-school connection work; active parental support through volunteering improves the environment around the school; connecting what is being taught in the classroom to the home will help parents and teachers educate students; all parties benefit when parents take an active role in decisions in and around the school and that schools and families are part of a larger community. When schools, families and communities work together, they strengthen student achievement and the school’s role in the community structure.

This policy’s positive attribute is that it requires each school to make its own, unique plan under general, sweeping paradigms. It is not a heavy-handed, top-down edict, but a comprehensive, building-level approach. The school board does not tell each school how they will involve parents in volunteering or how schools and teachers are to communicate with the community. It simply requires the school to have a plan with the goal of increasing opportunities of parental participation.

Each school within a school district is unique. Some districts, like Little Rock, may be a mix of neighborhood-centered elementary schools and magnet schools that have a wide-arrangement of students from different communities both inside and outside the city limits. This policy recognizes that a one-size fits all approach may not be best for all schools at all grade levels.

The challenge of this policy is to whom do they submit such a plan and who is to oversee that each school is following the guidelines set by the Board. Also, who in the school is responsible for producing such a document and under what umbrella of research are they to base their strategies? While these questions do linger, ultimately, it is the individual schools responsibility, and by association, the principal’s duty to decide what is the best approach for their school.

Overall, this is a satisfactory policy. As stated earlier, it is not heavy handed, but it creates clear areas of focus, primarily the six types of parental involvement. Its simple goal of increasing participation and opportunities within the school is a positive first step toward improving parental involvement. It is a comprehensive approach that allows each individual PreK-12 school to enact building-level policies that best suit the unique nature of that school. It recognizes a neighborhood-based elementary school has opportunities and challenges that a large, sprawling high school may not share.

Collaborating With The Community

Collaboration is Vital

Public schools have a responsibility to the community they serve. The People pay taxes that directly fund a school’s daily operations. Often, the students live in the communities where the school is located. Their parents may have even attended the same school years ago. The teachers often have taught in the same district for several years. Business leaders, educators, doctors, community leaders all have a connection to the public school system. All people are a product of one system or another.

A school itself is a community (a community of learning). When talking about community, one may also evoke thoughts of collaboration, a common purpose, and shared goals, cultures and ideas. Because a school is of the community it represents, it should work to strengthen the bonds that connect the two. This is why “Collaborating with Community” is one of Joyce L. Epstein’s six types of family and community involvement. Epstein recognizes the importance a school has in the community and vice versa.

In short, Collaborating with Community means a school program should a) accept the impact education has to the community at large and b) integrate those resources provided within the surrounding community to strengthen school programs, family involvement, and student learning (Epstein, 2011.)

Ways To Collaborate

There are several ways to accomplish this pillar of Epstein’s framework. First, schools must be aware that students are not just members of the school but also interact in extracurricular activities on a daily basis. Students and families go to church, participate in charity functions, join after-school programs both on- and off-site, frequent local businesses, work at colleges and universities, play and coach youth sports, join civic organizations like Rotary or Lions Clubs, participate in city and regional public forums, etc. The list goes on and on.

The community can help provide for the needs of students who are in a low socioeconomic environment. Churches and food banks can donate resources to needy students. At the same time, the school can organize food, coat and fan drives for those institutions as well as nursing homes or other public housing. The local symphony orchestra or playhouse can volunteer time and resources to educate students in the arts, perform at assemblies and offer summer programs. In turn, school choirs, theatre troupes and bands can perform in civic forums such as parades, and fundraiser events. Cities and other private institutions (i.e. Boys and Girls Clubs) sponsor youth sports. They are ways to mentor children, offer avenues to stay active and learn perseverance. After-school programs offer tutoring, social skill development and other vital services. When in partnership with such organizations, teachers and schools can reinforce the values of learning. Teachers can communicate where students struggle academically or behaviorally to help create a consistent environment for the students.

The Influence of Higher Education

The role of universities in local schools is of great importance. In Arkansas, there are few outlying areas that aren’t within 90 miles of a college or university. The diversity of educational programs, the specific areas of interest, and research are goldmines for local schools. Universities are also where are teachers are hatched. Pre-service education programs rely heavily on observations and internships within local schools. They are great resources for the soon-to-be teachers as well as those already in the profession. The integration of improved theories and best practices helps those already teaching to improve their pedagogical knowledge. Science departments can assist in district science fairs. English and math departments can provide tutoring in writing and algebra. The theatre department can volunteer time for workshops and a space to perform.

In Fayetteville, a local elementary school, not more than two blocks from the University of Arkansas, participated in a reading and literacy program connecting students to the university’s athletic programs. It was called Book Hogs. The goal of the program was to engage students in reading. The elementary students were tasked to read for a certain amount of hours to reach an escalating set of goals. Also, athletes from all the university’s athletic programs would volunteer their time once every other week and read to the classes. It was a hit. The college students discussed the sport they played and the amount of time and preparation involved. They spoke about achieving goals and reaching for dreams. They also talked about their course work and what they wanted out of life after playing collegiate athletics.

The students kept a log, similar to a reading journal, detailing the books and authors read as well as the minutes spent silently reading. As a result, reading always spiked after a Book Hog athlete came to the class. As a reward, those students who reached certain goals (nearly all of the students) were treated to a field trip to the indoor football facility. They played games with the athletes, met the players and some coaches, ran football drills and had a whale of a time. Each student was given a T-shirt which athletes signed as a parting gift.

Promoting Diversity

This is just one example of how this particular school collaborated with the community. There are thousands of examples. At Aurora 7 Elementary School in Boulder, Colo., they organize a school-wide international fair. The school’s population is diverse with students from every inhabited continent on the planet in mass. Each classroom represented one of those countries. Students studied the country’s history, created flags, identified important historical figures, and learned about the culture.

On the night of the fair, each classroom was decorated as a mirror into that country. When you entered the school doors, each person was given a passport to be stamped upon entering each classroom. In the cafeteria, native food dishes were served so all the families could have a taste each nation’s cuisine. Parents and their children came cloaked in native formal dress. Parents also gave short tutorials on language. By the end of the night, everyone was able to say “Hello,” “Good night,” “Yes,” and “No,” in 20 languages. It was more than a mere demonstration of diversity.

It was a celebration.

Conclusion

In both Fayetteville and Boulder, the schools utilized the community at-large and other organizations to achieve a goal of community involvement. Whether that goal is narrow – like engaging students to read – or more broadly – to celebrate diversity – both programs were effective. They utilized a deep treasure of resources to bring the school and community together for the purpose of educating students and providing life-long learning experiences.

Work Cited

Epstein, J. L. (2011). School, family, and community partnerships: preparing educators and improving schools. Philadelphia, PA: Westview Press.

King Tater

By Dustin Dearman

A head-doctor named Piaget,

Saw learning his own way,

He mapped out four stages,

Into certain ages,

A philosophy still used today

A French baby plays Peek-a-Boo,

Asks Mom, Where did you geaux?

When mommy appears,

The child cries, Dear!

I love playing with you.

The toddler ran out of luck,

Thrown in jail for hitting a duck,

Peeks through the bars,

Sees lots of cars,

Calls to daddy, Look, truck.

Tweens have their own way,

Smarter now, most say.

Molding lots of shapes,

But knows for chrissakes,

It’s still the same ball of clay

An adult wore many hats,

Saw the world in abstract,

It’s called formal operations,

Piaget’s final station,

That’s all I’ll say about that

Other thinkers came later

So, give credit and don’t be a hater

We have, Erikson and Skinner

Pavlov and his pup are both winners

But to me, Piaget was King Tater.