Title: New Rules
Subject: Social Studies
Grade Level: 6

Overview: Students will compare and contrast their lives to the lives of the Ancient Greeks and create a new society name  with new rules.  This lesson may be used when you are teaching democracy to better understand the concept of “democracy”.

Objectives: Through comparing and contrasting students will be able to concur whether they would have wanted to live during the Ancient Grecian times and infer what rules they would want to use in their new society. Also, this lesson will allow children to understand that democracy has been used since the ancient times.

Resources and Materials: Any Social Studies Text or content area book discussing democracy

Internet Address: http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greeklife.html

Activities:
1. Access the Web site: “Ancient Greece.”
2. Inform the students they are to compare and contrast their life to the life of the Ancient Greeks. Advise them to take notes while on the site.
3. Group students into five groups. Assign a selection to each of the groups. Group choices: Sparta, Athens,Cornith, Argos, Megara. All students will read “Meet the Greeks”.
4. Each team of students will complete a compare and contrast chart---comparing themselves to the Greeks.
5. After completing the chart the group will answer the following questions: Would you have wanted to live during the time of Ancient Greece? And why or why not? What can we learn from the Ancient Greeks? What rules would you want to adopt to the year 2005?
6. Each of the groups will share their information with the entire class. After sharing, the students will return to their groups to create “New Rules” for their new society.  Rules will be displayed on Chart Paper--title of new society will also be created by the students.

Additional lesson ideas are found linked to the site.

Evaluation: Teacher observation while working on compare and contrast and completion of “New Rules”.

Created by: Christine Gialamas-Antonucci
Last Updated on 11/28/05