Download The Greek World, 500-440 BC - lesson outlines

THE GREEK WORLD, 500 – 440 BC: LESSON PLANS
WEEK 1
Topic: Introduction to Greek history
Wednesday April 20th:
 Class work:
 We looked at the syllabus and the kinds of questions that are asked in the exam.
 We looked at the sweep of history up to the 5th century BC: Egypt, Mesopotamia and
the Mediterranean. The Persian Empire was the first truly gigantic empire.
 We watched episode two of Greeks, Romans, Vikings, looking at Greek Civilisation.
 We looked at a map of Greece, and marked off the various cities and islands.
Thursday April 21st:
 Class work:
 We looked at the topography of Greece, noting where the cities are located, given
the mountainous terrain.
 We took notes on the situation in 500 BC: Athens, Sparta, Persia and the historical
sources on the Persian Wars.
 We then looked at the first episode of The Athenians, covering Cleistenes’ reforms
up to 490 BC.
 Homework: Read the material given out in class: “The Greek world in 500 BC – packages
of information’.
WEEK 2
Topic: The First Persian War
Wednesday April 27th:
 Class work:
 We watched the rest of The Athenians, up to the Persian invasion.
 Did the exercise on the Origins of the First Persian War – covering the Ionian Revolt
and Darius’ motivations for invading Greece.
Thursday April 28st:
 Class work:
 We watched the first part of the second episode of The Athenians, covering Darius’
invasion.
 We did the exercise on the First Persian War – covering the Battle of Marathon and
its aftermath.
 We watched the documentary Decisive Battles: Marathon.
 We wrote an introduction and essay plan for the following question: How did the
Greeks win the First Persian War?
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WEEK 3
Topic: The inter-war period and the Second Persian War
Wednesday May 4th:
 Class work:
 We did the exercise on the inter-war Period.
 We watched the next part of the second episode of The Athenians, covering Xerxes’
invasion up to the Battles of Salamis.
 We watched the documentary Decisive Battles: Thermopylae.
Thursday May 5th:
 Class work:
 We looked at the reasons the Greeks won the Second Persian War.
 We did the exercise on The Second Persian War, up to the Battle of Salamis.
 We practised writing introductions for essays on the Second Persian War.
WEEK 4
Topic: Salamis, Plataea and Mycale
Wednesday May 11th:
 Class work:
 We revised the Battle of Salamis.
 We watched the episode of Decisive Battles on Plataea.
 We did the exercise on The Second Persian War, covering Salamis, Plataea and
Mycale.
 We took notes on the reasons the Greeks won the Second Persian War.
Thursday May 12th:
 Class work:
 We looked at the various essay questions that can be asked on the Second Persian
War.
 We did the following essay: “How did the Greeks win the Second Persian War?”
WEEK 5
Topic: The Delian League
May 18th
 Class work: Teacher absent
May 19th
 We watched the rest of the second episode of The Athenians, covering the formation
of the Delian League.
 The students did the following essay: “Assess the importance of Themistocles to the
Greek victory in the Second Persian War.”
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WEEK 6
Topic: The Delian League
May 25th
 We watched the YouTube video on the Battle of Mycale and the formation of the
Delian League.
 We did the exercise on the formation of the Delian League.
 We watched the YouTube video on the transformation of the Delian League into the
Athenian Empire.
May 26th
 We then did the exercise on the transformation of the Delian League into the
Athenian Empire.
 The students did the following essay: “To what extent were the Persians responsible
for their own defeat in the Persian Wars?”
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