Learning Packancient Worlds: The ancient greeks

aim

To understand how we can use objects and other things that were left behind to learn about Ancient Greece.

Objectives

To gather evidence about ancient greek life through objects at Leeds city Museum

To identify facts that can be deduced about the ancient greeks by looking at the images on greek pottery

To be able to group materials according to what will survive after thousands of years underground

To recognise different greek gods

To organise information and develop chronological understanding

The Ancient Greeks

2.15

Learning PackancienT WOrLds

ks2 curriculum LinksHistory:A study of Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the Western World

english:Spoken language: listen and respond appropriately; ask relevant questions; articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions; give well-structured explanations; participate actively in collaborative conversations; develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas; participate in discussions, presentations, role play and debates; consider and evaluate different viewpoints

Reading: retrieve and record information from non-fiction, summarising the main ideas and identify key details; distinguish between statements of fact and opinion; provide reasoned justifications for their views

science:Explore, talk about, test and develop ideas; ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them

art and design:Record observations by drawing from first-hand experience; learn about great architects and designers in history

The Ancient Greeks

2.16

Learning PackancienT WOrLds

Where?

Ancient Worlds Gallery, 3rd Floor

What?

The Ancient Worlds Gallery looks at the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. The Gallery is grouped according to theme, not civilisation and addresses how we learn about the past in general. The four themes are:

art and architecture

objects in the earth

writing

burials

The following worksheets and teachers’ notes will help you to draw out the parts of the gallery that can be used to learn about the Ancient Greeks.

Top spot?

Ancient Greek tombstones and altars.

Photography?

You may take pictures in this Gallery, but please ensure the flash is turned off as it can damage the objects. Photography of the mummy, Nesyamun, is not permitted because of our human remains policy.

Build a Temple

Stratigraphy

Arts and Crafts

Every Day Objects

Archaeological Pit

Trade Pots

Cups and Small Jars

Meal Times

Jars and Flasks

Materials and Preservation

What will Survive

Ancient Writing

Temple Model

Head of AphroditeEntrance and Exit

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1Official Records

Altar

Look for the wreath symbol in the gallery showing where Ancient Greek objects are displayed.

Before you visit introduction to visit and themes

Ask the pupils to think about how we know about Ancient Greece. Encourage them to think further than the immediate (internet, books, teachers).

Introduce to them the idea that they will be visiting the Museum to see some of the ways we learn about Ancient Greece – for example, by exploring objects that were buried in the ground for thousands of years and dug up by archaeologists.

Split the children into groups and ask them to write down what they know about the following themes:

greek gods (myths and legends)

death in ancient greece

greek architecture

greek coins

greek pottery

Ask them to add to this list when they are at the Museum.

The Ancient Greeks

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1.7 & 1.8: What is a Museum?

2.23: great greeks alive! Part 1

Linked WOrksHeeTs

Leeds City Museum has an Ancient Greek Learning Journey on My Learning: www.mylearning.org/ancient-greeks-everyday-life-beliefs-and-myths

The Ancient Greeks

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Learning PackancienT WOrLds

during your visitMake sure you don’t miss:

greek objects: look out for objects that tell us about daily life for the Ancient Greeks. Have a close look at some of the pottery – what are the figures wearing? Can you see any animals? What does this tell us about life in Ancient Greece?

Write your name in ancient greek interactive: get hands on and have a go. Record everyone’s name and use them back in the classroom during the course of your topic.

Temple model: what does this tell us about the importance of religion to the ancient Greeks? Can you see other buildings around Leeds today that look a bit like this?

Happy Potter film: Listen to our happy potter as he talks about creating pottery in ancient Greece.

after your visitAsk the students to reflect on their visit. What surprised them about how the ancient Greek’s lived? Can they imagine what it would have been like to live in Ancient Greece?

Get in touch with Artemis, the school object loans service and the School Library Service to see if they have any resources to support your topic back in the classroom.

Look at the impact the Greeks have had on our society today. Use images of the front of Leeds Town Hall, Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Gallery and the Civic Hall to see if you can spot the Greek architectural influences of columns and pediments.

2.24: great greeks alive! Part 2

2.25: amazing archaeology

2.26: Happy Potter and the goblet of clay

Linked WOrksHeeTs

The Ancient Greeks

2.19

greek PotteryBecause so much pottery has survived from Ancient Greece, a great deal (and probably a disproportionate amount) of our understanding of Greek society is based on pottery paintings and forms.

Styles of Greek pottery changed over time. Decorated Greek pottery started off with simple lines of incision and paint. In the Geometric period (900-700 BC) the style was quite abstract, with zig-zag lines painted horizontally around the pot and geometric shapes. Later pots were decorated with images of natural scenes and human figures, particularly in the Classical period (480-323 BC). In the Hellenistic period (323-146 BC) pottery decoration was again simplified to motifs, such as wreaths and rosettes, instead of human figures.

red and black figure ware

The most famous styles of Greek Pottery are red and black figure ware.

Black-figure ware Black-figure ware is pottery where the decoration is made up of

black silhouettes on a red background. The pots were made of iron-rich clay which turned red when fired. The design was sketched on the pot in outline then painted with refined clay paint. Further details were then engraved through the paint, revealing the clay below. A pot would be fired first to about 800°C to oxidise it (turning it red), and then to about 950°C with no oxygen in the kiln (turning it black). Oxygen was then allowed into the kiln to cool the pot, after which the colour of the pot returned to red, but the paint remained glossy and black. Black-figure ware was popular by about 600 BC with major potteries in Sparta, Athens and in eastern Greece.

Learning PackancienT WOrLds

The Ancient Greeks

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Learning PackancienT WOrLds

red-figure ware By 530 BC red-figure ware had started replacing

black-figure ware. This time the decoration was red in colour from the fabric of the pot, on a painted black background. The main pottery centers were Attica (the region where Athens is located) and southern Italy.

There are examples of both types of this pottery in the Ancient Worlds Gallery.

Watch the greek Potter and hear how he makes his beautiful pottery. Then have a go at digging for pottery in the archaeological pit.

2.26: Happy Potter and the goblet of clay!

Linked gaLLery inTeracTive

Linked WOrksHeeT

The Ancient Greeks

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Learning PackancienT WOrLds

gods, religion and deathThere is lots of evidence in the Gallery that religion had a huge role in the lives of the Ancient Greeks.

The bronze cast of Aphrodite’s head is from an original marble sculpture. Statues were there to decorate public spaces and important buildings, usually honouring a leader or a great event. In a time when there were no newspapers, statues were used for communication and publicity.

Greeks made bronze statues by first carving the statue from wax and making a mould around it in clay. The hot bronze was then poured into the clay mould, melting the wax and forming a bronze statue.

Marble cannot be melted or reused like bronze, which is why more marble statues have survived. Marble is relatively easy to work and sculptors managed to carve realistic details into their statues and reliefs. Sculptors used a hammer and chisel to chip away at the marble. This left a rough surface which was smoothed out using an emery stone and then polished with a softer stone to produce the finished marble.

Greek temples were grand and beautiful buildings. They used architecture and scale to show their status. We can learn a lot about the Ancient Greeks by looking at the model of Hera’s temple in the Ancient World’s Gallery. The beautiful pillars must have been designed and carved by skilled craftsman; and the open plan nature of the building suggests that it would hold many people. Ask the pupils to think about how many buildings we have in Britain without proper walls and windows – what might this tell us about the climate in Ancient Greece?

The Ancient Greeks

2.22

The Ancient Greeks believed that after you died you would go to the underworld. If the dead were not buried properly with a funeral, they would never reach the underworld. Beautifully crafted gravestones show us the importance of the funeral ceremony. They show the deceased saying goodbye to people they knew in life.

The Greeks invented coins in the 7th century BC. They were made out of a special mixture of gold and silver and stamped with pictures. You can tell which city states the Greek coins came from by the emblems or symbols from different city states.

Coins from Sparta might have images of warriors; coins from Athens might have an image of an owl (the owl was the emblem of Athena and Athens).

Coins were made by pouring hot metal into two specially carved moulds with the ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ side of the coin engraved on it. The moulds were then hit very hard with a hammer to imprint the design onto the coin.

Coins tells us that the Greeks traded and that they were a skilled people who were able to mine metals such as silver and gold. The coins portray images of important Greeks (from 323 BC) and gods.

Top Trumps gods computer interactive

Learning PackancienT WOrLds

Linked gaLLery inTeracTive

Historians learn about the past by doing research. Do some research by looking at books, or on the internet, and write down some of the things you find out.

greek godsThree things I know about Greek Gods are:

1.

2.

3.

greek coinsThree things I know about Greek coins are:

1.

2.

3.

greek potteryThree things I know about Greek pots are:

1.

2.

3.

Great Greeks Alive!@ school

2.23 TaLk aBOuT iT THink aBOuT iT WriTe aBOuT iT draW iT dO iT

Great Greeks Alive!@ Leeds city Museum

2.24 TaLk aBOuT iT THink aBOuT iT WriTe aBOuT iT draW iT dO iT

a statue of aphrodite’s head

The greek altar

a greek coin

What do these objects tell you about the ancient greeks?

The statue tells me

The altar tells me

The coin tells me

Hello, I’m ari the Greek owl. Historians find out about the past by looking at objects. Become a historian in the Gallery by finding the objects below and drawing a picture of them.

What is it made of?

Who or what is on the coin?

How tall it is?

How heavy do you think it is?

think about… fashion, food, decoration, shopping, animals, religion

Amazing Archaeology!

2.25 TaLk aBOuT iT THink aBOuT iT WriTe aBOuT iT draW iT dO iT

The Greeks left behind lots of artefacts such as pottery, jewellery and statues which were buried in the ground.

Pottery survives being buried for thousands of years. Look at the things you are wearing and carrying, what will survive?

Use the What will survive game in front of the pottery case to help you.

Will survivee.g. leather shoes

Won’t survivee.g. jeans

The people who dig up these artefacts are

called a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Watch The greek Potter on the big screen above the archaeological pit. His pottery has been buried for over 2000 years. Use the brushes to gently brush away sand and see what has been buried. Draw it below.

Happy Potter and the Goblet of Clay!

2.26 TaLk aBOuT iT THink aBOuT iT WriTe aBOuT iT draW iT dO iT

Why did you choose this pot?

What does the picture tell you about the Ancient Greek people?

Who is on the picture?

What are they doing?

What are they wearing?

We can learn a lot about the Ancient Greeks by looking at their pottery. Some of the pots have stories and pictures on. Find your favourite pot which has a picture or a story on and draw it below.