Grade Level: 8th
Title of the Days Lesson:
Ancient Greek Money: The students will each have their own set of coins in an envelope, and they will use them to do activities about money and social classes.
Materials:
-Greek coins (6 different types)
-5 U.S Coins (1 Penny, 1 Dime, 1 Nickel, 1 Quarter, and1 50 cent piece)
-Envelopes with three different markings on them (ex. Line, circle, square)
-3 different types of game pieces (horse, thimble, and guitar) 30 total
-Expo Markers (Red and blue)
Teacher Preparation:
The teacher needs have ancient Greek coins. The teacher needs to make copies of the coins out of paper if they don’t have enough real coins for activity. Know the different types of ancient Greek coins and how much they are worth. Mark the envelopes with a crayon or marker. They also need to find three different types of game pieces, but one for every person in the class. (10 of each for a class of 30 students) Lastly, they need to know the class system in ancient Greece. (Upper class “patricians” was made up of royalty and philosophers, middle class “perioikos” skilled workers and lower class “plebeians” made up of slaves, boat un-loaders and manual laborers)
MN Academic Strands and Sub-Strands:
World History: Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC to 600 AD.
NCSS Strands and Sub-Strands:
Production, Distribution, and Consumption: Differentiate among various forms of exchange and money.
Lesson Goal:
Students will learn the culture of Ancient Greece.
Lesson Objective:
Students will be able to recognize ancient Greek coins, and know how much they are worth to be able to relate this to the social classes of ancient Greece.
Procedures:
-http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Money.htm
-http://esty.ancients.info/numis/
-http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Greek_numbers.html
Introductory Experience: 10 min
-Pass out six different types of Ancient Greek coins around the room. (1 min)
-Have students look at them and see what they notice about them. (3 min)
-Have them figure out which coins would be worth the most and which the least by comparing the sizes and relating them to U.S coins. (The coins worth is based on what they are made of and how much they weigh.)
-They then can go up to the board and write down which one they think is worth the most and the least. They can use the red marker for the most, and the blue marker for the least. (3 min)
-Look at the board, and then discuss why the students thought the coins were worth what they were. (Did they think it was because of their weight or color) (3min)
Developmental Experiences: 29 min
-Explain how much each of the coins is worth. (They can be the size of a dime to a half dollar, and vary in thickness. A drachma was the base unit. An obol was 1/6 a drachma, a talent was 6,000 drachmas, tetradrachma was 9 drachmas and a decadrachma, and 100 Drachma was a mina.) (3 min)
-Give them examples of what things cost back then. (loaf of bread = 1 obol
1lamb = 8 drachmas, gallon of olive oil = 5 drachmas, sandals = 8 to 12 drachmas, slaves = 200 to 300 drachmas) (1 min)
-Pass out instruction sheet to the students and go over activity. (2 min)
-Give each student an envelope full of ancient Greek coins. Some will have only a few coins and others will have a lot inside their envelope. (Each envelope has one of three markings on them) (1 min)
-Break students into groups of three. The students can pick their own group, but each group has to have one of each of the envelope markings in it. (These markings are a way to separate each of the social classes in ancient Greece. The students do not know this though.) (1 min)
-Each group must then figure out how much money, or drachmas, each person in the group has. They can do this by adding the coins up since they will know how much they are worth from before. (8 min)
-They then must figure out who in the group has the most money, the least money and who is in the middle.
-The group then decides who should get which game piece. (Horse being the person with the most money, guitar in the middle, and thimble is the person with the least amount of money)
-After they have decided which person gets which game piece then the people with the same game piece will get together in groups around the room and discuss what they have in common with one another. (Money, game pieces, jobs, etc) (1 min)
-After the groups have discussed, the class then discusses which group (game pieces) had the most money, and the least, and compare how this relates to social classes and status. What social class would have the most money, and which would be in the middle and who would be in the low class? (10 min)
-Then talk about what types of clothing they would be wearing depending on what class they were in, and what types of jobs these groups would have.
-They also need to talk about why each of the game pieces was chosen. Why did the wealthy have the horse? Why did the low class have the thimble?
-Lastly, Mention that Greece now uses the Euro instead of the ancient Greek coins. Also, say that the Euro is worth more than the dollar is. But now days an ancient Greek coin can be worth $10-$500 if you have one. (1 min)
-The students can then return to their original seats, and turn in their envelopes and game pieces. (1 min)
Culminating Experiences: 6 min
-Have students state how much each coin was worth, and what they saw on the coins. (3 min)
-Review what types of people back in ancient Greece would possess these coins, and what types of people would have a lot of money. (3 min)
Assessment:
Throughout the day I will be observing the groups and seeing how they are going about their discussions. I will be asking questions to see how well they understand the activity. I also will be listening for understanding and guiding the whole group conversation. While I am listening to their conversation I will be expecting them to be using correct terminology, and making sure they are thinking of what types of jobs people had back in ancient times not typical jobs today. I also will be letting them know that for them participating in the group and class discussions they will be getting participation points for the class
Teacher Help Sheet
Talent= 6,000 drachmas
Mina= 100 drachma
Decadrachma= 10 Drachmas
Tetradachma= 9 drachmas (Same size as us quarter just 3 times thicker)
Drachma= 1 (Like U.S dime but thicker)
Obol= 6 drachma
*An unskilled worker, like someone who unloaded boats or dug ditches, in Athens, would be paid about two Obols a day.
The typical costs of goods in ancient Greek city-states.
Loaf of bread = 1 Obol
1 lamb = 8 drachmas
Gallon of olive oil = 5 drachmas
Sandals = 8 to 12 drachmas
Slaves = 200 to 300 drachmas
Clothing they would wear in Ancient Greece
-Upper class: would be wearing clothes from the market place they also would wear jewelry and accessories
-Middle class: Wear simple clothing from market.
-Lower class: would be wearing simple self-made clothing
Types of jobs they would have in Ancient Greece
-Upper class: royalty philosophers, educated people, and political figures
-Middle class: doctors, singers, and skilled workers
-Lower class: slaves, boat un-loaders, manual laborers, miners unskilled workers
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