THOSE ANCIENT GREEKS
Patricia L. Mendonsa

STANDARD: All students will be able to explain the effects of gender bias, stereotyping and discrimination in school materials, activities, and classroom instruction.

GRADE LEVEL: Grades 9-12, World History or Ancient History

OBJECTIVE(S):

1. Students will be able to identify differences in the way men and women are treated in various societies.
2. Students will examine historical gender stereotyping differences and why they existed.
3. Students will utilize their reading, listening, and critical thinking skills.

TIME: 2-3 Class Periods

MATERIALS: World History Text Book(s); Internet; Videos - The Spartans (The Learning Channel) and Greece (Time Life’s Lost Civilizations); Newsprint and Markers

PROCEDURES: Students will research daily life in Athens and Sparta. They will discuss those differences and chart them.

1. Ask the students, based on their research, whether they would rather be an Athenian or a Spartan. Discuss how their daily lives would differ. You will find that students will probably answer based on the lives of men in these cultures.
2. Then ask the students if they had a choice to be a woman in Athens or Sparta, which would they prefer and why?
3. Ask questions such as: How were women treated in Athens? How much independence did they have? What kind of authority did they have? How much freedom did they have?
4. Then ask the same questions about the women in Sparta. Have students create charts or lists. Now have the students answer the question: Would you rather be a citizen of Athens or Sparta?
5. Students will display their findings in the form of charts/graphs/ political cartoons/"Dear Abby" letters/diaries/posters/role-playing/songs/videos, etc.

ASSESSMENTS: Rubrics for critical thinking, presentation of findings, competency in research process, and communication skills should be developed based on performance standards.

HINTS: Could be expanded to research the role of women in Greece today.