Lesson Plans: Creating Historical Newspapers

Introduction to the Teacher: In this activity, students will use "The Greeks Multimedia Project" resources and other websites and books to create newspapers reflecting events in ancient Greece events roughly between 600 B.C. to 399 B.C. (from the rise of Athens and the beginnings of democracy through the first great thinkers of Greece).

Anticipated length of research and production of newspaper after learning about the rise of Athenian democracy and having viewed the video of "The Greek Multimedia Project: Approximately 5 - 7 hours in pairs or less time in groups of four. (An hour for an introduction to the resources of "The Greeks Multimedia Project" on the web; half an hour for planning in partners to choose a topic and determine roles; one and a half - two hours in research from "The Greeks Multimedia Project" and other resources for all sections; one - two hours in production of newspaper by word processing); Optional: 1 hour for oral presentation of all newspapers to the class [they could be displayed without an oral presentation, but with time for students to browse the newspapers].

Objectives: [Standards Connection]

• Students will gain an understanding of the key events of the development of democracy in Athens as well as gain an understanding of the culture in which the events occurred. They will view the main event from two perspectives.

Task : Students in pairs (or individually or in groups of four) will create historical newspapers which have these components (which may be adjusted by the teacher):

• News event (report of information, including an interview of at least one observer or participant)
• Editorial Section and Letter to the Editor (showing different view points on events)
• Entertainment Section (evaluation of a musical or theatrical presentation or religious festival)
• Sports Section (reporting of events such as an Olympic or other athletic contests)
• Want Ads or Advertisements of ancient Greek objects (giving a picture or description, price, and using persuasion techniques)
• Optional sections:

  • Telling of the Future (through oracles or other means of prophecy)
  • Weather report (showing understanding of how the deities control the weather on earth)
  • Comics
  • Gossip Column or Advice Column
  • Obituary or Eulogy
  • Other topics selected by the students

Evaluation

• Criteria for evaluation of each section of the newspaper are listed in the handout.
• An evaluation form for final evaluation is provided by clicking [here].

Materials and Resources Needed:

• Access to "The Greeks Multimedia Project" on computers for research (approximately 1 hour for each set of partners) after an introduction to the project resources.
• Access to other materials dealing with events (textbooks, encyclopedias, library books, and handouts).
• Paper and pencils for taking notes about topics.
• 11" X 17" paper for pasting down the final newspaper.
• Optional: colored markers for art work and illustrations, rulers for newspaper layout, access to a copier for pictures from texts or printed from the Greeks Multimedia Project website.

Procedure in Detail:

• After viewing the video information from Greek Multimedia Project and reading about those and other key events in the development of Athenian democracy, introduce the students to the resources available on the Internet for "The Greek Multimedia Project". Have them search for information on Events Pages, Background Pages, and Character Summaries. News events are linked to the Project and other resources.
• To ensure that students are familiar with the parts of a newspaper, bring in a recent newspaper and present and discuss its parts. Be sure to include the use of headlines to attract attention, photos with captions, and news articles which start with important information in the first paragraph. Next, be sure students are familiar with the Editorial which reflects the editor's opinion on an issue and Letters to the Editor which often have a different opinion on an issue. They should see a "pro" and "con" on a controversial issue. Next discuss the Sports Section. Ask, "What were some sporting events in ancient Greece?" Then introduce the Entertainment Section. Be sure they see how an expert evaluates a movie or play, for example. (Ask, "What is the rating system? Is it two thumbs up or a four star system?") Then ask, "In ancient Greece, what were some types of public entertainment? Are any of these types of entertainment still popular?" Then look at advertisements and want ads. Ask, "Which items would be for sale in the agora in ancient Greece? What were the coins of ancient Greece?" [Answer: obol and a drachma which is about six obols. Average citizens in Athens earned about 1/2 to 1 drachma a day.]
• Tell the students that they will be working in pairs or partners to prepare a newspaper that shows the important events that they have been studying. Get students into pairs or partners for this activity. [Note: Organize groups of four if you want to cut down on the time of this project.]
• From the list of events [listed here], or from a list that you brainstorm with your students, ask for volunteers or assign teams of reporters to cover these events.

Greek Newspaper Project - Student Handout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reproduce a copy of the form after pressing [here].

As pairs, partners or as individuals, you will receive a large "newspaper-sized" 11" X 17" paper on which to design a newspaper which is built around one actual event in ancient Greece: 500 B.C. to 399 B.C. You will become the editors and writers of your newspaper. You may use information from "The Greeks Multimedia Project", other websites, and from history books and encyclopedias. You may illustrate your newspaper with your own drawings or with images copied from the sites or books (but give credit to the source of your pictures).

You will prepare your newspaper with these parts:

1. A news report of an actual event

- Decide on one historical event. Date your newspaper at that time. To see a list of important events, press [here].

Write your newspaper's HEADLINES announcing the news of that event. Identify the date (year only is okay).

2. Editorial and Letter to the Editor - Point of view

This part should show two different points of view about the event from page one. One article should be in favor of what happened in the main news, the other should be against what happened.

Editorial - As the editor of the newspaper give an opinion about the news.

Back up the opinion with examples of why you take that side of the argument.

Letter to the Editor: (Dear Editor: )

Write a letter showing the other side of the argument. Give reasons for your opinion. You may give suggestions to improve the situation. Identify yourself in your letter. (You may be an actual person; you may be an eye-witness. Say if you are a patrician (rich person) or common person, or a slave.)

3. Entertainment Section Do one of the following:

• Advertisement or announcement for an upcoming entertainment event (religious festival, a play at a theater, acrobats or dancers or musician at a party, etc.)
  • Describe what will go on there in detail.
  • Tell when the event will be, where it is, and how much it will cost to get in.
  • Give an opinion about the place or event and try to convince the readers to go there (or to stay away from there if you don't like it).

  -or-

• Entertainment Review
  • Describe a form of entertainment that you saw. Give details (where, when, who was there) Events might include:
    • A Greek drama - a tragedy, comedy, or satyr play
    • A religious festival which may have included a parade, singing, dancing, wine, plays, contests (such as the Panathenaic Festival of Dionysus held annually)
    • Entertainment at dinner parties (called symposia) where there were musicians (with flutes, pipes of Pan, stringed lutes, castanets for rhythm, etc.), or acrobats, story-telling poets, and others. Tell about the food and service from the slaves. Any gossip? What were people wearing?
  • As an "entertainment critic" do you recommend it to the audience? Give reasons for your recommendation or condemnation. (For example, was a play exciting, amusing, or boring? Were the costumes and masks good? Was the singing or acting and chorus done well? Should the playwright become famous or forgotten? etc.)

    Grading Criteria for the Entertainment Section: The Review gives a detailed description of the event It gives an opinion based on criteria with specific examples, saying whether it is good or not and why. On-Line Resources for the Entertainment Section The Greeks Multimedia Project: BP 24: (1) "The Origin of Greek Theater" and (2) "The Different Types of Greek Drama and Their Importance" and BP 35: "Leisured Life". The Panathenaic Festival included athletic competitions as well as other events such as music, poetry, and processions. Greek Gift of Music (Portland State's Greek Civilization for Kids) introduces Greek music which is further explained at Music and Religion, and Musical Instruments.

4. Sports Section

• Describe a sporting event that you saw. Give details (where, when, what happened, who was there, etc.). Events might include: -choose one-
  • Olympic Games (but these only happened every four years. During times of war there would be a truce declared so the sporting events could go on.)
  • Other sporting events that were local. These events happened often as part of religious festivals or for daily entertainment, such as the yearly Panathenaic Festival. Women even competed in athletics in Sparta, but not in Athens.
  • Make a review of a gymnasium (which were found outside the city walls of Athens and used daily ). Describe the gymnasium grounds and buildings, tell which sports were practiced there, what they wore, and why sports were important. Do you recommend this gymnasium?

  Grading Criteria for Sports Section: The Sports Section gives a detailed description of the sporting events and where they took place (or description of a gymnasium and its activities). It gives an opinion / evaluation based on criteria with specific examples, saying whether an event (or a particular gymnasium) is good or not and why. On-Line Resources of Sports and Recreation "The Greeks Multimedia Project: BP 2 The Olympics" The Olympics - from the Perseus Project Portland State University's Greek Civilization for Kids: The Ancient Olympic Games See the Panathenaic Festivals which included athletic events as well as drama, musical contests and more. (Brooklyn's City University of New York)

5. Want Ads - Two Items for Sale (Advertisements or Classified Ads)

• Try to sell some things through the newspaper. Choose authentic ancient Greek items that would be sold in a market: clothing, slave, chariot, food, a household item, home, etc. How can it be used? What's so good about it?

  Grading Criteria for the Want Ads: There is a complete description of two items for sale (including how they are used, their value, and why the purchase is a good deal). It tells the cost and where they can be purchased. [The Greek coins were the obol and a drachma which is about six obols. Citizens in Athens earned about 1/2 to 1 drachma a day. A healthy little boy slave would cost about 80 drachmas, a 30 year old skilled worker slave might be 280 drachmas.] It tries to convince the reader to buy it.

Optional Articles for Extra Credit

6. Oracle Prediction - Predictions of the Future Give a prediction of your own based on certain omens or consult an oracle! Tell how you learned the gods' will.

7. Gossip or Advice column (like "Dear Abby") with all the gossip that was going on around Athens!

8. Comic Strip or Cartoon

9. Obituary (report on life/death of a person) or Eulogy (kind words said at someone's funeral)

10. Weather Report (as Greeks believed weather/seasons were determined by deities, such as lightning coming from Zeus, seasons changing because of Persephone's visits with her husband Hades in the underworld, etc.).

Resources - Books:

The Greek News by Anton Powell and Philip Steele, Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999. [ISBN 0-7636-0340-6 Paperback = $6.99 in U.S.] This book is well illustrated and written for young learners, yet interesting as a simple model for high school students as well.