The class will view a current political map and discuss the differences between political maps and physical maps. The class will discuss guidelines and protocol for using computers in the classroom. Students will work individually on computers to explore a map of ancient Greece. The students will answer questions related to the geography of Greece.
The focusing question for this lesson is: How did the geography of Greece influence the development of Greek society? In the last lesson, we talked about some different types of government and learned about how democracy worked in ancient Greece and how it works today.
To begin our research on ancient Greece, we will look at the geography of ancient Greece and ancient Athens.
This is a political map of the world.
1. What is a political map?
Sample Response: A political map shows all of the boundaries of the countries of the world.
Let’s look at the map to find the largest land masses called continents.
1. What are the names of the seven continents?
Sample Responses: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica.
Now let’s find the US, New York State, and New York City. Let’s find Greece.
This is a physical map of ancient Greece.
1. How is this map different from the political map that we just looked at?
Sample Response: This one has mountains and other landforms on it. This is called a physical map.
2. Why would a person want to look at a political map instead of a physical map?
Sample Response: To see different countries easily.
4. Why would a person want to look at a physical map instead of a political map?
Sample Response: To see physical features of different regions.
Here is the map legend.
1. What information does the legend give us?
Sample Response: The legend tells us distance ratios, and what different symbols and colors on the map mean.
Now we are going to look at the physical features of ancient Greece.
1. What are the primary physical features of Greece?
Sample Response: Greece is a series of islands, and it is very mountainous.
2. Do you think it was easy to travel from city to city? Why or why not?
Sample Response: No, it was difficult because of the mountains and the isolation of the islands. In Greece most city-states were separated by mountains and some were separated by sea.
3. Do you think city-states would have one united government?
Sample Response: No, it would be very difficult to unite under one government. Each city developed its own type of government. Some developed democracies and others developed dictatorships.
4. Which city is closest to the center of the Aegean Sea?
Sample Response: Athens is the closest to the center.
5. How do you think being close to the center of the Aegean Sea influenced Athens' ability to trade with other cities?
Sample Response: It was easy for Athens to trade with other cities because it was in the middle and on the sea. With trade come lots of different people from all over the world.
6. How do you think this influenced life in Athens?
Sample Response: I think people brought new foods, new cultures, and new ideas. Also, it brought in a lot of money. The people of Athens got richer.
Let’s discuss what we learned today.
How did the geography of Greece influence the development of Greek society?
Describe the geography of Greece. What were some of the important buildings in Athens?
Was it difficult or easy for people from various city-states to meet?
How is the geography of New York City similar to the geography of ancient Athens?
How might life in ancient Athens have been similar to life in modern day New York City?
