Social+Studies+-History

Olympic Social Studies Lesson

State Content Standards:


 * History: **Describe the enduring impact of early civilizations in India, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome after 1000 B.C. including: The development of concepts of government and citizenship, scientific and cultural advancements, the spread of religions, and slavery and systems of labor .


 * People in Societies: **Describe the cultural and scientific legacies of African, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Arab and European civilizations.


 * Social Studies Skills and Methods: **Describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time in order to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today's norms and values.

Compare multiple viewpoints and frames of reference related to important events in world history. Establish guidelines, rules and time lines for group work.


 * Government: **Compare direct and representative democracy using examples of ancient Athens, the Roman republic and the United States today.

Describe the essential characteristics of the systems of government found in city-states, kingdoms and empires from ancient times through the Middle Ages.

Resources: Students will view video from United Streaming Video to learn background information about Ancient Greek culture. Students will use the internet to research and take mini-quizzes on the research they have completed about ancient Greek culture, housing, religion, entertainment, Olympic Games, education, food, and clothing. 
 * Description** : Before Olympic Tech Day the students in their Social Studies class will have studied ancient Greek culture. Students will view video from the on-line site United Streaming Video - this is an online resource available to teachers to view video on educational topics. Small sections of the video will be watched by the class and then students will be involved in full class and small group discussions about different sections of the video.

As part of the Olympic Tech Day the Social Studies – History class will meet in the computer lab. Students will receive a sheet of paper with instructions and places to check off the links and activities they have completed. Students will be instructed to go to the link from the library web-site: [] At each site – students will have a section to read, activities to complete and a short quiz to take about each section on the site. The teachers will circulate around the lab to assist students with technology questions and ask students questions to check their understanding of concepts. After the lesson, the teacher can assess the lesson – by going on-line and accessing student’s scores on the quizzes.


 * Scholarly Resources :** There is research to support the use of video in the classroom. Lee and Sharma discuss that if video is used correctly in the classroom it can be a very effective instructional tool. "Group work and student discussion are cornerstones of active learning. It is possible to combine this constructivist practice with the viewing of videos, which is often a source of passive learning. This active learning alternative involves showing the video in short segments, separated by times when students are asked to participate in group activities and discussions about what they have seen. This ensures that students are learning in an active manner, and also gives them time to organise new information so that they are not overloaded by continuous watching of the video. It is particularly effective when dealing with new material with which the students are unfamiliar, as there is a natural curiosity associated with such exploration and discovery."

Lee, K. J. & Sharma, M. D., (2008) //Incorporating active learning with videos//: //A case study from physics,// Teaching Science, The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association. Volume 54/Number 4/December 2008
 * Tried and True or New and Innovative**: I believe that the technology used in this lesson are examples of Tried and True teaching method used in different ways. Using video in the classroom is not new - but stopping the video to discuss and make sure that students have learned the concepts is a fairly new practice. Use the Internet and Web Quests are not new but using the Internet for interactive activities and assessments that teachers can later access to check students scores is new.