Ancient Greek civilization is an exciting and intriguing part of our history. The Ancient Greeks made many contributions to society from government and sports to architecture and literature. While students will never get to experience first hand the customs and cultures of Ancient Greece, books and activities can better help students to understand the way of life in Ancient Greece. The following books and resources can help deepen a student’s knowledge about Ancient Greece from the city-states to mythology. The books and resources are intended to be used in a 3rd grade classroom (SOL 3.1).
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Adventures in Ancient Greece by Linda Bailey
In Adventures in Ancient Greece, the Binkerton children are taken back in time to Ancient Greece during the Olympics. The reader journeys through the city-states of Ancient Greece with the Binkerton’s as they learn all about Ancient Greek customs, religions and culture. The story is full of facts and excitement as the reader follows the Binkerton’s and learn about Ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece by Anne Pearson
The illustrations in this book will grab everyone’s attention. The book also covers the history, people, customs, religion, recreation and warfare of the Ancient Greeks. The illustrations add to the facts listed in this book for a better visual understanding of the Ancient Greek way of life.
If I Were a Kid in Ancient Greece: Children of the Ancient World by Cobblestone Publishing
This book delves into the lifestyle of children in Ancient Greece from house rules to pets. The books investigates what tools, activities and customs children would have to follow if they lived in Ancient Greece.
The Ancient Greeks (People of the Ancient World) by Allison Lassieur
This book is organized differently from all other history books, instead of looking at the Ancient Greek civilization chronologically like most books, this book looks at Ancient Greece by sociological strata. The book starts at the top of Greek society with the people of the government and then delves all the way down to slaves and workers. This gives the students a good look into how life in Ancient Greece was for each level of society and how the cultures and customs worked.
Pandora of Athens; 399 B.C. by Barry Denenberg
In Pandora of Athens; 399 B.C., the reader is taken back to Ancient Greek society where they follow Pandora a young Greek girl as she fights the roles society and her father have laid out for her. The book while make-believe helps students see the reality of life in Ancient Greece. The story is very well written and will capture students’ attention from beginning to end.
Recommended Websites for Students:
The History for Kids website has tons of information for students about Ancient Greece. Students can learn about a wide range of subjects from clothing and literature to mythology and economy.
The Winged Sandals website is a great website for students. The website offers students “plays” to watch about Greek mythology, games to play, history pages, who’s who among the Grecians and instructions to make crafts.
Adventures in Ancient Greece website is an interactive website which offers students a chance to click around and learn more information and play games while learning about Ancient Greece. At the end the students are able to take three quizzes that test them on their knowledge they learned and opens new activities.
The BBC website offers students the chance to click through and learn more about Ancient Greece, from customs and gods to architecture and wars. The site also has quizzes under each subsection as well as a Greek Hero Game for the students to play.
The Odyssey Greece website is an interactive website in which students are taken back to Ancient Greece. The site lets students click through to learn more about Ancient Greece. Students can learn about chewing gum or constellations and even cities’ names in the U.S. whose origins date back to the Ancient Greek empire.
Additional Teacher Resources
Ancient History website has many links for teachers. The links all offer different kinds of resources from lesson plans and activities to PowerPoint and video clips for the classroom.
Ancient Greece This website is a great resource for teachers, it has a lot of in-depth information about art and architecture, history, wars, people and mythology. The website also includes a photo gallery to offer teachers even more information about Ancient Greece.
Scholastic’s Ancient Greece website offers numerous ideas for teachers on how to teach Ancient Greece to students. The website gives lots of ideas for creative craft ideas to keep students interested while learning about the ancient civilization.
BBC teacher’s website about Ancient Greece goes along with the student resource version. The teacher website has complied lesson plans, tours, time-lines, games, craft ideas and FAQ’s about Ancient Greece to help students further explore the ancient civilization.