Ancient Greek Free Lesson Plan, Critical Thinking Activity, Question What You Read on the Web

Critical Thinking Activity for Ancient Greece
Designed for 6th grade and middle school, can be adjusted for any grade

Fact Checking: Introduce lesson by warning students NOT to believe everything they read on the web, even when what they read is from a source to be typically accurate.  People can make mistakes, including us.

Computer Lab Assignment: Working in small groups, select one paragraph or statement from any site on the web that presents information about ancient Greece that you believe is not accurate or possbily misleading because of the way it is worded.  Re-write the paragraph or statement so that it is more accurate.  Be prepared to share your findings and justify your facts with the class. The teacher may choose to select certain sentences or paragraphs, but have your students fact find them using the web. (If you fact check something in mrdonn.org, please email us if you find a mistake. Write: donnanciv@aol.com  Thank you!)

For Example:

Question this statement we found on the web.  "At its peak under Alexander the Great, Ancient Greece ruled much of Europe and Western Asia."

FACT CHECK Research /  Proof Source: Most recent access to these webpages Nov 6, 2018

"The Macedonia empire included present-day Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt, the Phoenician lands and many other basin regions of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. The major centers of the Mediterranean at the time became part of Alexander's empire as a result. His empire quickly disintegrated, and the Middle East, Egypt, and Greece were soon again independent. Alexander's conquests spread Greek knowledge and ideas throughout the region." Athens University, Athens, Greece

"The ancient Macedonians regarded the ancient Greeks as neighbors, not as kinsmen. The Greeks treated the Macedonians as foreigners ("barbarians") whose native language was Macedonian, not Greek."  History of Macedonia, Greek Conflict

Accurate Re-write:  Ancient Macedonia was a powerful kingdom and a neighbor of the ancient Greek city-states. Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, briefly conquered the ancient Greek city-states. Alexander greatly admired Greek knowledge and ideas, and spread their culture to other civilizations he conquered in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Additional Information on this topic, See Also:

Alexander the Great

The League of Corinth