This document summarizes an Exploring the Classics curriculum that uses a team-teaching approach and incorporates technology. The 6th grade curriculum covers history, English, Latin, and technology skills. It uses hands-on, project-based learning involving individual inquiry, group work, and presentations. Students explore topics like ancient Greece and Rome through various projects incorporating researched, creative elements and technology skills. The goal is to deeply involve students and reinforce cross-curricular learning through an interdisciplinary approach.

1. Exploring the Classics
with TECH
21st Curriculum through a Classical
Lens
Presented by Crystal Kannapell, Darcy Maloney,
Laurie Vieth and Rainey Wyatt

2. Exploring the Classics WITH TECH
Tell me and I forget;
show me and I remember;
involve me and I
understand.
This saying is the heart of ETC.
Research shows that the amount of
student learning that occurs in a classroom
is directly proportional to the quality and
quantity of student involvement in the
educational program (Cooper and Prescott
1989).
2 2

3. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: History
Topics covered:
Foundations of Western Civilization
• Ancient Greece and Rome
• The origin of Western World Religions
• The Middle Ages
• The Rise of European Monarchies
• Renaissance
• Reform
Alan LeQuire introduces students to his
colossal Athena Parthenos in Nashville.
3 5

4. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: History
Method used:
Thematic categorization of  G overnmen
facts:
 encourages progress from concrete to
abstract thought E t
 R conomy
 demands clear understanding of facts
 facilitates long-term memory and recall
 M eligion
 allows comparisons between cultures
 S ilitary
ociety
4 5

5. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: English
Course Objectives:
 to develop understanding and
sophistication of the written and spoken
word
 to become a community of readers and
writers
Resources Used:
 Grammar and Language Workbook, McGraw-Hill
 Grammar and Composition Handbook, McGraw-Hill
 Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine
 A Writer’s Notebook by Ralph Fletcher
 Word Wisdom, Zaner-Bloser
5 6

6. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: English
Literature:
 Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin
 The Book of Greek Myths by the D’Aulaires
 Dark of the Moon or King of Ithaka by Tracy Barrett
 Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
 Tiger Tiger by Lynn Reid Banks (other books may
be part of this unit)
 Crispin and the Cross of Lead by Avi
 The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
 Incantation by Alice Hoffman
The literature we read is coordinated directly with
the sixth grade history curriculum. The study is
chronological: Antiquity (ancient Greece and
Rome), the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.
6 6

7. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: Exploratory Latin
Topics Covered:
 Vocabulary
 Roman history
 Mythology
 Culture
 Geography
7 8

8. I. Sixth Grade Curriculum: Exploratory Latin
Course Objectives:
 to increase English vocabulary
 to recognize Latin roots in words for better
reading comprehension
 to increase cultural awareness
 to recognize and use important Latin
idioms
Research shows that students who study Latin develop greater
vocabulary recognition, which increases reading
comprehension. 65% of all English words are derived from
Latin.
8 7

9. What is Exploring the Classics WITH TECH?
 Team-taught
Low student - teacher ratio
 Interdisciplinary
English, History, Latin
 Technology training
 Hands-on investigations
 Guided research
 Individual inquiry
 Cooperative group work
 Oral presentations
9 3

10. II. Creation of ETC
Benefits of Team Teaching
 Very low student-teacher ratio
 Individual attention
 Differentiation
N!
 Technology support FU
10 9

11. II. Creation of ETC:
Cross Curricular Learning
 Reinforces content
 Scaffolding
 Encourages important
developmental skills:
 critical thinking
 comparative analysis
Interdisciplinary/cross-curricular teaching can
increase students' motivation for learning and
their level of engagement. In contrast to learning
skills in isolation, when students participate in
interdisciplinary experiences they see the value
of what they are learning and become more
actively engaged (Resnick, 1989).
11 9

12. II. Creation of ETC:
Creativity
The ETC teachers support
students toward creative,
individual expressions of their
knowledge.
The best learning comes true with
making use of the variety of experience
which is intensively stimulated, music,
role-playing, drama, art, colors, graphics,
figures and metaphors (Sylwester, 1995;
2000; Jensen, 2000; Dhority and
Jensen,1998; Sousa, 2000, Duman,
2004).
12 10

13. II. Creation of ETC
Technology
Technology skills learned in ETC
and 6th grade are vital to
success in middle school and
beyond.
• Email etiquette and skills
• Accessing and sharing files
• Mac / PC conversion
• Basic navigation skills
• Research … beyond Google
• Website assessment
13 13

14. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Recipe of Me
Learning Goals Technology Skills
 Building community  Manipulating online
 Self discovery posters (Glogster)
 How to follow a rubric  Introduction to Email and
attachments
 Poise and confidence in
public speaking  Saving and accessing
photo files
 Accessing shared files
14 14

15. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Fight Like a God
Learning Goals Technology Skills
 Reading comprehension  Flip video
 Sequencing  Libguide
 Inference/character  Green screen
motivation
 Creative writing
 Public speaking
 Theatricality and sense
of play
15 14

16. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Great Greeks and Radical Romans
Learning Goals Technology Skills
 Individual choice of topic  Libguides
related to student interest  Online encyclopedias
 Evaluation of varied  Powerpoint
research materials
 Cultural literacy
 Connecting past to
present
 Citations
16 14

17. Phidias, the Greatest Athenian sculptor
_ _
[F I DE UHS]
(Also spelled “Pheidias”, or Φειδίας in Ancient
Greek.)
 Research and PowerPoint
by Coach Sue Sylvester

18. LOCATION
 Phidias was a citizen
of Athens, the most
important city-state
on the Balkan
Peninsula.
• Phidias also worked
in the city-states of
Delphi and Olympia.

19. The historian Herodotus was so busy recording the details of the
Persian Wars that he neglected to record the exact date of
Phidias’ birth.
Classical Greece
461 BC – 429 BC
Golden Age of Pericles
c. 480 BC c. 430 BC
Phidias born Phidias died
508 BC 479 BC 431 BC
Cleisthenes Xerxes and Peloponnesian
Persians War began
created
Athenian defeated at
Democracy Battle of
Plataea
509 BC Roman 479 BC Chinese
philosopher
Republic created
Confucius died

20. Sculpture
 Sculpture is any three-dimensional
artwork created by shaping or
combining hard materials.
 Usually, sculptures are meant to be
permanent and are often made out of
expensive materials.
 Phidias often used
precious materials
like ivory and gold!

21. Specific Achievement: ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
 Phidias created the
colossal statue of Zeus
at Olympia.
 Zeus at Olympia was
one of the Seven
Wonders of the
Ancient World!
 (It no longer
exists.)

22. Specific Achievement: DECORATION OF THE
PARTHENON
 Phidias and his studio worked
with Pericles to create all of
the relief sculpture on the
exterior of the Parthenon.
 The sense of action and
emotion in these pieces is
extraordinary.
(How tragic that only fragments or
copies of the original remain!)

23. Something Interesting
•In 1958 archaeologists found
Phidias’ workshop at Olympia.
•They found a few fragments of
the gold and ivory used to create
the statue of Zeus.
•They also found Phidias’ favorite
black glaze drinking cup
engraved "I belong to Phidias”

24. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Western World Religions
Learning Goals Technology Skills
 Tolerance/empathy  Blogging
 Discovering common  Research
historical roots of  Cloud file-sharing
Judaism, Christianity and
Islam
 Research
 Compare & contrast
 Reading groups
 Cooperative learning
 http://www.rainbowresource.com/products/008983.jpg
24 14

25. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Living Museum
Learning Goals Technology skills
 Individual choice of topic  Use of all learned skills
related to student interest  Google Earth
 Creative writing
 Original research
 Reinforcement of content
 Curiosity, ingenuity,
graphic design,
theatricality
25 14

26. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Living Museum
26 16

27. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Living Museum
27

28. III. ETC Curriculum: The Year in Review
Living Museum
28 17

29. III. ETC Curriculum: Modeling
Students need to see models of what it is they are
being asked to do.
They must have a supporting structure which
provides a grounding for their creations, but
doesn't limit their creativity.
29 17

30. III. ETC Curriculum: Reflections
30 17

31. Thank you for coming.
31