ALEXANDER the GREAT
Daily Lesson Plans
The activities on these pages are offered to assist the classroom teacher and students in their pursuit of information about Alexander and his enormously interesting life. It is understood these ideas are viewed as guidelines and many additional facts and projects would result from participation in this course of study.
Week 1
Monday
Use Advance Organizer to introduce Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was nineteen years old when he succeeded his father, Philip II
of Macedonia, to the throne. During the course of the next fourteen years, his decisions
and actions had an enormous impact upon the lives of thousands of people throughout the
Mediterranean area extending as far as India and the Arabian peninsula. Alexander's
legacy remains with us and continues to have relevance for us in our lives today.
Ask students to share what they know about Alexander.
Choose student recorder to
list all responses on chart to review later.
Indicate on timeline what period we are going to study.
Ask if anyone knows who else could have been alive then.
Show students large screen from computer with course study guide.
Have students work in pairs to try each area of grid and to explore the materials
that are displayed.
Other students are observing from their seats by viewing the large screen display.
Discuss Goals and objectives of course with students.
Discuss Your Study Guide for the Course.
Share with students that all
assignments for textbook readings, deadlines for assignments, and all project
deadlines are in this area. It is their responsibility to use it and keep up-to-date on all
their assignments.
Provide remaining time for students to review grid and ask relevant questions.
Tuesday:
Review Your Study Guide for the Course with students from grid. Emphasize
that all assignments are to be done prior to class.
Discuss role of groups and tell students they will announce their groups tomorrow.
Use Overview: Alexander the Great to discuss the life and times of Macedonia
and the other Greek states prior to and during the Peloppenesian War.
Have
students chose the areas they wish to access on-line and encourage those students
who are not completely comfortable with the Internet to use the mouse.
Locate the areas being discussed on the classroom maps and on the maps available
on the Internet sites.
Encourage students to bookmark any new or interesting sites which can later be
reviewed by the class and added to New Information.
Wednesday:
Discuss groups. Record each group on chart and list all members. Place on wall for
reference by class.
Ask for questions about reading assignments from text.
Continue discussion about the conditions which existed in Macedonia before
Alexander was born. Who his parents were? Who were his father's friends and
teachers? What is known about Alexander's family and how we know it?
Introduce
the idea and importance of distinguishing between facts, myths, and legends.
What
do we know about Alexander's early life and who his teacher's were?
Why is this
important?
Use the remaining time in class to allow the groups to meet and begin exploring
what they want to do as a project.
Thursday:
Discuss the end of the Peloppenesian War and the death of Alexander's father,
Philip II. Place this discussion in the contextual framework of an adolescent and
begin to draw comparisons about Alexander's actions and contemporary students.
Have students break out into their groups to discuss this issue and to report their
findings. They can use any materials they wish to support their opinions and
ideas. (Allow twenty minutes for this activity) . Have each group report their
findings in three minutes.
Friday:
Give groups time to access information about topics they are considering.
Encourage them to use other search engines to seek additional information and to
look in other libraries(on-line and local) for more information.
Encourage students
to seek individuals who may have a particular interest and store of knowledge about
this period who they could interview and use as a resource.
Discuss with each group how they have organized the tasks of their project. Who is
the monitor, reporter, collector(s) of information, and how do they think they will
present the material? If special requirements are necessary, have the monitor
assign someone the responsibility of acquiring the materials and establish a
deadline.
At the end of the week each group should give a brief up-date on their progress and
their plan of action for the next week. If materials have been discovered by one
group which could help another, then it is the responsibility of both groups to
cooperate and exchange information.
WEEK 5:
Monday through Wednesday:
Continue to finish Contributions in Art, Architecture
Thursday:
Have students do creative writing assignment in class. If I Were Alexander the
Great.
Students should use their notes and concentrate on their ideas to
incorporate the information they have learned. The syntax they will use to express
those thoughts should be carefully chosen in order to make their ideas more
understandable to the reader.
Friday:
Essays are read in class anonymously by number. Students vote to rank on most
interesting, most humorous, and most informative. Authors who wish to be
recognized can identify their paper. Other essays can be claimed from folder at
student's discretion.
Final update from groups. All groups should be very close to completion.
If any group wishes to preview their presentation, they may do so. Rest of time is
spent in groups.
Week 6:
Monday:
Two groups present:
Group 1: The Campaigns of Alexander the Great
Group has designed a floor map which describes each battle, where it was
fought, how the battle was conducted, what important decisions Alexander made during
the campaign, and how he treated the citizens of the conquered territories.
Group 2: What Was Happening in Macedonia when Philip II Was King ?
Alexander's Boyhood
This group concentrated on the legends and stories about Alexander's parents and
explored the implications of legends, and myths on the search for truth and fact. Aristotle
was Alexander's tutor. A Hyperstudio stack was created and used with a projector and
large screen to introduce each member of the group as they portrayed a specific character.
Tuesday:
Two groups present:
Group 3: Web Page: Alexander's Contributions in Art and Architecture
A beautiful depiction of Alexander's empire and the art it inspired. A large map of the
empire of Alexander was used as the menu for the five web pages described a different
aspect of the life and locations which were conquered during his reign. The students used a
projector and large screen for their presentation.
Group 4: Alexander the Great: Political Strategy and Organization of the
Empire
This group chose to explore how Alexander organized his bureaucracy at home
and in the countries he conquered to maintain order and continue his campaigns. They
created a dramatic presentation depicting actual accounts and descriptions of the choices
and actions Alexander utilized. The script was written and executed by all the members of
the group.
Wednesday:
Last two groups present:
Group 5: Individual presentation: Significance of the City of Alexandria
This
student decided to replicate the city of Alexandria as it existed in Alexander's time and to
research the products, commerce, activities of its citizens, and the lifestyle of the wealthy
citizens and the slaves. Additional information was obtained about the diseases, sanitation
methods, and foods which were eaten by the people who inhabited the city during this era
and immediately after his death. A comparison was made between the city as it existed then
and the present city of Alexandria. The student was able to use e-mail to interview several
authorities in forensic medicine who shared their expertise about the diseases and lifestyles
of the population during Alexander's reign.
Group 6: Alexander's Legacy and His Impact on Today
This group chose to
retrace the campaigns of Alexander and attempt to discover what concrete evidence re-
mained of his journeys and his empire. They were able to communicate with several
scholars and created a Hyperstudio stack that allowed them to show several locations which
were captured as snapshots when they interviewed the experts. They also made a video
tape of their interviews and were actually able to have one on-line conversation with a
scholar whom they had consulted while they were presenting their project.
Thursday:
Creative essay Imagine: You are Alexander! Write an essay using all the good
communication skills you have developed to make your essay readable and informative.
Friday:
Students are asked to evaluate entire project. Tell what you expected, how you were
surprised, what you found out about your abilities, what worked for you, what was
difficult, and what you would do differently. Describe how you felt about working in your
groups and what three items were good and list three items which could have been better.
Think about how you worked and what you know about yourself.
At the end of the hour, charts which were developed on the very first day are reviewed and
students measure how much they have grown and learned .
Return to Home Page:Course Guidelines Introduction Goals and Objectives
Alexander and Philip About this Course Daily Activity Plan