Ancient History Unit Focus: Sparta

Sub strand: Ancient History Length: 4 weeks

Year level: 6/7 Concept focus This unit is built to
Year level theme have students engage in the culture of the
ancient Spartans through experiences that
This unit focuses on ancient history and the ancient are not as similar as experiences today.
Greek society of the Spartans.

Knowledge and Understanding Content Descriptions covered

The role of a significant individual in ancient Greek history such as Leonidas or Pericles(ACDSEH130)

Significant beliefs, values and practices of the ancient Greeks, with a particular emphasis on ONE of the following areas: everyday life,
warfare, or death and funerary customs (ACDSEH036)

Contacts and conflicts within and/or with other societies, resulting in developments such as the expansion of trade, colonisation and war
(such as the Peloponnesian and Persian wars)(ACDSEH037)

Inquiry and Skills Content Descriptions covered

Physical features of ancient Greece (such as its mountainous landscape) and how they influenced the civilisation that developed
there(ACDSEH003)

Roles of key groups in Athenian and/or Spartan society (such as citizens, women, slaves), including the influence of law
and religion(ACDSEH035)

Knowledge and Understanding Achievement Inquiry and Skills Achievement

Standards aspects assessed Standards aspects assessed
Time and place allows for certain cultural aspects to Suggest reasons for change and
evolve. Physical fitness was a vital part of life in ancient continuity over time.
Sparta. They describe events and
developments from the perspective
of different people who lived at the
time.

Brief description of the units purpose Key Inquiry questions to guide

The purpose of this unit is to provide an experience that unit thinking
have students find evidence for the emergence of How do we know about the ancient past?
ancient societies and engage in the key feature of the What have been the legacies of ancient
spartan society societies?
Opportunities to incorporate Cross Curriculum Opportunities to incorporate
priorities General Capabilities
These lessons include experiences with; Art, physical The unit uses all its lessons to have
activity. students experience the general
capabilities with emphasis on the Spartans
everyday life.
Learning activities/experiences Assessment tasks Formative
Many creative experiences, art, physical activity, ICT, Art: checklist of students art work
receptive and productive lessons on the vase design.
Cooking: did the students follow
the recipe to create the spartan
bread.
Summative
Create a poster displaying
evidence of connections to the
past through the activities
throughout the unit.

ICT resources available Learning resources available

Laptops, iPads and smartboard activities. http://www.ancient.eu/thermopylae
/
https://www.thoughtco.com/sparta-
military-state-121088

Lesson outline for the 4 week unit Based on 2@90 minute periods
per week

Week 1 Week 2
Session 1 Session 1
Sparta, who are they and what connects us to them. What did the Spartans eat? What
Research/receptive lessons involving laptops. did they do for proteins?
Creating a bread from a simple
Session 2 recipe using ancient inspired
ingredients.
Spartan everyday life. What did they do in their
everyday life and how do we know this?
Session 2
Receptive lesson, student produce summary of The Agoge, Part 1, why did the
what the Spartans did during their life spans. Spartans use this method of
training. Research lessons on the
experiences of ancient Spartans
and what it has inspired in our
lives today.
Week 3 Week 4
Session 1 Session 1
The Agoge, Part 2. Finishing off their art pieces and
This lesson feature a chance to play a P.E. game but starting their summative
with a Historical setting and features. assessment piece. Making a
poster that collect all of the
experiences with the Spartan
Session 2 culture and making a conclusions
The art works influenced by ancient Greeks. from the inquiry questions.
Research art works that the ancient Greeks produced Session 2
and is still around today. Creating a design that has Summative piece, poster with
features like the art in their pottery. conclusions on the Spartan culture
and their connection to us.
Use inquiry
questions/achievement
standards to create rubric
Potential HASS sub strand connections Potential other learning area
We will look at geography by looking at maps of the connections
ancient world and with focus on where Sparta and their Mixing with Art and P.E.
famous battles took place.. throughout the unit.

Topic background resources (for teacher use only) to Pedagogical resources to

support teaching learning for the unit support the teaching of the unit
Most of the info used found on; Bochner, S, Duchesne, S, Krause, K and McMaugh, A.
(2013) Educational psychology: For learning and
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/sparta/story/sto_set.htm
l teaching, (4th ed)

http://www.elysiumgates.com/~helena/Education.html Maude, A 2014 Understanding and teaching the

http://www.history.com/search?q=spartans Australian curriculum: geography for primary
schools, Hawker Brownlow Education, Moorabbin
Victoria

http://www.historyteacher.org.au/resources/