Ancient Athens Orations

We have spent time learning about what life was like in ancient Athens and how democracy began.
We have investigated the social structure of Greece and the roles and responsibilities of the
individuals that lived during that time. Your job is to show what you have learned through an
oration.

An orator is a public speaker. Your mission is to present what you have learned about life in
ancient Athens using a form of public speaking.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

- This is a major assignment. Work hard!
- Your finished presentation should be 3-5 minutes in length
- You will have 3-4 class periods, as well as a weekend, to prepare your presentation
- You may work independently or in small groups for this project
- You may choose to present in-person or pre-record* a video of your presentation to be
shared in class
*NOTE: If you choose to record your presentation, this must be done on your own time outside of
class

INSTRUCTIONS
You will choose one of the following forms of public speaking to prepare:
1. You are an orator and you are about to present a speech in front of the whole Assembly.
Research different topics that would have been relevant to discuss at an Assembly meeting
and write a speech. Make sure your speech is compelling and persuasive.
1. With 2-4 members of your class, write and perform a play that shows the different roles and
responsibilities of different gender roles in Ancient Athens.
2. Create a re-enactment of a conversation or an interview that might have happened between
two men in the marketplace in Ancient Athens. This conversation or interview could be
focused on the workings of the government.
3. Create a re-enactment of the Court making a decision on a case. This should feature a
magistrate, a defendant, and a plaintiff, and the case should reflect a relevant issue in
Greek culture; a mock trial!
4. A scene of the Greek gods discussing the humans in Ancient Athens.
5. Take on the point of view of someone living in Ancient Athens and write a diary entry from
their perspective. Your entry (or entries) will be presented for the class. You need to decide
what your social status is (citizen, metic or slave), if you are writing from a male or a female
perspective, how long a time frame your diary entry is going to span, and what your job may
 be. Make sure you are well thought out and write about things that were relevant to the
democratic process in Ancient Athens. Some possible perspectives to consider:
a. An Athenian boy, writing a diary account of your day at school. Include facts about
Greek education and famous Greek people (Socrates, Pericles, etc.).
b. A slave who has just been sold at the market. Be sure to research this process and
include not just his/her emotions, but the consequences it has on Greek culture.

GRADING
Your assignment must have a script, as well as costumes and/or props. You will be graded on:
● Preparedness - Have you thought out your presentation well? Did you bring everything you
needed in order to perform well?
● Presentation - Did you present with confidence and clarity?
● Reflection - Did you actually present facts about Greek culture? Did your presentation
reflect multiple aspects of what we have learned in class? (This is worth twice as much!)

PLANNING YOUR ASSIGNMENT

In planning your assignment, be sure to:
- Consider if you will work best by yourself or with a group. Inform the teacher of your choice
(groups are maximum of 4 and will be marked with higher expectations on research). If you
choose to work by yourself, you don’t have to go with the diary-- playing more than one
character can be fun!
- Pick one of the options above.
- Decide what costumes or props you will need to best present your oration.
- Decide what facts about Athenian life you are going to feature.
- Decide what you will need to research in order to best be prepared for this presentation. A
good website for the daily life of Greeks is:
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_greek_daily_life.php
- Time yourself to make sure your oration lasts at least 4-5 minutes.

Some things to think about when presenting:

- Be sure to speak slowly and clearly-- everyone speaks a little faster when presenting in
front of others,
- Be aware of ‘upstaging’-- turning your back to the audience. When you’re having a
conversation with another character, both of you should be facing the audience.
- Move around! Whether you’re in a group or by yourself, movement while talking makes a
scene much more interesting.
- Don’t stare at your paper or cover your face with it! A presentation is much more enjoyable
to watch if the audience can see your face.
 - If you are being a distraction during someone else’s presentation, you will lose marks on
your own presentation.

Some other things to think about:

- If you’re presenting in Ancient Greece, make sure your characters have names that are
appropriate for the time and place.
- What if you compared your scenario with modern day Canada? What would that look like?
- How are you going to show a change in scenes/days instead of just calling it out? Is there
something you could do to signify this change?
- If you’re in a group, make sure everyone has an equal role. The talking time should be split
pretty evenly.
 Name(s):______________________________________ / 20

Ancient Athens Orations

5 3 1

Student(s) came prepared to Student(s) came somewhat prepared Student(s) came ill-prepared to
present with script, costumes, to present. Some script, costumes, present. Script, costumes, and/or
and/or props. The presentation and/or props may be missing or props were missing or incomplete.
was thought-out and carefully incomplete. The presentation was The presentation was mostly

Preparedness planned. generally thought-out and reasonably improvised.

planned.
In-class preparation time was In-class preparation time was not
used effectively. In-class preparation time was used used effectively.
effectively some of the time.

Student(s) presented with
confidence and spoke with
clarity and projection.
Presentation Student(s) clearly know the
script very well, or have even
memorized their part. The
presentation was engaging.
Student(s) generally presented with
confidence and spoke mostly with
clarity and projection. Student(s)
mostly read off their script. The
presentation was effective.
Student(s) lacked confidence and
had difficulty speaking clearly.
Student(s) had trouble with their
script. The presentation was
unfocused.

Accurate facts were presented The presentation reflected some There were little to no facts
about Greek culture. The aspects of what we learned in class, presented in the presentation, or the
Reflection/ presentation reflected many and those facts were generally facts present were inaccurate. The
Content aspects of what we learned in accurate. The presentation presentation does not demonstrate

(x2) class and demonstrates the demonstrates the student(s) basic an understanding of concepts.
student(s) deep understanding understanding of concepts.
of concepts.

Notes:
 Name(s):______________________________________ / 20

Ancient Athens Orations (Alternative)

5 3 1

Student(s) came prepared to Student(s) came somewhat prepared Student(s) came ill-prepared to
present with script, costumes, to present. Some script, costumes, present. Script, costumes, and/or
and/or props. The oration was and/or props may be missing or props were missing or incomplete.
rehearsed prior to incomplete. The oration was The presentation was mostly

Preparedness presentation. generally rehearsal prior to improvised.

presentation.
In-class preparation time was In-class preparation time was not
used effectively. In-class preparation time was used used effectively.
effectively some of the time.

Student(s) read their script
with good confidence and flow.
Rehearsal time and effort is
Presentation apparent. The presentation
was well understood and
effective.
Student(s) read their script with
moderate confidence and accuracy.
Some rehearsal was done, and effort
is noticeable. The presentation was
understood and effective.
Student(s) struggled to or did not
read the script. Lack of effort is
apparent.

Accurate facts were presented The presentation reflected some There were little to no facts
about Greek culture. The aspect presented in the presentation, or the
Reflection/ presentation reflected at least of what we learned in class, and facts present were inaccurate. The
Content one aspect of what we learned those facts were generally accurate. presentation does not demonstrate

(x2) in class and demonstrates the The presentation demonstrates the an understanding of concepts.
student(s) understanding of student(s) basic grasp of concepts.
concepts.

Notes: