Social Studies Unit - LCPS



Social Studies Unit

Greece

Vocabulary Students need to know the meaning of each word.

direct democracy – a government in which people vote to make their own rules and laws

representative democracy – a government in which people vote for (elect) a smaller group of citizens to make the rules and laws for everyone

column – a tall cylinder-shaped pillar used to support a structure. Columns were an important part of ancient Greek architecture.

peninsula – a piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides. Greece is a peninsula.

Parthenon – a famous building in Athens, Greece. It was built more than 2,400 years ago as a temple to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

Mediterranean Sea– a body of water that is located between Europe and Asia. The civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome both border the Mediterranean Sea.

terraces – farmers cut flat areas called terraces into hills so they could plant crops.

economic specialization – focusing on one product or service. In some parts of Greece, shipbuilding was an example of economic specialization.

Important Information Students need to know:

1. Greece is located on the continent of Europe. It is a peninsula that borders the Mediterranean Sea.

2. Greece has many mountains and hills so farming was difficult. The farmers had to farm on the hillsides. They terraced the hills to farm. They had limited rich soil to use.

3. The mountains made traveling difficult, which led to the development of small, independent villages.

4. Many seaside towns specialized in shipbuilding. This is an example of economic specialization.

5. The Mediterranean Sea was important to Greece because they used it to travel to other places to trade.

6. The government in Greece was a direct democracy. People voted to make their own rules and laws. Greece is known as the birthplace of democracy.

7. The ancient Greeks used columns in many of their buildings. An example is the Parthenon.

8. The arts were important in ancient Greece. Sculptures, paintings, and mosaics were popular arts in ancient Greece.

9. The Olympic games of today are modeled after the games of ancient Greece.

Skills Students should be able to:

*We are learning about each of the ancient civilizations we are studying (Mali, Rome, and Greece) by comparing important characteristics in each one. The characteristics we will use are physical characteristics (geography), human characteristics, adaptations to the environment, government, and architecture. To Greece’s characteristics we will also add the arts and sports because these are both important aspects of the ancient Greek civilization.

Students should be able to name the important facts about each of these characteristics with regard to Greece. These facts are listed on the next page, grouped by characteristic. These same facts are also listed above in Important Information and Vocabulary sections.

| |Located on the continent of Europe |

| |Located among mountains and hills |

|Physical |Surrounded the Mediterranean Sea |

|Characteristics |Had limited rich soil |

| |Farmers |

|Human |Shipbuilders |

|Characteristics |Traders |

| |Farmed on hillsides (using terraced farming) |

|Adaptations |Traded with other countries on the Mediterranean Sea |

|to |Developed small independent communities because people were divided by mountains and hills |

|Environment | |

|Government |Was a direct democracy: the people vote to make their own rules and laws. |

| |Greece is known as the birthplace of democracy. |

|Architecture |Used columns in many of their buildings |

| |The Parthenon is an example and is located in Athens, Greece. |

|The Arts |Sculptures |

| |Paintings |

|Sports |The Olympics |

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