On the Street in Ancient Greece
	Snapshot "Shhh! Everyone settle down. The Athenians are going to come online any second. Do you all have your notes? Joe, straighten out your toga! O.K. Here they are. Socrates, you may begin." "Hail and welcome to the first live broadcast of talks between our States. We come in the hope of peace for ourselves and our children." The classroom of middle school students hasn't been this quiet or concentrated in weeks. The students are gathered around the video camera and computer ready to do their part to advance understanding between Athens and Sparta. UNIT OF PRACTICE Invitation How do students come to understand an historical period, specifically the period in Greek history that included Socrates, Solon, and the city-states, and provided the foundations for democracy? How do we help students understand the differences between two cultures? This unit engages students in research culminating in a real-time role- playing simulation with another classroom, using video conferencing technology. Situation This unit takes place in two classrooms equipped with Internet connections. Students in each class conduct similar research and meet on a video conference to role-play everyday life in ancient Greece. Tasks This unit involves two or more classes studying the cultures of either Athens or Sparta. Students in small groups study an aspect of the culture: religion, politics, art, or philosophy. The classes meet in a video conference at the end of their research period to share what they have learned. The video conference takes the form of a live TV newscast with students role-playing "the man on the street in ancient Greece" on the topics of religion, education, dress, politics, and so on. Each student is assigned a role for the live TV broadcast. Interactions Students in the participating classrooms work in pairs, small groups, or individually. The groups conduct research and contribute to the script for the TV newsÐstyle role-playing. During the video conference, student-actors from the two classes role-play the "man on the street" interview and ask questions of each other to learn about the other city-state's culture. Standards This unit addresses standards set by the National Council for Social Studies and the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as state and local curriculum guidelines. Social Studies standards call for programs that teach students about other cultures and that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions. English standards state that students should adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences; use a variety of technological and informational resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge; and use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes. Assessment Mr. Gobranski and Ms. McHenry assess the degree to which students articulate what they have learned. The degree to which the students prepare for the interviews will be assessed by students themselves using a scorecard prepared in advance. Tools This unit uses the following tools: ¥ Computer equipped with video in and out, video camera, browser software and an Internet connection ¥ Internet, the City; Ancient Civilizations Web Pack; Encarta Deluxe; and ClearPhone Getting Started Mr. Gobranski and Ms. McHenry had worked closely together before the scene described at the beginning of this unit. Setting up an historical simulation with another class requires the following preparation: ¥ Finding a Partner Class: Refer to the "How To..." section of this guide which gives you pointers on how to find another classroom for a collaborative project, and how to use the software titles in this bundle to facilitate a collaborative project. ¥ Introducing the Internet: The program, Internet, the City, should be made available to students so they can begin to understand how the World Wide Web is structured and can make better use of their research time. One way to do this is to set up the program on the classroom or library computer and give students assigned modules to complete sometime during the next two weeks. A check-off list at the computer will help you keep track of who has visited Internet, the City. ¥ Give students a list of possible characters to choose from. In this case, include famous people as well as typical citizens (peasants, women, children, statesmen, slaves, etc.). Once students have chosen a role, they may begin exploring the Internet to find out what their character's position might have been in 432 B.C. They can also begin thinking about costumes and props for the interviews. ¥ Student Research: Use the Sunburst Ancient Civilizations Web Pack to locate Internet sites on this topic. You may find other valuable sites linked to these which you can collect into a DragNet folder for distribution onto the desktops of the computers in your class or lab. Students can also use Encarta Deluxe for information on Athens and Sparta. See the "How To..." section of this guide for more tips on how to use the software in this bundle to make searching the Internet more efficient and safe. ¥ Conducting a Videoconference: Experiment with ClearPhone ahead of time with your partner teacher. See the "How To..." section for how to set up the equipment for a video conference. There are also some important classroom preparation techniques for planning a video conference. The "How To..." section gives you practical tips in maximizing student participation so that they realize all of the educational benefits of collaborating in real time. ¥ Be prepared for the videoconference part of this unit to take several class periods, particularly if all the students get a turn to be on camera.