The Democratic foundation established by the ancient Greeks

Abstract:  

Our integrated project blends the subjects of math and history.  Since two of our group members never bothered to show up these are the only two subjects we will be covering, with the two history majors focusing on religion and government respectively.  The math portion will focus on famous Greek mathematicians.  With the help of a special education major, we will alter the plan to cater to the needs of special needs students. 
    I plan to use the week to explain how the ancient Greeks introduced a democratic form of government.  This was a revolutionary form of rule in a world of dictators and tyrants.  Throughout the week the class will learn about the origins of Greek democracy and its prominent figures.  We will then compare and contrast the Greek form of democracy to the one used in our own government.  We will also be discussing the possible reasons why democracy failed in Greece and if it seems possible for the United States to suffer the same fate.

Names and Majors of the Team Members:

• Clint Shewmaker- History Education

• Brandon Schoenman- History Education

• Jose Gonzalez- Mathematics Education

• Tom Witschi- Special Education

Subjects Integrated:

• History/ Government: The Democratic foundation established by the ancient Greeks

• History: Greek Gods

• Math: The Mathematical foundations that was built by the Greeks

Objectives:  

• Upon completion of this lesson, participating students will be able to note five key similarities between the ancient Greek democracy and the democracy of the United States.  

• Students will also know why democracy failed in Greece and will be able to list specific examples.

Rationale:  

    An integrated lesson plan is a vital learning tool for students.  It helps students to understand that key concepts can be carried from subject to subject.  It is also helpful in that students do not stop learning about a certain subject area when the bell rings.  A particular culture or idea can be carried on in the next class thus promoting a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Unit Description 

Day One: The origins of democracy

• On this day we will discuss the origins of the Greek democratic system.  We will examine the factors that prompted this type of government to be set up.  We will also discuss how it was different from the other types of government popular in the ancient world.

Day Two: Popular Political Figures

• On day two I plan to lead a discussion on the popular political figures of ancient Greece.  The figures we will be studying will be ones who were influential in establishing Greek democracy and who also played an important role in democratic government.  Important figures in the senate and general public will also be covered. 

Day Three: Comparing and Contrasting

• On the third day we will discuss the similarities and differences between the Greek system of democracy and the version we as Americans are governed under today.  These similarities and differences will be key concepts that the students will need to display as durable knowledge at the end of the unit.

Day Four: The failure of Greek democracy

• The fourth day will be devoted to examining why the Greek form of democracy failed.  We will examine the external factors that other nations contributed to the failure as well as the internal problems the nations leaders were facing in keeping the country together from a governmental standpoint.

Day Five: Could it happen to us?

• The fifth day will be spent discussing the issue of whether what happened in Greece could happen in America.  The students will debate the matter and each side will have to present and argument and back it up with evidence.  The evidence and examples will come from the four previous days of discussion.  The use of the examples from lecture will help to tie everything together for the unit.  Also the debate format will be a good way to get the class involved.

Special Accommodations:  Recommended by Tom Witschi

• If the need arises I will be prepared to help students with special needs.  For the visually impaired, the extent of their impairment will determine my method of teaching.  Since my unit is based upon lecture and discussion notes, braile notes will be ran off for the blind and larger print notes will be made for the poor of sight.  If a note taker is required I will be sure to provide one.  The group activity at the end of the week will be a great way to keep a child with a behavior disorder occupied.  For gifted students, extra homework can be assigned if they are looking for more of a challenge.  An interpreter can be provided for deaf students or they can be pulled out of the class and retaught as is often the case.         

Jose Gonzalez

The Mathematical Foundation that was Built by the Greeks

Abstract:

    I will introduce five famous mathematicians from Greek times.  Since we are doing a unit plan for a week, one figure per day should work.  The five I have selected are Pythagoras, Zeno of Elea, Aristotle, Diophantus of Alexandria, and Euclid.  It will not only be a mathematical view, but also a philosophical, and where possible, a political view.  On each day I will first talk about the life of each historical figure.  This will include places were they born and/or died, with whom they talked to, where and how they came up with the ideas that they are famous for and then dive into what their achievements mean for us today.  We will see how government played a role in situations such as with the fabled irrational crises, in which Pythagoras was killed because he was spreading the idea of the irrational number.  Finally I will assign a project in which the class will have to write a paper on a Greek mathematician who I did not cover.  I will either provide a list for the class or simply assign a person to each group.  I will set up groups of 2 or three, depending on class size.  For students who are visually impaired, I would blow up the any overhead used, and give them a copy of it.  If necessary I would get sheets that are done in brail.  If a student is gifted, I would have them try to figure out how a certain Greek mathematician came up with whatever idea without the use of calculators.  If a student has ADHD/BD I would try to have them develop a 5 minute play on their Greek mathematician.  If a student is deaf, I would have to rely on an interpreter, and give them copies of the notes.

Subject Integrated:

• Math: Philosophers and mathematicians of ancient Greek society and their contributions in math. Philosophical and political views of ancient Greeks in regards to these people 

Objective:

After the lesson, students should be able to:

• Associate famous ancient Greek philosophers with certain math principles.

• Solve certain math problems using the Pythagorean Theorem.
  Calculate distance and use relations when dealing with geometric problems.

• Prove that we do get to point B from point A

Rationale: 

• An integrated curriculum is important instructional material for students because it allows them to see that the subjects encompass other subjects.  They are all connected somehow, they allow one to see where the information came from.  This allows them to see what certain people where thinking when they made their discoveries or thoughts.

Resources needed:

• Articles about the philosophers.

Unit Description:

Day one: Pythagoras

• This will deal with the man and group.  Will talk about their political views and stance.  We will discuss not only the Pythagorean Theorem but also the idea of rationales and irrationals as well as the idea of abstract math.  Will talk about the structure of the government and why this was a big deal (history).

• Also I will assign a project that will have students doing research on a Greek philosopher and the contributions that person made in math along with any other contributions. (English)  Will have people get in groups of two (maybe three depending on class size).  Will give them a list of names for them to choose from.  (for list see materials)

Day two: Zeno of Elea

We will discuss the ideas of Zeno.  Not only will we talk about a few of his paradoxes but also discuss what others have thought of his paradoxes.  Try to see if any students can solve these paradoxes, or simply see its errors.  Since all of Zeno’s work I written by Plato, we will also discuss the ideas he had and the problems he had with the government (history) and his ideas on education and life (English)     

Day three:  Aristotle 

We will discuss the ideas he had about the universe and the good he did.  He is also mentioned by Plato, so we will discuss his views on Aristotle.  We will discuss the arguments these two men had and the ideas each try to pass.  Also, I will introduce the idea of axioms and what they are.

Day four:  Diophantus of Alexandria

He is known as the father of algebra.  He wrote a book called Arithmetica. This book is a collection of 130 problems giving numerical solutions of determinate and indeterminate equations.  I will introduce determinates and show how to solve them. 

Day five: Euclid

Euclid is known for many things and I will touch on certain things.  He wrote a book called The Elements.  We will look into the reading including the definitions and five postulates he writes about.  We will see how these definitions and postulates have impacted the world of math to this day. 

List of Famous Ancient Greek Mathematicians

Brandon Schoenman

History: 

• Greek Gods 

Objectives: 

After completing the unit, students will be able to: 

• Identify the ancient Greek gods and describe their function in Greek society.

• Illustrate how the ancient Greek religion influenced architecture of the time period.

• Explain how the Olympic games have their origin from the Greek gods.

Rationale: 

This unit is important because it shows students how the religious aspect of ancient Greek society impacted civilization and is still impacting civilization. Students should possess some knowledge of the Greek gods because they are still prevalent in pop culture, and in such social aspects as the Olympic games. Greek civilization helped to shape human civilization and a major part of everyday life for the Greeks were the gods that they worshipped.

Resources needed: 

• List of Greek God’s and their purpose

• Overhead for notes on the gods and their role

• VCR for “Clash of the Titans” film

Unit description: 

• Monday….Go over the list of Greek gods and their function, or role in Greek society. Have students pick out which god they find the most interesting and write a short 1-page essay on why they picked that god. This will show students the importance of the gods and see how they were important in all aspects of ancient Greek life.

• Tuesday: Look at how the gods influenced the Olympic games and Greek architecture. Look at modern architecture and see how it is influenced by the ancient Greek architecture. Will relate to math lesson.

• Wednesday: Look at Ancient Greek gods in today’s popular culture. Look at some examples. Shows the importance of the gods, and how they are still remembered today.

• Thursday and Friday: watch “Clash of the Titans” Write a response essay on the movie.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs: 

• To accommodate vision impaired students; notes would either be printed in Braille for the blind, or enlarged for students who have a lesser impairment. Deaf students would have a translator. Behavioral disordered students would be given special jobs to keep them occupied, and keep them from becoming bored.