You are about to travel a timeline in Ancient Mesopotamia, and learn about the birth of writing. |
The purpose of this lesson is to consolidate the knowledge gained in the three previous lessons: Lesson One: The Phoenicians and the Beginnings of the Alphabet Lesson Two: The Greek Alphabet: more familiar than you think! Lesson Three: The Alphabet: The Roman Alphabet is our Alphabet
The Romans developed the alphabet we still use today. In this lesson we will introduce the Romans and ask how their alphabet got to us.
This lesson is about the Greeks, who inherited the alphabet invented by the Phoenicians, and used it to write their great literature.
This lesson is about the Phoenicians, who invented the alphabet inherited by the Greeks, Romans, and eventually, us.
Students are bound to be curious to know what all that Greek writing means. This lesson plan uses an EDSITEment created Greek alphabet animationto help students "decode" the inscription on the Olympic medal. Because the Olympic medal is both a familiar and mysterious object for students, it presents an ideal prompt to build basic literacy in the Greek alphabet. Thus, this lesson uses the Athens 2004 medal inscription as an elementary "text" to help students practice reading Greek and to help reinforce the link between ancient Greek culture and the Olympic games.
Some of the most well known, and most important, works of literature in the world are examples of epic poetry. This lesson will introduce students to the epic poem form and to its roots in oral tradition.