Bring Ancient Greece to life with Busy Things!
Ancient Greece is one of the most fascinating history topics that really captures pupils’ imaginations. And for good reason! This incredible civilisation pioneered so many intellectual, scientific and artistic achievements, many of which still influence our lives today.
As it’s a statutory topic within the Key Stage 2 curriculum, Busy Things has created a rich collection of engaging and educational activities, exploring its timeline, geography, myths, gods, great thinkers and legacy, to help you bring the era to life in your classroom.
Starting with the ‘when’ and ‘where’
When first looking at Ancient Greece, plotting the period on a timeline and understanding its actual location are vitally important.
When: Ancient Greece wasn’t a single event but a civilisation that developed over time. It’s generally agreed to have started around 3000 BCE and to have continued to 31 BCE.
The interactive Ancient Greece timeline activity looks at the five distinct periods of the civilisation, providing information on each period and distinct events within them.
From the Minoan Civilisation to tyrant rule, the Peloponnesian War to the Romans, the activity provides key information, which can be used as a springboard to further learning.
Where: Our interactive maps are perfect for helping pupils explore Ancient Greece’s location and historic sites. You can find Greece using our ‘Interactive map of Europe’ activity then explore the detail with our ‘Interactive map of Ancient Greece’ activity.
The interactive map of Ancient Greece activity includes 19 clickable pins, each revealing fascinating facts about important locations.
Teachers can select/deselect pins on the map to customise learning for your class.
You might choose to focus on key sites, such as Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Poseidon and Knossos to give your pupils a good general overview. Alternatively, you could split the sites between different groups in your class, so that they can research them and present their findings to the class as a whole later.
Once all the information has been covered, you’ll find the ‘Test your knowledge’ feature great for reinforcement. As before, you can limit the locations covered. In addition, you can choose whether to show the clues as thumbnails, silhouettes or question marks depending on how challenging you want it to be for your pupils.
Ancient Greek Gods and Myths
Greek mythology and the religious beliefs of the Ancient Greeks were tightly interwoven, with many of the myths including demi-gods as characters. Busy Things includes activities on both Ancient Greek myths and its gods and goddesses, and now, with its new A.I.-powered Interview Zeus activity, it allows you to ask any question you want about Ancient Greek society and myths too. Find out more below:
If you’re looking for a concise overview, our Ancient Greeks poster cannot be beaten.
It explains why the Greeks believed in so many gods, what worship involved and the history behind each of the gods and goddesses.
Use it to resource a reading comprehension or writing lesson, or print it out for a classroom display.
Our ‘Ancient Greek myths’ activity explores a selection of well-known myths that highlight universal themes such as bravery, intelligence and good versus evil.
Similarly, our ‘Name the Greek gods and goddesses’ activity explores the deities.
With helpful clues provided within the Guidance, children can match each name to its image, helping them to learn the key facts.
Our interactive ‘Interview Zeus’ activity gives your pupils free rein to ask whatever questions they like about Ancient Greece. And if anyone should know the answer, it would be Zeus, king of the gods and god of the sky!
Achievements and Legacy
In this final section, we look at the lasting impact that Ancient Greece has had on the Western world, considering some of the most influential thinkers of all time who originated there.
Our ‘Famous Ancient Greeks’ activity introduces pupils to notable figures like Plato, Aristotle and Archimedes, helping them appreciate their achievements in maths, science, philosophy and more.
Who do your pupils think made the biggest impact on the modern world?
And let’s not forget the wider legacy of Ancient Greece. It was the birthplace of democracy, the Olympic Games, and so many other aspects of modern governance and culture.
To support this part of the topic, Busy Things offers three vocabulary-matching activities that introduce key terms and concepts:
• Ancient Greece vocabulary – cities and governance
• Ancient Greece vocabulary – culture
• Ancient Greece vocabulary – religion
Want to see the Busy Things activities we’ve mentioned?
If you already have a trial with Busy Things, or subscribe, you will be able to find all the Busy Things activities mentioned above (plus many more!) when you log in. Simply type either the title of the activity or ‘Ancient Greece’ into the Search area accessible from the welcome page or the teacher bar.
If you’re new to Busy Things, why not take out a 28-day free trial with us and see what we offer? Simply click here and we’ll organise it for you. There is no obligation to subscribe afterwards but we hope you’ll want to!
The selection here really is just the tip of the iceberg! For more activities about Ancient Greece, including activities on its soldiers and pottery, we’d recommend delving deeper if history resources are what you’re searching for!