Back when I started my Ancient Greece unit study I began with science. Now, I have numerous hands-on Ancient Greece activities and two free lapbooks. Go here to Fun Ancient Greece Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook and Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities to grab both free lapbooks.
I have the book Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome (Hands-On History) and so Tiny quickly opened it to find something he wanted to try.
He was reading about Ancient Greeks studying refraction. We did this when the boys were little, but as is the case when you have younger children, they don’t remember what you did with the older kids.
First, look at some of the books I gathered for our Ancient Greece unit study.
BOOKS ABOUT ANCIENT GREECE FOR KIDS
8 Living History Books about Ancient Greece
You'll love this roundup of living history books about Ancient Greece.
In print for over fifty years, D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths has introduced generations to Greek mythology—and continues to enthrall young readers. Here are the greats of ancient Greece—gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters—as freshly described in words and pictures as if they were alive today. No other volume of Greek mythology has inspired as many young readers as this timeless classic. Both adults and children alike will find this book a treasure for years to come. “For any child fortunate enough to have this generous book . . . the kings and heroes of ancient legend will remain forever matter-of-fact; the pictures interpret the text literally and are full of detail and witty observation.”—The Horn Book
The suggested reader age for this book is 8 to 14 years old. To write this book, I went back to Herodotus, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius, and other ancient sources of biographical anecdotes, and extracted from them the stories that will be most memorable to a modern kid. I retold them without adding any fictional color. I have omitted some things, however. Anything gruesome or seriously cruel is not included. Anything off-color, or outside traditional-family-friendly morality is not included. I have included only accounts of the most major battles, and without much detail. Battles are important, but as a kid - maybe as a girl - I was falling asleep over the ancient battles. Politics: Again, I have included only major turns of events.
I wove the information about the social order and geography of Ancient Greece into the stories of the era's historical figures. So, no worries, the kid will learn about the Agora and Acropolis of Athens, the city-states of Corinth and Sparta, daily life in an Ancient Greek household, the major Greek temples, and the three orders of Ancient Greek architecture. This book is richly illustrated. I don't agree that if you are 13 or 16 you should be content with pages and pages of text and no pictures. Illustrations help both kids and grownups to visualize - and therefore to remember - events and descriptions. I have illustrated the book mostly with paintings portraying historical figures or everyday life in classical Greece. Whenever I could, I chose late 19th century and early 20th century art over the older neoclassical paintings for a more accurate representation of the Ancient Greek costume and environment.
The Iliad is typically described as one of the greatest war stories of all time. Set during the Trojan War, this timeless poem vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amid devastation and destruction. Homer's tale is a compassionate view of human life lived under the shadow of suffering and death in the face of an often uncaring divinity.
Jeanne Bendick, through text and pictures, admirably succeeds in bringing to life the ancient Greek mathematician who enriched mathematics and all branches of science. Against the backdrop of Archimedes' life and culture, the author discusses the man's work, his discoveries and the knowledge later based upon it. The simple, often humorous, illustrations and diagrams greatly enhance the text.
You have probably heard about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. When it comes to ancient minds who created foundations in philosophy, science, and math, these three names would automatically come up. But what exactly did they do to warrant immense respect and admiration? Well, your fifth grader will soon find out from this biography book.
Illustrated by Erwin Schachner. The story of the Battle of Marathon and how it determined the future of Athens.
What was it like to live in Ancient Athens? All the people who lived in ancient Greece spoke the same language and worshipped the same gods and goddesses. But they all lived in different city states a city and the land around it that it controlled. These city states were all run differently, and there were often fights between them. Despite their differences, there were things that united the city states. Find out more in this exciting title.
Describes daily life in ancient Greece, discussing life in the city, life in the country, school, ceremonies and festivals, food, and other aspects
However, when you include your older kids this just means double fun because I get to do easy science activities again.
As the book brought out refraction is the way rays of light change when they pass from one thing to another that’s made of different material. That is what it means to have materials made of different density.
So this activity was super easy but cool and I love the fact that all 3 things were found in my house.
ANCIENT GREEKS STUDY REFRACTION – EASY HANDS-ON SCIENCE ABOUT LIGHT
Here is the really short list of what you need:
- Pie or cake pan (dark coated, not glass or clear)
- Coin
- Pitcher of water
The activity is really easy. Tiny rounded up Mr. Awesome to help us. Mr. Awesome placed the coin right next to the side.
And Tiny stood a distance away so that the coin is hidden by the side.
Then Mr. Awesome poured the water slowly into the container.
As Mr. Awesome poured the water, it appeared to move to the center of the pan.
Of course the coin doesn’t move, it’s just that the light rays were distorted or bent as they passed through the water.
A bit of easy and quick science was enough to pique Tiny’s interest for the unit study.
In summary, refraction is the bending of light as it travels from one transparent material into another, such as from air into water or glass. It’s an important part of science because it helps explain many things we see in everyday life.
For example, light changes speed. When light travels from air into water or glass, its speed changes. If it enters at an angle, this causes the light to bend.
Since that is the activity he chose to do first, we focused on reading about some Greeks and what they were famous for.
I created a giant pull tab book which is Famous Greeks and their Contributions.
Though there are many famous Greeks to focus on, I used the ones below and listed a bit of information about them.
It’s pretty easy to find information on the internet, but I am listing a few facts here for you too.
- Aesop – storyteller; author of Aesop’s fables
- Eratosthenes – geographer; first to describe the world as a globe
- Euclid – mathematician; “Father of Geometry”
- Aristotle – philosopher; student of Plato; tutor of Alexander the Great.
- Archimedes – mathematician and inventor; calculated value of Pi; invented the lever; Archimedes Screw
For the giant pull tab book, just cut out all the pieces and write about each Greek on the box provided.
I have instructions on the minibook, but you will form a pocket with the two pieces and place the pull tab book inside.
I hope you like the first “little” giant pull tab book I have for our new unit study.
The lapbook is now complete. And I have two Ancient Greece lapbook.
Below, download the Ancient Greece lapbook which has this famous Ancient Greek pull tab book.
Look at the books included in this lapbook.
ANCIENT GREECE MINIBOOKS INCLUDED IN THIS LAPBOOK 2
- Why Study About Ancient Greece
- Go Fish pocket
- Different Lives Athens and Sparta
- Ancient Greeks About Greek (Life , Politics, History and gods)
- Famous Greeks and their Contributions
- Greek & Latin Root Words
- Greece is Called the Birthplace of Civilizations
- Can You Answer True or False
Now, how to grab the freebie.
It’s a subscriber freebie.
HOW TO GET THE FREE ANCIENT GREECE LAPBOOK NUMBER 2
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