Lesson Plan - Decoding an Ancient Mystery

Engage and Connect

Make four signs with the terms democracy, mathematics, theater, and the Olympic Games. (One term per sign.) Then place a sign in each corner of the classroom. Tell students that people in ancient Greece invented these things or made major advances in them. Ask: Which one is the most important? Students should walk to the sign of their choice. Begin a discussion by inviting students to defend their choice. 

Preview Vocabulary

Use the skill builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms archaeologist, artifact, astronomy, city-state, civilization, democracy, hypothesize, lunar, Middle Ages, and theory. Have students refer to the skill builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to circle or highlight any words whose meanings they are unsure of.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• According to scientists, what was the Antikythera mechanism able to do? (Key Details) 
The Antikythera mechanism could track and predict the positions of the sun, moon, and planets.

• How have advances in technology improved experts’ understanding of the Antikythera mechanism? (Chronological Reasoning)
Advances in technology such as X-rays and 3-D scanning have allowed scientists to see the Antikythera mechanism in more detail over the years and to examine what is inside it. The more information that scientists are able to gather about the mechanism, the more they can understand how it functioned and what it was used for.

• How does the Antikythera mechanism support the idea that astronomy was important to people in ancient Greece? (Supporting Claims)
The Antikythera mechanism supports the idea that astronomy was important to people in ancient Greece because it shows that they closely followed the movements of the sun, moon, and planets, and cared enough about those movements to create a device to predict and track them.

Read a Map

Direct students to the skill builder Alexander’s Empire.  Have them study the map of ancient Greece and answer the questions that follow. 

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.