Greek Study Stations Round 2

The 1-2 kids are continuing their learning of the Ancient Greek world! There are new activities at each of the learning stations that groups have been rotating through in this second round. 

One of the new stations gives kids the opportunity to use their knowledge of figures of Ancient Greek mythology as well as narrative structure to write their own myths! These have been exciting to work on. Kids have included themselves (and sometimes their friends, siblings or pets) as characters in their stories. Many feature as demi-god children who are sent on quests or to deal with monsters. 

Our mathematical task centers around the story of Pandora's Box - the forbidden box Pandora opened, releasing all pain, disease, misfortune and misery into the world. Luckily, she snapped the lid closed in time to keep Hope from escaping. The 1-2 kids are designing a new box and decorating it with gifts they would like to give back to humanity - love, peace, clean environment, kindness, and so on. They then need to cut out the outline of their box and fold it into its 3D shape: a cube, a pyramid, or an octahedron. This part is where some of the real challenge is!

At another station, students are using cardboard tubes and large index cards to build a 3D temple to a god or goddess. They decorate the tubes to reflect a style of column from Ancient Greek architecture (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) and then create an image for the pediment with a Greek pattern as a border (Greek key, dentil, egg and dart). The finishing touch is a throne in which they draw the god or goddess seated in the center of the temple. 

Our linguistic station in this second round is theater (a very big deal in Ancient Greece). Groups choose a myth to act out for the classes. So far groups have performed Theseus and the Minotaur, Odysseus and the Cyclops, Bellerophon, and Orpheus and Euridyce.  Groups have done a great job bringing their characters to life with their voices and actions and both groups incorporated some humor into their production. We are looking forward to more plays to come.

At our artistic station, kids are exploring the art of fresco paintings.The Ancient Greeks decorated their walls with fresco paintings.  King Minos’s palace in Knossos, Crete had these paintings.  The Queen’s room was painted with a dolphin design. Most fresco painting was done on wet plaster, but there was a style done on dry plaster.  The 1-2s tried this kind of painting called “secco fresco”.  “Secco” means “dry” in Italian.  They painted favorite heroes, creatures, symbols, or temples.

And at the last learning station, students are tasked with taking what they know about a Greek god, goddess, hero or monster and creating lyrics for a song they will sing to us. Some groups chose to use a tune they know to "piggyback" their lyrics on while others composed a completely new melody for their words. We've had a range of songs including Taylor Swift rewrites, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Zap", and even some original tunes. Kids can write and perform songs on their own or with a small group. 

Enjoy the pictures below of kids at stations.