Teachers' notes
The Ancient Greeks and the battle of Marathon
Aims: Make notes on and use evidence from across a text to explain events or ideas
Experiment with different narrative form and styles to write their own stories
In non-narrative, establish, balance and maintain viewpoints.
Explore the ancient Greek battle of Marathon from the point of view of Athens and Sparta.
Age group 7–9
- England and Wales
Year 3/Year 4 - Scotland
Year P4/Year P5 - Northern Ireland
Year 4/Year 5
Literacy skills: Identify points within a text representing two views of the same event.
Present an argument in support of a particular point of view.
Curriculum links:
- History – England and Wales
- The World around us, History – Northern Ireland
- Social studies, People, past events and societies – Scotland
Content:
- Whiteboard: Read about the battle of Marathon and consider how it was viewed by the people of Athens and Sparta. Highlight information that would be useful to each city using two different colours. Select one point of view and present it orally, referring to the notes to help make a convincing argument. (You can look at an example of the Spartan’s arguments.)
- Activity sheet: Using the facts and ‘quotes’ provided, compose a short newspaper report about the battle to be read in Athens.
- Extension: Compare reporting of a modern day event in two or more newspapers. List the differences in terms of style and content.
Suggestions for questions:
- Activate prior knowledge: Have you ever asked a friend to help and then been let down? What do you know about the relationship between Athens and Sparta in Ancient Greece?
- Reflect on learning: Can you explain why the people of Athens might have been angry with the Spartans? Do you think that they would have been justified?
- Stimulate further research: Find out more about different points of view by researching other historical events. Identify the key players and find out what they each thought about the event.