Lesson video

Hi there.

Welcome to today's History Lesson with me, Ms. Roberts.

Today, I'm going to take you through a lesson about the legacies of the Ancient Greek Civilization.

The Ancient Greeks left a lot of legacies, and we are going to look at them and consider which one we think could be the most significant.

By the end of the lesson today, you will be able to suggest which legacies of Ancient Greece you think are the most significant.

So let's begin by looking at today's keywords.

These are words that are important in this lesson, and these are words that you should be able to use yourself to talk about the legacies of Ancient Greece.

So the first of our keywords is significant.

Can you say significant? Nice.

Our next word is criteria, can you say criteria? Very good.

Then we have the word judgement.

Can you say judgement ? That's right.

And then we have the word legacy.

Can you say legacy? Well done.

Don't worry if you're not too sure of the meanings of any of these words, we can look at those together now.

The first of our keywords was significant and in terms of the study of history, which is how we are using this word, something that is of great importance that people have chosen to study is said to be significant.

Our next keyword was criteria.

And criteria are the measures by which people judge things.

And, of course, that links with the next of our keywords, which was judgement.

When a decision is made by an individual person or a group of people and they use certain factors or criteria to make that decision, then they are making a judgement.

The last keyword was legacy.

And a legacy is a long-lasting impact of a historical event or an action or a person or group of people.

And in this situation, we are looking at the legacies of the Ancient Greek people.

There'll be two parts to this lesson today.

First, we are going to think about how do we actually decide how significant something is.

Later we will be looking at all the different legacies of Ancient Greece.

So let's make a start.

We are here as historians and we are considering the most significant legacy of Ancient Greece.

But how do we make those decisions about significance? Part of the job of a historian is to think about how significant they think events of the past are.

And historians can consider many factors when they make those decisions.

They can look at many different events and they can compare them to help them to make their judgments.

This will help them to decide which event they think is the most or least significant.

Aisha has made an observation here and she says that, "History tells us about how things change over time, so she thinks that the most significant events in history must of course the greatest changes," and I think that's a reasonable suggestion there from Aisha.

Well done.

The factors that historians use when they consider how significant something is are called criteria.

Do you remember criteria from our keywords just before? The criteria are the ways that things are measured.

Using criteria, helps historians to measure, to compare, and ultimately, to make judgments.

People can use criteria in lots of other situations in life.

It's not just historians that use criteria.

In fact, we probably all use criteria every day without even realising it.

Jacob says he thinks it's like when he has to tidy his room and do his homework before his dads will let him play with the dog.

That's their criteria.

I think you're quite right there, Jacob.

Thinking about criteria, let's try a true or false activity.

I'm going to read a statement and I want you to decide if you think this is true or if it is false.

The statement is: Using set criteria can help historians to make judgments.

Is that true or is that false? Have you made a judgement about this statement? I have judged that this statement is true, did you? Well done.

However, as a historian, we know that we can't just make statements without providing some additional information or evidence to explain how we know what we are talking about.

So I'm going to give you two more sentences.

I want you to pick which is the most helpful to explain this situation.

Sentence A, says, "That using criteria allows historians to measure or compare different things." Statement B, says, "That a definite answer will always be found when historians use criteria." Which of those is the most helpful in this situation? Have you chosen? Great.

I think that in this situation, sentence A is the most helpful sentence.

A explains what criteria are.

It explains that criteria is how historians can measure and compare things in order to make the judgments.

I'm not too sure that statement B is actually true because making judgments is very personal and different people may have different ideas.

Let's think about that concept some more now.

Sometimes criteria can be based on factual evidence.

So, for example, we can compare things like how many people were involved in an event, how long something lasted or how much money something cost.

These kinds of factual things are very helpful because we can make direct comparisons.

For example, we can see that more or less people were involved in one event compared to another.

We can see that one event lasted longer than something else.

Or we can say that something cost a lot more money or was a lot cheaper than something else.

We can make direct comparisons.

Sam is starting to wonder how this impacts our judgments about significance.

She is wondering whether it is true that if one event lasted longer than another, does that mean it is more significant? Mm, what would you say to Sam's question? What do you think? Well done? Now, factual evidence isn't the only type of evidence that we can consider.

Other evidence is called human evidence.

Human evidence is to do with people.

You can think about things like which people were involved in the event and how were they involved in it, what were the people doing? You can think about how the lives of people that were involved in something were affected.

You can think about whether people still remember an event today.

When we use human evidence to make comparisons, it is important to understand that human evidence can differ.

It can vary, and that's because different people experience things in different ways.

People can have different opinions about the same thing.

Izzy makes a great observation here.

She says, that "People can react to things differently," which is very true "And people can think differently as well," which is also very true.

So for that reason, people may not view the events in the same way.

So, let's try a quick activity to help us with our understanding of the differences between factual evidence and human evidence.

The table contains four questions that could possibly used as criteria to make judgments about a historical event.

I would like you to decide whether each question relates to factual evidence or to human evidence.

Pause the video now while you read the questions and make your choices.

Have you decided? Let's go through the answers together.

So by asking who was affected, we are considering human evidence 'cause that's relating to the people.

When we ask how long something lasts, then we get a factual answer.

When we ask how many people were there, we also get a factual answer.

Yes, this question is related to people, but it's not about the people themselves.

It's simply seeking a number and a number is a fact.

And the final question here is about how everyday life was affected.

This is an effect on people.

So this is human evidence.

Well done.

Time now for you to make some decisions about something significant in your own life.

I would like you to think about everything that's happened in the last year.

I'm sure you will have experienced so many different events.

Which event from the last year was the most significant for you? Can you say why? To help you to make this judgement , you should think of several events that happened and some criteria that you can use to compare them.

Here's some examples of events that may have happened to you in the last year.

So you can find a starting point.

You may have experienced celebrations such as birthdays, Christmas, Eid, Easter, or Harvest Festival.

You may have achieved something over the last year like making progress at school or in a sport or hobby that you have.

There may have been special events in your family, has there been a new birth? Have you moved house, had a holiday, or done something with your pets? There may also be other individual experiences that you have had that you feel are very significant.

Remember, you can discuss this with a learning partner for extra support.

Pause the video now while you complete this activity.

Did you enjoy that opportunity to look back on the significant events from the last year? Good.

I'm going to share an example now.

This answer says, that "Last year, I remember my birthday party because I went to a trampoline park with my friends and my cousins.

It was so much fun and we have a really cool photo of everyone jumping at once.

I think we will all remember that day for a long time.

I also went on holiday with my family.

We stayed in a caravan in Wales and we visited some castles and had a barbecue.

It was great.

I think my party is the most significant for me because there were more people there and I have a special photo memory from that day." So two events have been compared and a judgement has been made about which of them was most significant.

Great work, everyone.

So now we have a good understanding of how to make judgments about the significance of things, let's move on and look specifically in the second half of our lesson at the legacies of Ancient Greece.

So these are the impacts or influences that Ancient Greek civilization has had.

And by the end of this part of the lesson, you will be using criteria to judge which one you feel is the most significant.

So let's get going.

There are many legacies of the Ancient Greece civilization and we can see them all around us in the modern world, even if we don't know it.

Without the Ancient Greek civilization, many aspects of life today would be very different.

I wonder which legacy of the Ancient Greek civilization is the most significant.

Let's work together and try to make a judgement.

Lucas points out that he thinks it's incredible that a civilization from over 2,000 years ago still has such a big influence on life today.

That's right, Lucas.

That's why the Ancient Greek civilization is so significant.

One of the biggest legacies of Ancient Greece is their mythology.

Ancient Greek mythology has given us some of the most incredible stories that have ever been told.

The chap in the photograph here is a very famous Ancient Greek storyteller called Homer.

One of the most famous Ancient Greek myths is about an event called the Trojan War, which was a conflict between the Ancient Greek people and the people of another ancient city called Troy.

This myth was turned into an epic poem and written down for the first time by Homer.

His epic poem was called "The Iliad," and ever since it first went into print, the Iliad is still being published today.

We can even read the Iliad as an eBook.

The Legacy of Homer and his epic poetry can be seen in the great influence they have had on literature and art over time.

There are many famous paintings that show characters from Ancient Greek mythology as well as books, movies, and TV shows that are based on the Ancient Greek myths.

Another of the legacies of Ancient Greece is something called philosophy.

Philosophy began in Ancient Greece with the teachings of important scholars called Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

This bust in the photo is what we think Socrates probably looked like.

Philosophy is something that you can study like a subject at school.

However, philosophy is not a factual subject.

In philosophy, there are a great many questions, but there are no defined answers.

It was the work of philosophers like Socrates in ancient Greece that helped people to begin to ask questions and think more deeply about life and the world around them.

Philosophy grew in popularity in Ancient Greece and continues to be popular in the world today.

This shows another important legacy of the Ancient Greek civilization.

Another legacy of Ancient Greece is democracy.

Democracy first began in the Ancient Greek city-state of Athens.

It was this Ancient Greek in the photograph called Cleisthenes who set up the first direct democracy in Athens.

A democracy meant that the people had a say about how the city-state of Athens was run.

Athenian men used to have debates and cast votes, and together, they would reach important decisions.

This was different to other civilizations of the past where there was always one important ruler and they made all the decisions.

The legacy of democracy starting in Athens, in Ancient Greece is that all around the world today, many countries have their own styles of democracy modelled on the Greek version in Athens.

So they are the first three legacies of the Ancient Greek civilization.

We've looked at mythology, we've talked about philosophy, and we've talked about democracy.

But how closely have you been listening? Time for a quick quiz.

There are going to be three multiple-choice questions.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Question one.

Which of these three Ancient Greeks left epic poems, retelling myths as their legacy? A, Cleisthenes, B, Homer, or C, Socrates? Decide now.

Have you picked? Who was it? The poet here is Homer.

Well done.

Number two.

Same three pictures.

Same three Ancient Greeks.

But I want to know which of these Ancient Greeks left democracy as their legacy.

Have you picked? Who was it? It was Cleisthenes who set up the first democracy in the Ancient Greek city-state of Athens.

And question number three, same three Ancient Greeks, different question.

Which of these Ancient Greeks left philosophy as their legacy? A, Cleisthenes, B, Homer, or C, Socrates? Decide now.

Have you picked? Good job, it was Socrates.

He was the first of many great philosophers in Ancient Greece.

So let's continue now and look at some other legacies of Ancient Greece.

The Olympic Games started in Ancient Greece.

You can see in the photograph the Olympic flag, as well as the flags of other countries that are taking part in a modern Olympic Games in 2018.

The Olympic Games began as a Religious Festival in Ancient Greece, but part of that was some sporting events and competition.

The lasting legacy of this is that the Olympic Games has become a popular sporting event, and it still continues today.

It's held every four years in different locations around the world.

Athletes from many different countries compete against each other at the Olympic Games in the hopes of winning a gold, silver, or bronze medal.

Winning a medal at an Olympic Games is a great and prestigious moment in the career of any athlete.

Let's look at another legacy now.

The legacy of the Ancient Greek language.

Here you can see the Ancient Greek alphabet.

Greek is actually known as one of the oldest languages in the world.

This Greek alphabet has been used since around the year 900 BCE.

Today, there are over 13 million people in the world who speak Greek.

The legacy that has been left by the Ancient Greek language is seen in the influence that it has over many other languages.

So let's think about English, for example, the language that we know and use every day, Many words in the English language have prefixes or suffixes that come from Greek.

Prefixes appear at the start of a word and suffixes appear at the end of words.

So, for example, the prefix astro like astronaut and Astro Turf comes from Greek under the suffix ERGY.

Like energy comes from Ancient Greek.

So every day we use a lot of words that have Ancient Greek origins and we don't even realise it.

Another legacy of Ancient Greece is in there architecture.

Architecture refers to the style and designs of buildings.

The Ancient Greek buildings had very particular styles and features that are still copied in the designs of buildings today.

In particular, Greek buildings often had strong stone columns and carved friezes above them.

This photograph is of a building in the United States of America called the Lincoln Memorial, which has strong stone columns and two friezes just like the Ancient Greek architecture used.

In cities all around the world, the legacy of Ancient Greek architecture can be seen in the style of large and important buildings like this one.

So we have now seen another three legacies of the Ancient Greek civilization.

We have talked about the Olympic Games.

We have talked about language and we have talked about architecture.

How closely have you been listening? Time for another quick quiz.

Question one.

Which of the following shows the legacy of the ancient Olympic Games? A, the Games have influenced the features of modern buildings.

B, the Games have influenced many prefixes and suffixes in English.

C, the Games have influenced the modern Olympic Games.

Decide now.

Have you chosen? Did you choose C? Yes, the Olympic Games, although the ancient Olympics was part of a Religious Festival today, this is a huge Global Sporting Event and they have influenced the modern Olympic Games.

Question two, which of the following shows the legacy of the Ancient Greek language? A, it has influenced the features of modern buildings.

B, it has influenced prefixes and suffixes in English, or C, it has influenced the modern Olympic Games.

Did you choose B? Well done.

This tells us that there are many prefixes and suffixes in English that stem from Greek.

And our last question, which of the following shows the legacy of Ancient Greek architecture? A, it has influenced modern buildings.

B, it has influenced prefixes and suffixes in English, and C, it has influenced the modern Olympic Games.

Have you decided? I chose option A this time because architecture relates to the design and style of buildings.

Good job, everyone.

So we have now seen six legacies of the Ancient Greek civilization.

We have talked about mythology.

We have talked about philosophy.

We have talked about democracy.

We have talked about language.

We have talked about architecture, and we have talked about the Olympic Games.

Now it is up to you to decide which of those six legacies you think is the most significant.

We're going to work through this activity together to help you to make a decision.

The six legacies are written on this wheel.

You don't need to remember them all yourself.

Your task is to decide which of the six legacies you would put in the circle, in the middle as the most significant.

This wheel has philosophy in the middle as an example.

You need to think of some criteria to use to make your judgement.

To help you with that criteria, you could use some factual evidence or you could use some human evidence.

Pause the video now while you complete this activity.

Have you made your judgement ? What criteria did you use? Let's have a look together at some examples from the Oak Academy children.

Jacob is here and he has chosen democracy as the most significant legacy.

He said that he has chosen democracy as the most significant Ancient Greek legacy.

He based his judgement criteria on human evidence as democracy has an important impact on people today, as they are able to vote on issues in our country.

Well done, Jacob, for using the human evidence as your criteria to decide that democracy was the most significant for you.

Sophia has made a different judgement.

She has chosen that Greek language is the most significant.

She says, "I have chosen Greek language as the most significant Ancient Greek legacy.

I based my judgement criteria on factual evidence as the Greek language has had an important impact on people's lives for thousands of years, and it is still used by 13 million speakers." That's some great factual evidence there that 13 million people still speak Greek.

You may have made the same decisions or you may have chosen something else.

It's okay that we all have different opinions.

In fact, historians can often disagree with each other.

We have covered a lot in today's lesson about the legacies of the Ancient Greek civilization.

So let's end by reviewing what we know.

We know that historians use criteria to judge how significant events from the past are.

We know that criteria can include factual evidence or human evidence or both.

We know the criteria allows events to be measured, compared, and for judgments to be made about them.

There are many legacies of Ancient Greece.

We looked at six of them today.

We looked at mythology, philosophy, democracy, the Olympic Games and the influence of Greek language and Greek architecture.

Judgments about which of those legacies is the most significant can depend on the opinions that different people have.

There is no right answer as we proved when we did our final activity, and we all made different judgments about which legacy we felt was the most significant.

I hope you have enjoyed that lesson today about the legacies of Ancient Greece, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again for another history lesson.

Bye for now.