Upper Key Stage 2 Ancient Greece
Parthenon Marbles

Learn about the great art of the Ancient Greeks through the Parthenon Marbles. Learn techniques to help draw figures of people and animals, and use the marbles as inspiration for creating drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Finally, learn about and debate the controversy over the ownership of the marbles.

Session 1 The Marbles

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
  • Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

English

  • Explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary.
  • Extend confidence, enjoyment and mastery of language through public speaking, performance and debate.

Lesson Planning

Learn the story depicted on the marbles and retell it through performance.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To find out about the story the Parthenon Marbles tell.
  • To retell part of the story on the Parthenon Frieze in small world.

Children will:

  • Explain where on the Parthenon sculptures were situated.
  • Work out the order of the Parthenon frieze.
  • Script part of the story of the Panathenaic procession.

You Will Need

  • Lego or Playmobil figures
  • Cameras/tablets

Session 2 The Art

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.

Art

  • Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
  • Create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas.

Lesson Planning

Look in detail at the style of the art and compare it to other art styles in history that it influenced/ was influenced by. Make some sketches.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To compare Parthenon Marbles with art before and after.
  • To sketch some of the details of the Parthenon marbles.

Children will:

  • Explain the similarities they see between art styles of different eras.
  • Make suggestions of how one art style influenced another.
  • Make accurate sketches of human and animal figures.

Provided Resources

  • Art Snap
  • Art connections
  • Sketching figures from Parthenon art

You Will Need

  • Sketchbooks and pencils

Session 3 Drawing

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
  • Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Art

  • Create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas.
  • Improve mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials.

Lesson Planning

Work in teams to plan a visual story and then use pose-able models to draw a scene in that story in an Ancient Greek style.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To work out the sources of evidence for reconstructions of Parthenon Marbles.
  • To plan and draw copies of Parthenon Marbles with poseable figures.

Children will:

  • Identify what different sources of evidence tell us.
  • Use a new art technique.
  • Create their own version of a Parthenon metope in the same style.

Provided Resources

  • Source bingo
  • Selection of Parthenon metopes
  • How to make Poseable human and animal figures

You Will Need

  • Sketchbooks

Session 4 Sculpting

Objectives

History

  • Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.

Art

  • Improve mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials.

Lesson Planning

Using newspaper, mod roc and air-drying clay, sculpt a relief frieze of your scene.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To look at how the Parthenon marbles were made.
  • To make a sculpted version of the scene they made in the last session.

Children will:

  • Know which bits of the Parthenon are carved in low relief, high relief and sculpture in the round.
  • Demonstrate their understanding of low and high relief by recreating it.
  • Use various materials to create a 3D sculpture.

You Will Need

  • Poseable figures and drawings from last session
  • Newspaper
  • Card
  • ModRoc
  • Bowls of water
  • Air-drying clay or FiMo
  • Sculpting tools

Session 5 Display

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
  • Children should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

Art

  • Improve mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials.

English

  • Understand nuances in vocabulary choice and age-appropriate, academic vocabulary.
  • Identify the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own

Lesson Planning

Create a museum for your Parthenon Marbles, including writing labels and information boards.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To create labels for their work based on their knowledge of the Parthenon marbles.
  • To paint their 3D sculptures.
  • To write labels and information boards for a museum display.

Children will:

  • Select, organise and present historical information.
  • Explain their artwork in terms of techniques and as part of a wider story.
  • Write for a specific audience thinking carefully about vocabulary, tone and structure.

You Will Need

  • Paint and paintbrushes
  • PVA glue

Session 6 Elgin

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
  • Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

English

  • Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion; Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
  • Identify the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own.

Lesson Planning

Research how Elgin acquired the marbles and various points of view about who should own them now, preparing for a debate.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To research the role of Lord Elgin in acquiring the Parthenon Marbles.
  • To use research to create an information board on Elgin.

Children will:

  • Conduct online research about a historical topic.
  • Research from non-fiction and retrieve, record and present their research.
  • Write for a specific audience thinking carefully about vocabulary, tone and structure.

You Will Need

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

Session 7 The Debate

Objectives

History

  • Study Ancient Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
  • Construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

English

  • Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
  • Explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary.
  • Provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Lesson Planning

Invite another class, the whole school or even parents and governors to see your museum, and hold a debate on who should own the marbles.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To use their historical knowledge to back up arguments in a debate
  • To take part in a debate about whether the British Museum's Marbles should be returned to Greece.

Children will:

  • Deploy historical knowledge in a debate.
  • Take part in a debate.
  • Organise their arguments and justify their arguments.

Provided Resources

  • How to run a debate
  • The roles in a debate
  • Judges marking sheets
  • Visitor feedback form

You Will Need

  • Two large cardboard boxes painted white, one bigger than the other
  • Cameras
  • Gavel
  • Stopwatch

Weblinks

There are no weblinks needed for this session.