The Big Idea Activity

How do new ideas cause change?

News Program

Students working on the Activity


Suppose that you are a news reporter living in ancient Israel or Greece. Create a news program about an important idea or discovery in ancient Israel or Greece. California Standard 6.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Ancient Hebrews. California Standard 6.4 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece.

Research RoadmapPrint the Research Roadmap. Use it to take notes and hand it in to your teacher when you make your presentation.

 

Topic Finder

Need help finding a topic? Explore these ideas for research...Ancient Greece and Israel.

Case Study

Here's an example of a topic you could choose for the Big Idea Activity: Did you know that the alphabet that we use today was developed from the ancient Phoenician alphabet? It spelled words using symbols representing different sounds, instead of the pictures used in hieroglyphics. It only had consonant sounds. The Greek alphabet which was developed later, added vowel sounds to the writing. All of the modern alphabets are related to these ancient writing systems. If you wanted to develop an alphabet that had all of the sounds of the English language, what would it look like?

Fun Facts Did you know that the Hawaiian language uses only 12 letters?

 
 

How have new ideas in science changed the world during your lifetime? Do people listen to music or communicate with one another the same way they did when your parents were young? Make a timeline of recent discoveries or ideas.

Timeline of Greek science and philosophy

Explore an Internet Timeline

 
 

The Early Israelites

The Geography of Ancient Israel

The area of Canaan was famous for a purple dye, made from a seashell. This dye, along with other goods made, led to prosperous trade with other parts of the world.

The Beginnings of Judaism

One of the greatest contributions of the Phoenicians was their alphabet, which spread and developed through trade. Can you imagine trying to record information without an alphabet?

The Israelite Kingdom

Much of the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament of the Christian Bible were written at this time. The ideas in these books are important to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions.

The Development of Judaism

Judaism, the Jewish religion, developed in ancient Israel and has spread throughout the world. This site has answers to many questions about Jewish thought and religion. Click on the questions in the left column on the page to find out the answer.

Ancient Greece

The Geography of Ancient Greece

Greek philosophers determined that the Earth is spherical and even figured out how to measure its size. Do you think that the geography of Greece and the need for navigation helped lead to that discovery?

The Early Greeks

As city-states grew crowded and needed more trading partners, they came up with the idea of colonies with ties to the mother city.

Athens and Sparta

The idea of citizenship and the participation of citizens in government was a new idea developed by the early Greek people. How has this idea affected governments today?

The Persian Wars

The Greeks won the Persian War by combining new ideas about fighting battles with new technologies, such as the trireme, which was a powerful warship.

The Age of Pericles

Under the leadership of Pericles, the idea of democracy grew to include the lower classes. Office holders were paid so that offices could be held by people without independent wealth.

Greek Civilizations

Ancient Greek Culture

The ancient Greeks introduced many new ideas in art and architecture. Look at the styles of Greek columns. Have you seen similar columns on modern buildings?

Greek Thinkers

The philosophers of ancient Greece developed new ideas about mathematics, teaching, and how to think about the world around us. Did you know that when your teacher asks questions that force you to think, he or she is using an idea developed by Socrates?

Alexander the Great

Alexander was known for his conquests, but hew also helped belnd the ideas and culture of Greece with those of Egypt, India, and Persia. New ways of thinking developed from this blend.

The Hellenistic Era

During the Hellenistic Era, science became a separate field of knowledge. Learning based on observation and interpretation was a new way of discovery.