Year 5/6 Unit 14 Lesson 8 Ancient Greek theatre -...

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Ancient Greek theatre

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Children should learn:• to deduce information about an aspect of the Greek

way of life from pictures of buildings and texts;

• to combine information from several sources;

• about the role of the theatre in the way of life of theGreeks;

• to structure work in the form of a play.

Class objective:• to investigate ancient Greek theatre and what

happened there.

Learning objectives

LCP History Resource Files KS2

Learning outcomes

Children should be able to:• recognize the main features of a Greek theatre;

• understand the religious connections betweentheatre and religious festivals;

• find out the sorts of plays the Greeks liked and whowrote them;

• contribute to the preparation and performance of aplay that demonstrates the key features of Greekdrama.

The purpose ofthis lesson is: to investigate the ancient Greek theatre.

Programme of study1a place events, people and changes into correct

periods of time;

2a characteristic features of periods and societiesstudied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudesand experiences of men, women and childrenin the past;

2b social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity ofsocieties;

5c communicate knowledge and understanding ofhistory in a variety of ways.

Prior learningThis lesson will build on children’s knowledge ofplays and the theatre.

Vocabularyaltar, Aristophanes, audience, auditorium, chitin,chorus, Epidauros, orchestra, parades, peplos, proedri,skene, Sophocles, theatre, theatron

Resources• Activity sheet : Ancient Greek theatres

• Activity sheet : Play script – useful tips

• Activity sheet : Ancient Greek costume

• Activity sheet : Masks in ancient Greek theatre

• Flipbook page 12: The ancient Greek theatre

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Cross-curricular links• Literacy Framework: Yr 5/6 Fiction and poetry: play

scripts

DifferentiationSome less able children will need help from an adultwhen completing Activity sheet : AncientGreek theatres.

Assessment opportunitiesEach child’s understanding of this lesson can beassessed through an analysis of his/her completedactivity sheet.

Advance preparationIf you wish to include costume in the drama activityin Lesson 9, give the children Activity sheet :Ancient Greek costume to take home. There may besituations where it is not appropriate for these to besent home. It may be necessary for the school toprovide costumes. Place the children in two or threemixed-ability groups to work on their play scripts.

The children will require masks for the presentationof their plays. Time has not been allowed for themaking of masks within this unit. These will need tobe completed within other curriculum time or, whereappropriate, set as a homework exercise: Activitysheet : Masks in ancient Greek theatre.AS8.4

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Unit 14Year 5/6 Lesson 8 Who were the ancient Greeks?

• Begin the lesson by sharing the class objective: to investigate ancient Greek theatre and what happenedthere. Remind the children of their homework task and ask them what information they have discovered about

Introduction

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231© Copyright 2002 Language Centre Publications Ltd. Copies may be made for use within the purchasing institution only.LCP History Resource Files KS2

Plenary

• Five minutes before the end of the lesson gather the children together. Explain that next lesson they are goingto complete their scripts and practise and present their play. Tell the children that you would like them to do thisin costume. Where appropriate, give out Activity sheet : Ancient Greek costume and read through it withthe children.

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Activity 1

• Show the children Flipbook page12: The ancientGreek theatre. Point out the banks of seats, thecircular orchestra for the chorus, the raised scenearea for the actors and the stone seats at the front forthe VIPs. There is also a stone sculpture of a mask onthis page.

• Give out Activity sheet : Ancient Greektheatres. Explain to the children that their task is toconsider the photograph and plans carefully andthen answer the questions on the sheet. Check thatall children have understood the task set.

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What did a Greek theatre look like?

Activity 2

• Explain to the children that they will be working inthree groups to present a Greek-style play on themyth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Give the childrenActivity sheet : Play script – useful tips and thecompleted storyboards from Lesson 7. Tell them that

in their groups they must use their storyboards tohelp them write the script for an ancient Greek-styleplay. Remind them that the chorus is a group ofactors who tell the main story, and that they are animportant part of the play.

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Storyboard to play

Unit 14Year 5/6 Lesson 8 Who were the ancient Greeks?

the Greek theatre. Choose children to share this information with the class. Write any relevant information on theboard.

• You may wish to provide some or all of the following information:

• Drama formed part of religious festivals.

• The Greek theatre was held outside, first in the market place, then in large open-air stadiums or theatres.

• Important people had stone seats reserved for them at the front of the theatre.

• A visit to the theatre was a religious event.

• It was one of the few public events to be attended by both men and women. There was a small entrance fee,but anyone who could not afford it was allowed in for free.

• Plays were put on once a month and lasted a day.

• The plays were often about well-known stories, like myths and legends.

• The members of the audience showed their enjoyment by whistling and stamping their feet. If an actor made amistake, or if the members of the audience did not like him, they would boo and sometimes throw stones athim.

• All the actors were men.

• They wore masks to show the audience whether their characters were young or old, ugly or beautiful and maleor female.

• The masks were simple and the faces very exaggerated, so that they could be seen right at the back of thetheatre. They had large open mouths to make the voices of the actors seem louder.

• The chorus was an important part of a Greek play. It was made up of a group of actors who, throughout theplay, moved and spoke together and were dressed the same way. They talked to the audience and explainedwhat was going on in the play and how they felt about it.

• Serious plays were called tragedies; funny plays were called comedies. Tragic actors always moved slowly; whenthey were speaking they stood still and did not move. Sophocles was a writer of tragic plays; Aristophanes wasa writer of comic plays.

• The main story of the play was acted on a raised stage; the actors playing the chorus were in an area called theorchestra at ground level.

Homework

• Ask the children if they can think of additional lines or dialogue for the play.

• Where appropriate, give the children a copy of Activity sheet : Ancient Greek costume and Activity sheet: Masks in ancient Greek theatre to take home.AS8.4

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Ancient Greek theatresActivity sheet 8.1

© Copyright 2002 Language Centre Publications Ltd. Copies may be made for use within the purchasing institution only.LCP History Resource Files KS2

Name:

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AS8.1Unit 14Year 5/6 Lesson 8 Who were the ancient Greeks?

Look carefully at the photograph and the plan of the Greek theatre.Why do you think that this would be a good design for a theatre?

Label the diagram of the theatre using the word box to help you.

altar: placed in the middle of the orchestra

orchestra: the circle-shapedarea where the chorusperformed

proedri: the front seats forimportant people

scene: the raised platformfor the actors (which alsohad the entrances for theactors)

theatron: the auditoriumwhere the members of theaudience satG

reat

Bu

ildin

gs.

com

Ph

oto

© H

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ard

Dav

is

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Play script – useful tipsActivity sheet 8.2

© Copyright 2002 Language Centre Publications Ltd. Copies may be made for use within the purchasing institution only.LCP History Resource Files KS2

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Unit 14Year 5/6 Lesson 8 Who were the ancient Greeks?

Working in your group, choose a storyboard from Lesson 7 and write a playscript for it.Your play should last no longer than ten minutes.

You will need to:

• make a list of the main characters and decide who is going to play them;

• remember that everyone else will be the chorus;

• remember that the chorus will tell most of the story;

• remember that the chorus can give their opinion of what is going on in the play.

Names:

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Ancient Greek costumeActivity sheet 8.3

© Copyright 2002 Language Centre Publications Ltd. Copies may be made for use within the purchasing institution only.LCP History Resource Files KS2

Name:

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AS8.3Unit 14Year 5/6 Lesson 8 Who were the ancient Greeks?

Greek clothes were usually made from a single rectangular piece of material.

The chiton(pronounced ky-ton)

The chiton was a garment worn by men and women. It varied in length from mid

thigh to full length.

How to make the chiton1. Fold a rectangle of fabric in half.

2. Sew or pin the side which is opposite the fold.3. The person then steps inside the ‘tube’.

4. Make sure that there is room for the arms to move; then pin the two sides of the fabric

together across the shoulders.5. Gather the fabric at the waist with a belt or cord.

The peplosThe peplos was worn

only by women.

How to make the peplos1. Lay a piece of material flat and then fold the top third over.

2. Fold the material in half with the folded part showing. 3. Sew or pin the side.

4. The person then steps inside the ’tube’.5. Make sure that there is room for the arms to move, then

pin the two sides of the fabric together across the shoulders.6.Gather the fabric at the waist with a belt or cord.

NB For this garment the fold-over piece can be made longer, and the belt placed over it, instead of under it.

SEWN TOGETHER FASTENED

BELT

FASTENED

BELT

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Masks in ancient Greek theatreActivity sheet 8.4

© Copyright 2002 Language Centre Publications Ltd. Copies may be made for use within the purchasing institution only.LCP History Resource Files KS2

Name:

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In ancient Greek drama, all the actors were men. They wore masks to indicatethe character that they were playing (e.g. woman, old man) or the emotion thatthey were showing (e.g. anger, sadness, joy). Actors in Greek plays often playedseveral different parts and would put on a different mask for each part that theyplayed. The members of the chorus wore masks that were usually similar to eachother, but completely different from those of the leading actors.The masks were often brightly coloured with exaggerated features e.g. largeeyes, large nose and mouth. This allowed the faces to be seen by all the peoplein the theatre, even those sitting in the back rows. Usually the masks were madeof a lightweight material: e.g. linen, leather, cork or carved wood. To create theshape of the mask, the artist moulded the material around a marble or stoneface (like papier-mâché). Human or animal hair was used for the hair.

How to make your own Greek-style mask

• Stand in front of the mirror and try to make the following expressions on your face: sad, happy, angry, scared.

• Look carefully at your face and think about the shapes that your face is making,especially your eyes and mouth.

• Make the expression that is best for the character that you are playing.

• Draw this expression on a piece of paper, making sure that the size matches your face. (You might need someone to help you with this.)

• Exaggerate your expression, so that it will be easy to work out what it is if you are looking at it from a distance.

• Stick your drawing onto thick card. Remember to cut out the holes for the eyes and the mouth. (Ask someone to help you do this safely.)

• Cut holes in the sides and thread elastic, string or ribbon through them, so that the mask can be tied on your head.

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