Teacher Notes


  1. Grade Level/Unit
  2. Goals/Purpose
  3. Lesson Length
  4. Notes on the Tasks
  5. Additional Resources for Teachers
  6. Evaluation Rubric

1. Grade Level
Grade 6 Ancient Greece

2. Goals/Purpose

Students will examine the research that archaeologists have done on a Late Bronze Age shipwreck in order to work out the nature and extent of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean during this period, with special emphasis on the involvement of the Mycenaeans in this trade.

Social Studies Standards Addressed
6.4 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilization of Ancient Greece, in terms of:

Thinking and Analysis Skills Addressed
Chronological & Spatial Thinking
Students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of countries to explain the growth of economic systems.

Research, Evidence and Point of View

Historical Interpretation
Students explain the central issues and problems of the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place.
Students recognize interpretations of history are subject to change as new information is uncovered.

Language Arts Standards Addressed
Reading Comprehension:
2.3. connect and clarify main ideas, identifying their relationship to other sources and related topics
2.4 clarify understanding of texts by creating outlines, logical notes, summaries, or reports
2.7. make reasonable assertions about text through accurate, supportive citations

1.2 Create multiple-paragraph expository compositions:

1.3 Use a variety of effective and coherent organizational patterns, including comparison and contrast; organization by categories; and arrangement by spatial order, order of importance, or climactic order.

Research and Technology:

Writing Applications (Genres and their Characteristics):
2.3 Write research reports:
a. Pose relevant questions with a scope narrow enough to be thoroughly covered.
b. Support the main idea or ideas with facts, details, examples, and explanations from multiple authoritative sources (e.g. speakers, periodicals, online information searches).

Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication:
1.5. emphasize salient points to assist the listener in following main ideas and concepts
1.6. support opinions expressed with detailed evidence and with visual or media displays that use appropriate technology
1.7. use effective rate, volume, pitch, and tone, and align nonverbal elements to sustain audience interest and attention

3. Lesson Length:
2 weeks

4. Notes on the Tasks

Students who read the given text carefully and extract the relevant information, should be able to come to the conclusions outlined below. They will then be able to mark the ship's probable route on the outline map.

The cargo aboard the ship has been identified as mainly from Egypt, Canaan and Cyprus. We can, therefore, assume that the ship had already called at these ports.

Archaeologists working on the project have found sufficient evidence to support the idea that there were some wealthy and influential Mycenaeans on board. This, together with the fact that the ship's main cargo (raw materials in the form of copper and scrap metal), were the materials the Mycenaeans imported to be used by their skilled craftsmen, suggests that the ship was heading for Mycenae.

Since the laden ship was wrecked at Uluburun it can be assumed that it was not returning to Egypt by the same route but heading towards Mycenae following a circular route.

One can also assume that a ship on its way back to Egypt from mainland Greece would make a stop in Crete.

5. Additional Resources for Teachers
Teachers who wish to extend the information on this shipwreck and Bronze Age trade should obtain a copy of National Geographic, Vol. 172, No. 6, December, 1987. An excellent account is given, together with a detailed map and informative illustrations.

6. Evaluation Rubric

Joyce Mollet
WideHorizon Education Resources
San Diego

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