G.R.A.P.E.S. Chart Activity for Ancient Greece

Activity Overview

In this activity students will break down what they have learned about ancient Greece in a G.R.A.P.E.S. Chart. There are many different acronyms that can be helpful when analyzing ancient civilizations and this one is widely used. However, teachers may use whatever acronym they prefer (PERSIA(N), GREATS, etc.) and can simply change the titles.

Using a G.R.A.P.E.S. Chart to organize information about ancient Civilizations is a useful tool to enhance students' analysis of the characteristics and contributions of a society. Going further and including visuals helps students to better retain the details of each category.

When learning about ancient Civilizations, students may need teachers to provide a variety of resources. The use of diverse resources such as primary sources, videos, songs, readings from textbooks, encyclopedias and literature can be helpful for students to gain an accurate and complete picture of the time period. Students can use graphic organizers to write notes about the different categories as they learn.

Students Can Collaborate!

Teachers may wish for students to work together on this lesson which is possible with Storyboard That's Real Time Collaboration feature! With Real Time Collaboration, students can work on the same storyboard at the same time which is perfect for this lesson! As teachers know, collaborating on assignments allows students to think on a deeper level while increasing their communication and problem-solving skills. Collaboration can also help cut down on the time it takes to complete a storyboard. While there is no set limit to the number of users who can work on a storyboard at once, we recommend five users or fewer for optimal performance. All of our assignments default to individual. To make this lesson collaborative, teachers must enable collaboration for the assignment within the "Edit Assignment" tab.

GRAPES Chart

G: Geography

1. Where was ancient Greece located?
2. What physical features did it have?
3. What was the climate like?
4. What natural resources were present?
5. How does the location or environment affect the development of ancient Greek civilization? (How does where they live affect how they live?)

R: Religion

1. What type of religion did ancient Greeks practice?
2. Who were the religious leaders?
3. Who were their god(s)/goddess(es)?
4. How did people worship?
5. Were there any unique burial practices or beliefs about the afterlife?

A: Achievements

What were some key inventions or contributions of ancient Greece in the areas of:

1. Art
2. Architecture
3. Drama
4. Inventions
5. Sciences
6. Speaking and Writing

P: Politics

1. What type of government did ancient Greece have?
2. Who were the leaders?
3. How were decisions made?
4. What role did people play in the government?
5. What was the structure of the government?

E: Economics

1. What were ancient Greece’s natural resources? What did they make and grow?
2. With whom did ancient Greece trade? What were their imports and exports?
3. What jobs were available?
4. What type of currency did they use?

S: Society

1. What were the social classes of ancient Greece?
2. What were the roles of men, women and children?
3. What groups had rights and what rights do they have?
4. What groups didn’t have rights?
5. What were people’s daily lives like?

Please note: Further activities utilize spider maps to expand on each category.

Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)