Materials

• A large wall or floor map of the world
• Dry-erase map (if available) and dry-erase markers
• Reference materials: encyclopedia, atlas, desk map, and globe
• Map handout of ancient Greece (Attachment A; 1 per student)
• Crayons or colored pencils
• 9" x 12" pieces of colored construction paper (1 per student)

Instructional Activities

1. As a review, have students locate on a large wall or floor map of the world places they studied in second grade: The seven continents and four oceans, United States, the Great Lakes, and mountain ranges, Egypt, China.
   
   
2. Use a large wall or floor map of the world, and have students locate the continent of Europe and the country of present-day Greece. If you have a laminated or dry-erase map, students may circle these with a dry-erase marker.
   
   
3. As a review, discuss the hemisphere where Greece is located.
   
   
4. Use a topographic map and identify the symbols and colors that represent bodies of water (wavy, blue lines). Locate the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
   
   
5. Identify the symbols and colors that represent mountains and hills (orange/brown triangles). Show students that Greece is located among many mountains and hills. Ask them how this topography affects farming. Explain that this causes problems with farming and that Greece has limited rich soil for growing crops.
   
   
6. Help students (as needed) find Greece and the Mediterranean Sea in an encyclopedia, on an atlas, desk map, and globe. Compare the similarities and differences of the symbols and colors.
   
   
7. Give each student a map of ancient Greece (Attachment A). Have them color in the land (brown or green) and water (blue).
   
   
8. Have students begin making a review booklet of ancient Greece by designing a cover out of construction paper and placing the black-line map as page one. Have students save the booklet as a study guide for their test.