Materials

• Class notes (see bolded text in Instructional Activities below)
• Brief biography of Pericles
• Overhead projector (optional)
• Teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or activity

Instructional Activities

1. Review content covered to this point in the unit.
   
   
2. Ask students to name famous people from history. Record the names on an overhead transparency. Ask students if they know what made some of these people famous. Encourage students to consider what type of contribution, positive or negative, might be significant enough to be included in history books for many years. Allow time for students to consider this.
   
   
3. Introduce Pericles by providing a brief biography. Ask students if the biographical information suggests a contribution significant enough to be included in history books 2500 years later.
   
   
4. Put the following notes on the board or overhead:
   
        Pericles extended democracy; most adult males had equal voice in the government.
   
        Pericles had Athens rebuilt after the destruction in the Persian Wars; the Parthenon is an example of this reconstruction.
   
   
5. Ask students to consider which accomplishment is more significant and why. Ask them if they would include Pericles in a history textbook for students. Why? Why not?
   
   
6. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources.