ANCIENT GREEK IN PRIMARY

SCHOOLSSophy Rogers, Reading

School

BACKGROUND & CONTEXT As a Humanities specialist school, we were

obliged to offer community outreach work. We set up a gifted and talented academy with 6 local primary schools.

Classics was one of the 3 lead subjects and therefore offered session in the academy

We are no longer a Humanities specialist school (now an academy) but the sessions with primary school were really successful. They also help to promote and make the school accessible to the wider community, since, as a selective school, we can appear inaccessible to some of our local primary schools

The students are girls and boys from 6 local primary schools, covering a very wide social-economic background

There are 30 year 5 students (9-10 years old)

It is no longer a G & T academy, offered to stretch high ability students, but open to any students the primary school wishes

Each week students have 1 hour of a subject for 5 weeks (e.g. Geography, Classics, MFL), a break then English and Maths for 45 minutes.

Students can browse and borrow library books

6th form students help out

THE 5 SESSIONS 1. Discussion about who the Greeks are,

what they introduced & what still remains. Find out what the students know. Introduce the alphabet, turn the letters into animals ( = a fish, = half a butterfly). Practise writing the alphabet. Write name in Greek.

Use booklet

2. Go over the alphabet, play Greek tile game. Transliteration. Discuss famous Greek people. Introduce the verb

3. Play Greek letter tile game to recap the alphabet. Go over , give out sort cards to do in groups. Introduce to 5 new verbs and imperatives. Play ‘A ’. Go over with hand actions. Read Persephone myth & discuss what myths helped the Greeks to explain

4. Recap imperatives ‘A ’. Recap παυω, exercise on verb endings in booklet. Introduce nouns & simple sentences (nom or nom & acc). Gods, goddess matching sheet

5. Simple sentences. Quiz. Certificates & celebration. Feedback

Alex enjoyed learning a new alphabet!

Aaron has enjoyed learning Greek and loves being able to access the books in the library

OBSERVATIONS The students have very good understanding

of people from ancient Greece and mythology from primary school

Although only 9 or 10 years old the students are not phased by the new alphabet and can learn simple grammatical concepts, especially using a mixture of strategies

Discussions sometimes become more general about language e.g. putting endings on to change the person, derivations and about the ancient world more widely

6th form students are helpful with 30 students (& there are additional benefits for them) but need guidance as they can struggle to make work approachable to the audience

It is great fun! Sadly Greek is being removed from

the school timetable at GCSE due to a decline in numbers but this allows a way for subject our students to maintain an interest and demystify an elitist subject