Travel Journal
Ancient Greece
User Friendly Version

Essential Question: Should Ancient Greece be called the birthplace of Western Civilization?

Step 1: Mapping Itinerary
1) Make a map of Ancient Greece – on this keep track of the locations you visit.
2) Read Chapter 4, Section 1: Ancient Greece, pp. 44-47. Record your observations of Knossos and Mycenae from the perspective of a tourist.
3) Include drawings or photographs of what you see, as well as descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, even the food you eat. Just like a tourist would.
4) Note conversations you have with residents of both places and list the souvenirs you buy – just like a tourist.

Step 2: Visit to Sparta
1) Indicate the location of Sparta and the date of your visit on your journal map.
2) Use the facts learned from reading Chapter 4, Section 2: Greek City-States, pp. 51-55 to make observations about Spartan society.
3) Include details of conversations with local men and women, impressions of daily Spartan life.
4) Include illustrations and identify unique characteristics of Sparta which distinguish it from Knossos or Myceanae.

Step 3: Visiting Athens
1) In this entry for your journal, you will describe your experiences as tourists in Athens during the time of Pericles.
2) Include details on the history of Athens
3) Convey your impressions of Pericles based on conversations with Athenians, record your reaction to visiting a session of the Assembly.
4) Explore Athenian attitudes toward the Peloponnesian War.
5) Use the facts in Chapter 4, Section 3 as the basis for your entries
6) Include entries of the sights and people you might encounter, identify Athens and the date of your visit on your journal map.

Step 4: Alexander’s Empire
1) Describe your observations of Alexander’s empire. Plot the stops in your journal map.
2) You can choose to focus just on Alexandria or include details from the perspective of an observer (journalist?) embedded with Alexander’s army.
3) Use the details from Chapter 4, Section 5 to create a vivid description of what you see, hear and experience during this portion of the trip.
4) Don’t forget to include illustrations in the entries as well.

General Ideas and Guidelines
· This project will be done individually or in pairs, not three or four.
· It will be due, tentatively, on Friday 13 November.
· It will be graded in class by your peers, using a rubric. As of right now, it will be worth 200 points.
· Obviously this trip will take place in your imagination – based on the reading you do.
· This trip also involves time travel back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC so the things you see and do, the people you talk to should take this into account.
· Thus, to begin each part, you must read the section as a starting point.
· Note the important points like any tourist would – the people you talk to, places you go, what you see and do.
· Once you have read the section, then you will have to pursue your ideas, observations, and questions with further research online and in books.
· Your illustrations and drawings will likewise have to be inspired by what you find in your further research in each place
· Always remember, this is your journal, based on your imagination, your impressions, your observations, based on what you see and do as a tourist in Ancient Greece.
· Therefore, within the guidelines already provided there is no right or wrong way to do this. No minimum number of pages, no defined number of images or illustrations. That is up to you, as the tourist. Include as much as you believe necessary to provide a complete picture of the place visited.
· Finally, write this and do this as though you were writing for someone who has never been to Ancient Greece – to inform them, to paint a picture with your words and illustrations of this faraway place.