Materials for the lesson

A list with all the Olympic Sports in four copies, one for each group/city. Teacher prepares it. This list has boxes for the children to check which sport results from the clairvoyant’s oracle.

Teachers’ Bell.

Layout of the classroom

The desks are set aside and form four places/corners which represent each city. ATHENS, SPARTA, THEBES, PLATAES.

1^st Phase

The teacher divides the children into 4 groups, 4 cities in Greece : Athens, Sparta, Plataes and Thebes.
The children go to the according corner of their city.

The teacher says that:

TEACHER: (In the center of the room) I have an important announcement to make. Each city has to send me a messenger, so I can give him/her the message from all of Greece. Then, they will return to announce it to their city.

Each City draws a lot to designate and send a student as a messenger. All messengers gather in the middle of the class. The teacher secretly, so that the rest cannot hear, tells the news.

TEACHER: Olympic Games will take place in Olympia, as it happens every four years. At the Olympic games the strongest young people compete. There are no wars and the winners are crowned with an olive wreath. Go and inform well your citizens of each different City and then get ready to:

Send messengers to the Oracle of Dodoni so the  clairvoyant  can tell you in what Sport you will participate. When you find it, check it on the paper and hand it over to me again. He gives them a list of Olympic sports.

3^rd Phase

 The children return back with the list of Games and say the Teachers’ news. Then, they conference and choose one student to go to Dodoni to get the clairvoyant’s oracle.

4^th Phase

The teacher at his seat. Now in the role of the Clairvoyant.

Teacher: (He speaks poetically and full of puzzles)
Here, here ! One by one the cities come here so I can
tell them my wise oracle. (The children-citizens of each city come one after the other to the teacher’s seat)
Teacher: Who are you?
Children: We come from Athens.
Teacher: He says and gives the oracle to the children

Oracles that the teacher can use (Except for those he/she can find himself)

If you have feet that are fast
fast you will reach one hundred and be glorified.
(100 meters race)

Feet if you have that stand firm

Wreaths in Marathon you will find
(Marathon)

Train your arms
for heavy tasks to be strong
(Lifting weights)

With a tall pole as your assistant
You ‘ll fly like an eagle up high
(Pole vault)

If you dive in the deep sea
Then like a fish you can swim
(Swimming)

5t Phase

Meeting
All cities return and discuss to their places to find the interpretation of the oracles. After deciding what they mean, they gather in the center and cross-examine their oracles and interpretations together. There, they see whether they understood correctly or not. Finally, all together they decide to go to the teacher with the papers where they have checked the according sports.

6^th Phase

The teacher continues his/her lecture and provides all extra information contained in the lesson.