This webquest was designed for the grade seven level.  The following outcomes have been selected from the Social Studies and Language Arts IRP's.

Priority Outcomes:
Social Studies K-7 IRP

• organize information into a formal presentation using several forms of representation (visual, written and oral)
• understand the importance of the religion/belief component of civilization within the ancient Greek culture
• understand how the Greeks sought to preserve their identity through their beliefs of important figures
• defend and justify a position based on primary and secondary research

• use the conventions of spelling, punctuation and capitalization in a consistent manner
• demonstrate their knowledge of the conventions of public speaking and informal oral presentations
• use pre-established criteria to evaluate group processes and their own contributions to the group
• demonstrate respect for the diverse ideas, opinions and contributions of peers.

When the class begins, you may choose to let the students form their own groups or you may pre-select the groups if you feel management problems will arise.  The same thing applies to the distribution of the gods/goddesses to be researched.  The class may be capable of making that choice without any argument as to who chooses which god/goddess to research.  If you feel the students will not be able to make the choice among themselves, the fairest way to distribute the names of the gods/goddesses would be to pull names out of a hat, or another similar method.

Before the class brainstorms the criteria that makes a god or goddess great, think of a list of at least six criteria you feel would be essential for the students to complete this project.  That way, if the class cannot think of criteria themselves, you can begin to give them some suggestions to hopefully trigger ideas of their own.  You can also give them a few of the criteria that you feel is absolutely necessary (try to let them suggest it first).  It may be helpful for you to refer students to examples from different myths that they have heard or read.  As mentioned before, when the students vote on the criteria, you may choose some yourself and have the students vote on their top three, for example.  More than six criteria can be used for determining the greatest god/goddess, but it is not advisable to use less.  The students should have at least two criteria each to research.  If the class has difficulty determining what the criteria should be, and you cannot think of six essential criteria yourself, students could work in pairs to research four criteria in total, or have groups of four and pairs working together to research two criteria.

At this point, the students are ready to begin the research phase of the project.  Besides the links provided in this webquest (some sites do not offer a lot of information on the gods/goddesses), the students' research should be supplemented and supported with other materials, such as books and videos for example.  It is advised that you check the sites before the students begin as well, in case you feel they are not suitable.  The information provided in these sites may determine whether you offer all twelve of the Olympians as choices for research (if you cannot find enough additional information to supplement the website information).

When students are finished researching, they can share the information with each other (jig-saw style) to gain an understanding of the different aspects of the god/goddess.  From here, the group works together to formulate reasons/ justifications as to why the god/goddess is the greatest.  It is important that you remind the students to stay focused only on the six criteria and to provide examples for their reasons.

The last part of the project is the presentation, which each group must prepare.  You may be more specific as to the requirements of the written, oral and visual components.  The evaluation ruberic is included for the students, so they are aware of the teacher's expectations.  A self-evaluation is also included for the students to complete.  This is, of course, an option on your part, but it is a way to gather students' feedback on their performance.  Students will be aware of their own contribution to the project and know that they are accountable for their efforts.

Students are asked to rank the gods/goddesses both individually and collectively after the students have heard all of the presentations.  If the class cannot come to a concensus, or it is a close match between a couple of the gods/goddesses, you may decide to hold a debate for the top position.   Students would choose one or the other, then together, they would form their argument to present to the other side.

As an extension activity, the students could write a story of their time travel back to ancient Greece and explain what their experience was like meeting the god/goddess they researched.  They are to write their story in the first person, making it as realistic as possible.