Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Gray discus on a stand

Ancient Greek discus, made by 6th graders at Laurelhurst School, Portland

One of the sports in the Greek Olympic Games was to see who could throw a discus the farthest. Real discuses were very heavy, made out of iron or bronze usually, though sometimes stone or lead.

To make a pretend discus like this one, not to throw but just to display, carve it out of styrofoam or clay, and then paint it with gray or brown paint. If you want to try holding a competition to throw a real discus, you can buy discuses at sports stores. If you want to hold your own Olympic Games and you don’t want it to be too complicated, you can use a Frisbee instead of a discus.

Activities:

* Olympic games
* Play reading
* Vase-painting

Bibliography and further reading ideas for Ancient Greek projects:

Hands-On Ancient People, Volume 2 : Art Activities about Minoans, Mycenaeans, Trojans, Ancient Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans (2004) For kids ages 9-12.

Ancient Greece!: 40 Hands-On Activities to Experience This Wondrous Age (Kaleidoscope Kids), by Avery Hart, Paul Mantell, and Michael P. Kline (1999). Gives ideas to get kids thinking, rather than step-by-step instructions.

More about Ancient Greece
More History Projects
Quatr.us home