Spotlight: Analyzing Athenian Democracy
	Among the enduring contributions of the Greek empire to Western society is the foundation of democratic society. But what did the development of Athenian democracy actually involve?

Task
1. Form groups of two.

2. One partner will read article 1, other partner will read article two.

3. Answer the following questions based on the articles. Please note that some of the questions are addressed in both articles, while some questions are only addressed in one of the articles.

4. Individually, student should complete the Critical Reflection and upload paragraph to Moodle.

Article	Title	Article
1	Critics and Critiques of Athenian Democracy	http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekcritics_01.shtml
2	The Democratic Experiment	http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml

Questions (Pairs)

1. Describe the characteristics of Athenian democracy.
2. What are the major criticisms of Athenian democracy?
3. What was ‘tyranny’? Was Athenian democracy effective in eliminating tyranny in ancient Greece? Explain.
4. What was the policy of ostracism? Was this effective? Why or why not?
5. How did Greek philosophers view democracy? Explain.
6. What are the major similarities between Athenian democracy and modern democracy?

Critical Reflection (Individually)

Based on the two articles and discussion with your partner, what is your assessment of the effectiveness and validity of democracy in Athens? The critical reflection must be completed individually.

Level Four (80–100%)	Level Three (70–79%)	Level Two (60–69%)	Level One (50–59%)
ü The paragraph uses critical thinking skills with a high degree of effectiveness by: q including a topic sentence that clearly establishes a point of view q supporting arguments with sound historical evidence q ensuring that each reference to the government systems clearly and effectively supports the point of view set out in the topic sentence	ü The paragraph uses critical thinking skills with considerable effectiveness by: q including a topic sentence that attempts to establish a point of view q supporting arguments with historical evidence q ensuring that each reference to government systems makes a connection to the point of view set out in the topic sentence	ü The paragraph uses critical thinking skills with some degree of effectiveness by: q including a topic sentence, but point of view is not clear q supporting arguments with some historical evidence q ensuring that some connection is made	ü The paragraph uses critical thinking skills with a limited degree of effectiveness by: q not including a topic sentence q supporting arguments with limited historical evidence q making limited connection