IN THE CLASSROOM:Working on city-states of mind

Colorful cartoon figures dressed in togas adorned a poster board as Katherine Paguinto and her teammates at Columbus Elementary School put the finishing touches on their artwork depicting the life of the Spartans.

But Katherine’s group had a greater task to perform. The group worked on making a persuasive argument to their classmates about why Sparta would be a better place to live in ancient Greece than Athens.

“In Sparta, women have rights, unlike in Athens,” Katherine, 11, said. “And since we are all girls, we should point that out.”

Her teammate, Nika Mnatsakanyan, 12, expressed another reason why Sparta would be an ideal place to live.

“Women are educated, they play sports, hold office, they can vote and own property,” Nika said.

Kristine Paguinto, 11, presented a counterargument about Sparta.

“The military was strict,” she said.

“Boys were taken away from their families, but it was good because they could study reading, writing, arithmetic and weaponry.”

Students in another group practiced their speeches about why they would choose to live in Athens.

Haseeb Hassan, 11, and his team drew Athenian figures to illustrate the quality of life in Athens.

“Athenians have prosperity and we want to talk about their treatment of noncitizens,” Haseeb said, adding that noncitizens in ancient Greece were given responsibilities instead of being treated as slaves.

Haseeb’s teammate, Robert Petrosyan, 11, pointed to the picture of a toga-clad woman drinking wine. Another figure in the corner of the poster board depicted a servant attending to an Athenian resident.

The drawings represent the high quality of life enjoyed by the Athenians, Robert said.

“During the classical age of Greece, Athens was powerful,” Robert said.

The students’ project on Sparta and Athens is part of the sixth-grade curriculum, which involves persuasive writing and speaking, teacher Mark Ouweleen said.

Students have written individual reports on ancient Greece and are using what they have learned to write speeches, he said.

They will be graded on their knowledge of history, listening and speaking skills and persuasive writing, he said.

“The way they are able to take information they’ve learned and apply it in a new way is what it’s all about,” Ouweleen said.

“The have to take actual facts and apply it with logical thinking.”

KIDS TALK BACK

The Glendale News-Press visited Columbus Elementary School and asked students: “What argument about Sparta or Athens are you going to use for your persuasive speech?”

“In Sparta, the government was ruled by men over 60. You would be safer because they knew what was going on. When men became citizens, they could own free land.”

KATHERINE PAGUINTO, 11

Glendale

“I’m going to persuade them to live in Athens because Athenians have more than just the military. We teach them art and sports and they get to choose what they want to be in the future.”

LIANNA KHACHIKYAN, 11

Glendale

“Unlike the Athenians, Sparta gives you land and helots (serfs) so you won’t have to do all the work yourself. Our Spartan boys at age 7 are sent to the military and they learn to be great warriors and protect the city-state.”

VIVYANA MEHRABIAN, 12

Glendale

“I’m going to talk about the treatment of noncitizens in Athens. In Athens, they are treated fairly. They’re given responsibilities.”

JUAN ARMAS, 12

Glendale

“I’m going to tell them how you can join the [Athenian] government when you are 18 years old or older. In Sparta, government is only ruled by men 60 or older. They don’t pick the laws that people want. They pick what they want.”

GURGEN SARGSYAN, 12

Glendale

LUNCH MENU

Glendale Unified School District elementary school menu for April 24 to 30:

TODAY: Hot grilled-cheese sandwich, chicken patty on bun, turkey-and-cheese bagel sandwich, chef salad, salad bar, flavored yogurt.

WEDNESDAY: Teriyaki beef dunkers and rice bowl, turkey corndog, ham and cheese on French roll, taco salad, salad bar, flavored yogurt, steamed rice.

THURSDAY: Spaghetti, chicken nuggets, turkey-and-cheese submarine sandwich, Chinese chicken salad, salad bar, flavored yogurt.

FRIDAY: Trout treasures, cheese pizza wedge, pepperoni pizza wedge, hot grilled-cheese sandwich, tuna salad, salad bar, flavored yogurt, birthday cupcakes.

MONDAY: Mini taco quesadillas, chicken nuggets, ham-and-cheese deli sticks, chicken Caesar salad, salad bar, flavored yogurt.