People are interested in Persia and why not? A mighty ancient empire of many different countries ranging from Egypt to Babylonian with an astonishing collection of  ethnic groups ruled over by a great king Cyrus. What happened when the empire took notice of, and tried to conquer,  the tiny collection of city states in Greece is the story which Herodotus tells in the Persian Wars. Recently a movie version of one of the famous battles of that war, at Thermopoyle, called 300 was a big hit with audiences around the world. Our lesson on the 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopolyae: Herodotus' Real History http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=735  would make a good summer reading project for an ambitious student.