The
overall concept of this thematic unit combines Language Arts,
Science, and Social Studies as the students explore the role
mythology plays in answering questions about the natural world and
shaping a culture. Students will be able to describe and discuss the
cause-and-effect relationship between natural phenomena and a
culture's beliefs, as well as the relationship between the actual
event and the resulting myth. Students will be able to use language
to describe specific literary terms as they relate to mythology,
research and summarize the causes of natural phenomena such as
earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., and compare and contrast the ways
different cultures celebrate myths via holidays.
The
overarching objective of the lesson is that students will learn about
the origin of myths, the impact they have on the people who believe
them, and the actual facts behind them. Each lesson contains its own
assessment, which, when combined and averaged, will serve as an
assessment for the entire thematic unit.
Lesson 1: What is a
Myth?
Students will learn about how myths form by creating their own. They
will then learn how myths shape a culture by inventing a holiday
based on their myth.
CORE
STANDARDS: Grades 9-10, W 2 a-f.
VOCABULARY:
Myth, metaphor.
MECHANICS:
SWBAT describe a process/event in chronological order
ASSESSMENT:
Mythology Rubric, Holiday Rubric.
DAY
1: The lesson begins with a journal writing session in which
students are asked to brainstorm (individually or in pairs) what
comes to mind when they hear the word “myth.” After 5-10 minutes
of discussion/writing, students then share their ideas with the
class, with common ideas/themes put on the board.
After a
discussion, students are given the definition of myth for the
purposes of the thematic unit: A story, passed down over generations,
that metaphorically explains something unknown. The concepts of
metaphor and figurative language are discussed, in which students
understand that a myth is not necessarily “wrong” if it's not
literally true, because myths are not meant to be taken literally.
Students
are told that the oldest type of myths are those which describe
natural phenomena, such as the weather, the changing seasons, or
natural disasters. These myths are called “divine myths,” because
many times, a culture will credit natural phenomena to the work of a
god or gods.
Students
will be given an example: What causes the changing seasons? After a
discussion on the reasons (tilt of the Earth, amount of sunlight
received), Students are introduced to the myth of Hades and
Persephone, and told that this is how the ancient Greeks believed the
seasons changed:
According to an ancient Greek myth, Persephone was the daughter
of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Hades, the god of the
underworld, fell in love with Persephone and carried her off to his
kingdom to be his wife. Demeter searched everywhere for her
daughter. Finally, Zeus, the king of the gods, told Demeter where
Persephone was. It was decided that Persephone would live with Hades
for half the year and with her mother for the other half. During the
time that Persephone lived in the underworld, Demeter was so unhappy
that all the plants withered and died. But when Persephone returned
each year, Demeter rejoiced and plants could grow again. According
to the myth, this is the reason for summer, fall, winter, and
spring. (http://www.eduplace.com/activity/changing_seasons.html)
The
class ends with the students instructed to think about how to
explain natural phenomena for next class.
DAY
2: After reviewing what a
divine myth is, students are instructed that they will be creating
their own divine myths in class. The class is divided up into
groups, approximately 3-4 students per group, and told that each
group represents an ancient civilization. Each group's first task
as a “civilization” will be to give themselves a name. Then each
group is told that their particular village/tribe/nation is plague
by a specific natural phenomenon – for example, one group is
plagued by earthquakes; another lives by a river which is prone to
flooding. Since these ancient “civilizations” have no scientific
knowledge, it is up to them to devise a story explaining who or what
was responsible for the phenomenon, as well as how and why they
cause it. Groups will share their myths at the end of the class.
Written
assignment: Descriptive Essay.
DAY
3: After sharing their myths
as a group, students are told that they will be working individually
on a writing assignment. Students are asked for an example of a
holiday, and how they celebrate it. Students are then told that the
way people celebrate holidays, for example, Halloween, Easter, or
New Year's Eve, are traditionally based on myths and beliefs, and
that the traditions continue even after the original myth is long
forgotten. Students are then told that they will invent a holiday
based on the myth their group created. The holiday must involve some
kind of traditional activity which must remind people of the myth,
and give them a chance to (at least symbolically) participate in the
myth. For example, if earthquakes are caused by an underground
monster whose stomach rumbles when its hungry, once a year, families
go out into the fields and bury a plate of food, thus “feeding”
the monster, and hopefully preventing more earthquakes.
Students will be given time to brainstorm, freewrite, and/or
diagram ideas for activities which could be symbolic of the original
myth. Students will describe how the holiday is celebrated by
describing the events in chronological order, explaining how each
event is related to the original myth. To assist them in the writing
process, students will make a two-column list, with events on the
left side, and explanations on the right.
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Activities
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Reasons:
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DAY
4: Students will work on
their essays in the Writing Lab, sharing rough drafts with one
another for peer review. Students are reminded to check for
grammar, spelling, and to make sure that the events are in the right
order – one following the next.
Final drafts submitted to the teacher. If necessary, a second day
in the computer lab can be used.
Group Myth Rubric
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Poor
1
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Fair
2
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Good
3
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Excellent
4
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Score
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Group
Name
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No
group name given
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Group
name given
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Level of
detail in group myth
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Little
to no detail given in the myth
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Few
details given, no names or histories.
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Details
such as names used to fill out the storyline of the myth,
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Myth
is well detailed, with names and actions used to create a
well-formed story.
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Group
Performance
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Little
to no enthusiasm in performance, only one group member speaks.
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Some
effort made; more than one member in a speaking or performing
role.
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All
members participate, some planning and enthusiasm shown.
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All
members engage in an active and enthusiastic performance.
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Creativity
and originality
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Myth
is almost an exact duplicate of an existing story.
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Myth
is very similar to another well-known story.
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Myth
is similar to story, but changes made.
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Completely
new and original myth.
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Lesson
2: How do we Celebrate?
Students draw upon their earlier discussion of their
own holidays in order to write a compare-and-contrast essay on
holidays and celebrations across different cultures.
CORE
STANDARDS: Grades 9-10, RH 3, RH 9, WHST 8
VOCABULARY:
Subject by subject comparison, point by point comparison, various
transitional words indicating comparison and contrast.
MECHANICS:
SWBAT use the Internet as a resource to explore traditions in other
cultures, use transitional words and phrases to compare and contrast
similar events from different cultures.
ASSESSMENT: Comparison and Contrast Rubric.
DAY
1: The
earlier discussion of holiday traditions should have prepared
students to discuss celebrations in different cultures. Students are
given (or may choose; some students may even choose their own
culture) a foreign culture and research either unique holiday or a
unique form of celebrating a common holiday. A guided research
session, preferably in a computer workshop, if applicable, can help
students research their assigned culture. Each student is to look at
how a particular culture celebrates a specific holiday, and compare
and contrast it with America, or to choose a particular holiday, and
compare and contrast different cultures' ways of celebrating. For
example, how are birthdays celebrated in South America as opposed to
North America? Compared to the Middle East? Africa? Asia? What about
New Year's Eve? As with their own holidays, students will research
what is done and why. Students will compare and contrast
celebrations in t-chart form to later convert into a
compare-and-contrast essay.
DAY
2: Students
will share their charts with the class, discussing similarities and
differences across cultures. Charts will be then be used as guides
for compare-and contrast essays. The teacher will explain and model
the differences between a point by point comparison and a subject by
subject comparison, and advise the students that either one is
useful, as long as the essay is organized and easy to follow.
Students will be given class time for prewriting and drafting.
DAY
3-4: Students
will be in the writing lab converting their t-charts into essay
form, sharing drafts with their classmates for peer review before
handing in a finished final draft.
Comparison
and Contrast Rubric
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CATEGORY
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4
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3
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2
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1
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Purpose
& Supporting Details
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The
paper compares and contrasts items clearly. The paper points to
specific examples to illustrate the comparison. The paper
includes only the information relevant to the comparison.
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The
paper compares and contrasts items clearly, but the supporting
information is general. The paper includes only the information
relevant to the comparison.
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The
paper compares and contrasts items clearly, but the supporting
information is incomplete. The paper may include information that
is not relevant to the comparison.
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The
paper compares or contrasts, but does not include both. There is
no supporting information or support is incomplete.
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Organization
& Structure
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The
paper breaks the information into whole-to-whole, similarities
-to-differences, or point-by-point structure. It follows a
consistent order when discussing the comparison.
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The
paper breaks the information into whole-to-whole, similarities
-to-differences, or point-by-point structure but does not follow
a consistent order when discussing the comparison.
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The
paper breaks the information into whole-to-whole, similarities
-to-differences, or point-by-point structure, but some
information is in the wrong section. Some details are not in a
logical or expected order, and this distracts the reader.
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Many
details are not in a logical or expected order. There is little
sense that the writing is organized.
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Transitions |
The
paper moves smoothly from one idea to the next. The paper uses
comparison and contrast transition words to show relationships
between ideas. The paper uses a variety of sentence structures
and transitions.
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The
paper moves from one idea to the next, but there is little
variety. The paper uses comparison and contrast transition words
to show relationships between ideas.
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Some
transitions work well; but connections between other ideas are
fuzzy.
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The
transitions between ideas are unclear or nonexistent.
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Grammar
& Spelling (Conventions)
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Writer
makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader
from the content.
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Writer
makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader
from the content.
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Writer
makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader
from the content.
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Writer
makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the
reader from the content.
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Lesson 3: What's the
Real Cause?
Student groups switch natural phenomena with one
another and embark on a research project to discover and describe
the real cause of the event in question. Students must then prepare
a persuasive speech, imagining themselves to be speaking to a group
of believers in the original myth, explaining to them the real cause
of the phenomenon is, and why they shouldn't believe in the myth
anymore.
CORE
STANDARDS: Grades 9-10, RST 2, WHST 1.
VOCABULARY:
Argument,
debate, rebuttal.
MECHANICS:
SWBAT summarize a scientific explanation and deliver it in a
persuasive form.
ASSESSMENT:
Persuasion Rubric.
DAYS
1-2: Research.
Students take their group's natural phenomenon (or switch with
another group), and, using library or online resources, research
the real cause. Field trip to library or computer lab for first day;
in-class journaling for second day to compile and summarize notes.
Students should be able to simplify and summarize the cause. Each
student will be given 2-3 vocabulary terms specific to their event
which they will have to be able to define as part of their research:
for example, a student looking up volcanoes will have to learn the
difference between magma and lava.
Students will write a brief (1-2 paragraphs max.)
summary in their journals describing the cause of the event.
DAY
3: Discussion
of persuasive writing. Journal question: How do you get somebody to
agree with you? 5-10 minutes of writing; share and discuss answers.
Give
out persuasion map handouts to help students plan persuasive
argument. Alternatively, students can use interactive persuasion map
online at
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/persuasion_map
Students will use persuasion maps to explain why their
explanation is better than the myth. They must provide three
positive reasons (using the vocabulary terms they learned on day 1)
or two reasons and a rebuttal of the mythological explanation.
DAY
4: Students
in the writing lab working on essays. Essays will be graded
according to persuasion rubric. Visual aid (illustration, chart,
diagram, etc.) is optional but not required.
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