Summer SAVY Session 4, Day 1, Mythology
Day 1: In the Beginning… Our class had a tremendous start today with an exploration of creation myths from around the world and numerous cultures. What are myths? What is the purpose and what relevance do they have in our culture today? The students were so eager to share what they already know about Mythology and what they want to learn. At the end of the day, we celebrated all that we learned on Day 1! We used a KWL Chart format all day which included recording three columns of information: K-What we think we Know, W-What we Want to know, and L-What we have Learned. We filled up 3 posters with information!
All week we will continue to ask these questions as we dive deeper into our learning. Why do ancient civilizations the world over construct mythology (tell stories) and what information do they pass on in these early stories? We made two observations and have more ideas that we are researching: 1) To explain numerous unknown scientific phenomena (not known in ancient cultures at that time) and 2) To observe good/bad behaviors in people (or gods) in order to instruct concerning desired and undesired character qualities (greed, truth, etc.) specific to a culture. We observed and discussed creation stories from multiple civilizations including Native American, Aztec, Hindu, Norse, Egyptian, African, and of course Greek. We wondered what other cultures we should still consider in the days to come. What similarities and differences are there in the elements of the stories? What connections can we make between the geographical regions and the stories?
In case your child wants to establish a new rule at home this evening, here is the “class rule” that we are using successfully this week. It actually works great anywhere or anytime, but it requires thinking and reasoning. 🙂. You can do almost anything you want in this class, as long as it doesn’t cause a problem for yourself or others. These students are definitely problem-solvers and are observing so much around them! I look forward to our learning adventures this week!
Mrs. Byrd