Summer SAVY Session 4, Day 3, From Myth to Modern Legend (Schwartz)
Day 3: Today, we studied more classical heroes and villains in order to help students practice thinking about perspective and characterization as they prepare to write their own myths tomorrow and Friday.
After reading the stories of Theseus, Ariadne, Daedalus, Icarus, and the Minotaur, we read literature (both poetry and prose) and looked at paintings that reinterpret these stories. Then, students wrote their own poem or paragraph from the perspective of one of these characters. Our goal is to show students that these myths are unfixed and open to interpretation, which is precisely what makes them such enduring templates for storytellers even today. Students then had fun solving labyrinths and designing their own—along with a fearsome monster to guard it.
After lunch, we wrapped up our work on Theseus et al. and studied the story of Perseus. We watched a reinterpretation of Perseus’s famous duel with Medusa while working to finish our board games. These games represent another way of retelling these classical myths, giving students who feel less sure of their voice as writers a way to feel great about their own artistic reinterpretation of the tales we have read this week.
I look forward to tomorrow when we will read our final heroic tale and begin writing our own “original” myths!
Mr. Schwartz