Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 4, Greek Mythology (Young) (5th – 6th)
We began our day with Connections from the New York Times. This is a great way to get our brains thinking in the mornings!
We finished the designs of our monsters and labyrinths that we started yesterday. We headed outside to draw our labyrinths in sidewalk chalk and, you guessed it, our monsters were in the middle! Students were challenged to solve each other’s puzzles.
After ORA, we entered the exciting world of Perseus and Percy Jackson! We used the “see beyond” strategy to analyze details, thoughts, questions, concepts, connections, and contexts of the original myth. We then discussed the major differences we see in Riordan’s tale when seeing it alongside the myth of Perseus. We also discussed the fun details that come with modernizing myths. For example, Ares rides a motorcycle, and Mt. Olympus is above the Empire State Building! These examples sparked some ideas for our own myths.
We learned a little about the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece, and then we launched into our final projects! Students have been challenged to use the things they’ve learned and created this week to spin a tale of their own. They created outlines and conferenced with me to share the details and get feedback. Their outlines included the natural occurrence or phenomenon that they will explain in their story, the god or goddess that they created, two mythological figures that they will include, a hero, and how that hero will follow the hero’s journey during their story. I am SO excited about these amazing myths.
After their conference with me, they began writing and creating comic strips, and presentations for their myth. They will continue this process tomorrow and we will present them to each other tomorrow afternoon. I can’t wait for you to read them!
Tomorrow we will also learn about the Trojan War and that wooden horse that’s so famous.
Dinner table conversation:
- Tell me about your myth. What sparked the idea for this story?
- What is your favorite myth that you’ve learned about this week?
- What perspective do we gain by analyzing multiple (including modern) versions of a myth?
See everyone tomorrow!