SAVY Saturday, Week 3, Percy Jackson & Greek Mythology (5th-6th)
Our last day was filled with applying what we had learned in the first 2 classes. We began our day by finishing their Instagram projects that we started last week and presenting them to each other. It was so fun to see the final projects they came up with! Everyone got extremely creative and added a personal voice while staying true to the characters from the myths.
Next, we had a friendly debate to decide whether or not Ares is to blame for starting the war that takes place in The Last Olympian books. Students were assigned a side of the argument and had time to look through the books and collect evidence to support their side. They had to work as a team and be able to make an argument for their side, even if they didn’t actually agree with it. After their prep time, we formed our circle and began the debate. Each student from both sides shared their arguments and then was able to give rebuttals. They had a lively conversation and built on each other’s arguments while respectfully agreeing or disagreeing with one another. It was a joy to hear their conversations and how passionate they were about the topic.
After lunch, we worked on our final projects! Students were tasked with taking a myth and creating a modern movie for it. They had to choose a myth, build the plot in the modern world, cast the characters, and design costumes and sets before presenting it to the class. Some students chose to work in pairs, but most wanted to do it independently. Some of the myths that were chosen include Pandora’s Box, Persephone being trapped in the underworld for part of the year, Hercules’ 12 trials, and King Midas’s gold touch. It was so interesting to see how they chose to modernize the story while keeping it true to the original myth.
The final project allowed them to showcase their knowledge of the myths through their modernization and show their knowledge of what makes a myth a myth. They had to keep the original essence of the myth even as they brought it into the modern world. Ask them about the myth they chose and how they were able to adapt it!
It has been wonderful working with your students over the past 3 Saturdays! I hope to see them in future SAVY classes!