Summer SAVY, Session 2 Day 1, Timeless Tales: Archetypes All Around Us (3rd-4th)
We had a fantastic day one here in Timeless Tales! Today, we focused on encounters and how they shape who we are as people and how they can shape characters in stories. We defined an encounter as an unplanned experience that brings about a change. Students thought about encounters they have had with people in their own lives. They tied those people and encounters to an emotion that they felt when leaving those encounters. We had a good mix of positive and negative encounters- one student wrote that encounters with his brother are mean/funny, which I think most people with brothers can relate to! They then came up with some generalizations about encounters and created posters to hang on the wall for us to use throughout the week.
After ORA, we read a story entitled “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. This story tells about an encounter a girl had with her teacher on her eleventh birthday that she wished she had handled better. We were able to answer questions about the story using something called “mix and mingle”. It’s similar to musical chairs, but when the music stops, you turn to the person closest to you and discuss the questions. This gets kids up and moving while talking to and hearing from multiple classmates. After discussing, we filled out a literary analysis wheel which included the setting, characters, mood, theme, and symbols in the story. Some of this was filled out as a whole class, and some was worked on with partners.
Following a quick lunch break, we started to think about our own encounters that have changed us. This could be anything from having to move cities to spraining an ankle or losing a sports tournament. Learners used these encounters to write their own personal narratives and reflect on what the encounter was and how it shaped and changed them into who they are today.
Then we were ready to dive into archetypes! We start with encounters because encounters shape archetypes in stories, just like they shape us into who we are. We had a brief overview of twelve different archetypes and discussed which characters we love fit into some of them. To end the day, students worked together to create a poster explaining different archetypes. They had to include the name and definition of the archetype, a picture, and some examples from books, TV, or movies. These will help us throughout the week as we continue to learn about them! It was truly an amazing day, and I cannot wait to see everyone back here tomorrow!
