Summer SAVY, Session 6 Day 1, “Greek Mythology 2.0” (5th-6th)
Hello! My name is Meara Waxman, and I am thrilled that your children have joined us for Greek Mythology 2.0 this week! We had a wonderful first day. After introducing ourselves and doing some goal setting for the week, we dove into the course material by learning about some of the forgotten Titans (the oldest generation of Greek Mythology). Students were each assigned one titan to study, and then they presented their findings to the class!
From there, we read the story of Phaeton, the son of Helios, and his ill-fated disaster trying to drive the sun chariot. The story is quite funny and engaging, and afterwards, we had our own race outside to recreate the myth in real life! Students created their own obstacles (such as the ones Phaeton would have faced) and then took turns racing through the course!
In the afternoon, we learned about some of the forgotten gods that reside in the underworld (most people tend to only know about Hades, but there are actually quite a few figures in the underworld). We had a guessing game for some of the gods, and then each student was assigned one god to represent for a mock trial of Tantalus in the underworld! Students really enjoyed putting on this mock trial, and I enjoyed getting to see their personalities shine through. Tomorrow, they will get another chance to represent minor gods with a debate on which god is the most underrated in the mythology canon!
Some dinner table questions:
- Which of the titan or god figures that we studied today is your favorite, and why?
- What kind of obstacles did you create for Phaeton’s chariot race?
- Which god did you represent in the underworld trial?
Thank you, and I look forward to a fun-filled week with the students!
Warmly,
Meara Waxman