Lesson 1: Introduction to Greek Myths

Essential Questions
● How do stories help us understand our world?
● What importance did myths about gods, goddesses, and heroes have for ancient Greeks?
● How does geography influence history?

Learning Goals: Lesson Objectives:

- Students will be able to identify and
emulate mythology genre features.
- Students will be able to explain the
importance of Greek myths to Ancient
Greek culture.
- Students will be able to use reading
strategies to comprehend texts.
- Students will use Padlet tool to activate
and share prior knowledge about Greek
myths.
- Students will partner-read a Greek
myth.
- Students will identify cause and effect
in a myth.
- Students will begin to reflect on why
Greeks wrote myths.

Vocabulary: Materials:
- Myths - iPads (16 + 3 for teachers)
- Titans - Laptop and projector
- Mount Olympus - Chart paper and markers
- Majesty - 16 copies of ​McElderry’s Greek Myths
- Cunning - 2 stacks each of orange and purple
- Endure post-its

Procedure
45 minutes

Introduction to Unit ​(5 min)

● Before starting, students retrieve iPads and sign into Google Classroom. Students start
sitting at their desks with iPads facing ​down​ in front of them.
● I explain that we’re starting a new unit on Greek Mythology; show on a chart and read aloud
the essential questions. “We’ll be returning to these throughout the unit, and the third one is
going to be an overlapping question with our unit on the American colonies. Today we’re
really going to be thinking about this second question: what meanings did the Greek myths
have to Ancient Greeks?”
● Read comprehension skills: “We’re going to practice each of these while we read our myths,
but today we’ll practice with cause and effects. Thinking about the cause-and-effect
relationships included in a story can help us understand ​why​ that story was told.”
○ Identifying cause and effect
○ Analyzing illustrations
○ Noticing character traits
○ Visualizing
○ Predicting
 ○ Considering “author’s” purpose
● Tell students that eventually, they’ll be writing their own myths, so they’ll have to have a
good grasp of the genre characteristics and the common themes of mythology in order to do
that.
● Write and read aloud today’s agenda:
○ 11:30 - 11:40 - Padlet
○ 11:40 - 11:45 - Themes of Greek Myths
○ 11:45 - 12:10 - Read Prometheus and discuss cause and effect
○ 12:10 - 12:15 - Reflect with Exit Ticket - Why did the Greeks write myths?

Padlet ​(5 min)

● Project Padlet onto board. Model adding to Padlet by writing definition of a myth (a
traditional, fictional story passed down many generations that explains why something
happens).
● Students turn on iPads and open ​Padlet​ that is posted in Google Classroom.
● Take 3 minutes to type words or phrases about what they know about Greek myths.
● When finished - Read through what others have written. “I’m going to turn this into a word
cloud that we can look at and see what came up often, then we’ll return to this at the end of
the unit and see if we have different associations.”
● Ask, what common themes do you notice?

Themes of Greek Myths ​(5 min)

● Students lock their iPads and turn them face down in front of them, then turn attention back
to me.
● I read the introduction to ​McElderry’s Book of Greek Myths​ aloud. Note the three major
themes of myths - tell students, be looking for these as you read each myth! Look for the
connection between these themes and the purpose that the myth might have served for
Ancient Greeks.
● Show these themes as written on poster.

Guided Reading ​(20 min)

● Students will break into their reading groups (no CD - will be in two groups based on *
groups below) and open their McElderry’s books to Prometheus story (p. 1).
● Preview vocab: ​cunning​, ​majesty​, ​endure.​ Ask for synonyms.
● Teacher in group will start by reading first page aloud and will model annotating cause and
effect.
○ Pause after third paragraph on p. 1 and note the ​effect​ that Epimetheus is asked to
give gifts to the living creatures. Ask, what was the ​cause​? Push them to consider the
choice​ that led to this effect (i.e. Epimetheus and Prometheus battle alongside the
gods).
○ Model jotting down the ​cause on an orange post-it​, and the ​effect on a purple
post-it​. Have students do the same.
● Instruct students to continue partner-reading the story, and think about cause-and-effect
while they read. With their partner, annotate another cause-and-effect relationship in the
Prometheus story.
● If a pair finishes early, find an additional cause-and-effect relationship in the story, then jot
down the character traits they think contributed to the cause.
Debriefing Prometheus ​(5 min)
● Regather small groups and ask, what cause-and-effect relationships did you notice?
○ Point out that there are ​individual a​ nd ​global​ effects in myths - the effect of
Prometheus’ gift to the humans is his own punishment (individual), while the effect
of his punishment is earthquakes (global).
● Have students keep the post-its in their books.

Reflection ​(5 min)

● As groups finish, answer the question “Why do you think the Ancient Greeks wrote myths?”
on a post-it.
● Stick their answer on the board next to corresponding EQ and see what others have written
on the way to recess.
● If a group has extra time, have them respond to someone else’s post-it by writing back.

Assessments
● The Padlet will serve as a very quick diagnostic assessment for students, demonstrating
what knowledge they initially associate with Greek mythology.
● Teachers will make observations / take notes on fluency while students partner read.
● Cause-and-effect post-its demonstrate students’ understanding of this reading strategy.
● Our final exit ticket will offer formative assessment for their understanding of the
importance of Greek myths, after having heard one myth and read about the history.

Differentiation / Supports
● This lesson is designed to include multiple grouping opportunities. We begin all together so
that students may have a shared experience to begin the unit, though most of our work in
Greek Myths will occur in leveled groups, as in the second part of this lesson. Movement
from the whole-class to our groups also gives students the opportunity to move their bodies
mid-lesson.
● Much of the key information given to students during lesson will be verbal as well as visual.
We introduce the anchor charts that will be hung in the classroom to guide the unit. In
addition, the post-it book annotation offers a concrete comprehension strategy for
identifying cause and effect.
● Tech integration helps to offer students multiple mediums of expression (Padlet vs. group
discussion vs. exit ticket).