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Week 1 Lesson 3: and

Learning Goal/Overview (What Students Will Know/Be Able to Do By End of Lesson)

● In this lesson, students will: o Identify the twelve main gods and goddesses in o Identify as the place believed by the ancient Greeks to be the home of the gods o Identify Greek as a type of fiction o Demonstrate familiarity with “Demeter and Persephone” o Identify the elements of character, setting, plot, and supernatural beings and events in “Demeter and Persephone” o Identify common characteristics of Greek myths (i.e., they try to explain mysteries of nature and humankind, include supernatural beings or events, give insight into the ancient Greek culture) o Describe some of the many different types of mythical creatures and characters in Greek myths, such as , , , Pegasus, and Enduring Understanding/Focus

Students will understand: ● Common characteristics of Greek myths. ● Greek myths try to explain the mysteries of nature and humankind

Lesson Structure Introduction to Read-Aloud 15 minutes Activity 1 - Comprehension Questions 10 minutes Activity 2 - Vocabulary Review 10 minutes Independent Practice/CFU 15 minutes

Student Materials Greek Myths Journal pencils

crayons/markers Lesson Set

Standard(s) Covered:

● 2.RL.KID.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral. ● 2.RL.KID.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges ● 2.RL.CS.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action ● 2.SL.PKI.5 Add audio or visual elements to stories or recounts of experiences, when appropriate, to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Introduction to Read-Aloud: Demeter and Persephone

Video link: Running time: 9:52

● https://youtu.be/mfchG2itqT8 Background Information for students ● Remind students that they heard the domain’s first Greek in the previous read-aloud, “ and Pandora.” ● Have students share some of the characteristics of Greek myths. (fictional stories once thought to be true that tried to explain things in nature, taught moral lessons, and educated listeners; stories with supernatural beings and heroes as characters; etc.) ● Review the myth of “Prometheus and Pandora,” and review with students that the god punished both Prometheus and all of mankind. ● Then have students define what makes a Greek god different from a human being. ● Ask students to share what they have learned about the gods (i.e., where they lived; if they were immortal or mortal; etc.)

Purpose for Listening: Tell students to listen carefully to find out if this myth helps to explain something in nature or teaches a moral lesson.

Begin Video

Activity #1 –Comprehension Questions:

● Scaffolds/supports: If students have difficulty responding to questions, go back to time stamps listed next to question/or refer to specific images in the video. If students give one-word answers and/or fail to use read-aloud or domain vocabulary in their responses, acknowledge correct responses by expanding the students’ responses, using richer and more complex language. Ask students to answer in complete sentences by having them restate the question in their responses.

Does this myth try to explain an event or something that happens in nature, or does it teach a moral lesson? (It tries to explain an event in nature.) What event in nature does this myth try to explain? (the changing of the seasons; the life cycle of plants) Do you know the real reason for the change in the seasons? (the tilt of the earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun) What supernatural characters are in today’s read aloud? (Demeter; her daughter, Persephone; Zeus; ; Cerberus; ) Which of these characters are immortal gods? (all except Cerberus) What happens to Persephone at the beginning of the story? (She is spirited away by Hades.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 4:22 What is Hades the god of? (the ) Why does he spirit Persephone away? (He sees how beautiful she is, and he wants to make her his queen.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 4:04 How does Demeter feel when she realizes Persephone is missing? (sad) How do you know? (She begins to look older; she is no longer full of happiness and light.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 5:35 What happens to all the plants and crops when Demeter begins to despair that she will never be able to retrieve her daughter? (The grass turns brown; the wheat stops growing; every tree, vine, and fi eld is bare.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 6:45 Why does Zeus try to persuade Hades to return Persephone to Demeter? (He knows that people will starve if nothing grows on the earth.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 7:09 Hades returns Persephone to her mother, but only for part of the year. Why? (Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, and so must return to the underworld for six months of the year.) Scaffolds/Supports - Play video: 7:50

Think Pair Share: Encourage students’ active involvement in class discussions by having them think through their answers to questions, rehearse their responses silently and through discussion with a peer, and share their responses aloud with the class. It is recommended that you model the Think Pair Share process with another adult or student with strong language skills the first time you use it and continue to scaffold students to use the process successfully throughout their learning.

In Think Pair Share activities, you will begin by asking students to listen to the question you pose. You will then allow students some time to think about the question and their response to the question. Next, you will prompt students to discuss their response in pairs. Finally, you will select several students to share their responses with the class.

Say: The next question will be a think pair share question. I will give you a minute to think about the question and then I will ask you to turn to your neighbor and discuss the question. Finally, I will call on several of you to share what you have discussed with your partner.

Students think quietly for one minute. Then students turn to their neighbor to share ideas about the question.

➔ Think Pair Share: Do you think Zeus made a good decision when he made the deal with Hades about having Persephone remain in the underworld one month for each seed she ate? Why or why not? What deal would you have made in this situation? (Answers may vary.)

➔ Ask: After hearing today’s read-aloud and questions and answers, do you have any remaining questions?

Activity #2 –Vocabulary Review: retrieve

Say: In the read-aloud you heard, “How was she to ever retrieve her daughter now?” Say the word retrieve with me.

Students respond: retrieve

Say: Retrieve means to rescue or bring back. Andre left his sweater in the classroom and had to retrieve it before going home. Have you ever had to retrieve something? Ask two or three students to respond. ● Scaffolds/Supports: Guide or rephrase students’ response by using the sentence stem: “I once had to retrieve ______.”

Ask: What is the word we’ve been talking about?

Check for understanding: Synonym Say: A synonym is a word that means the same thing as another word. What are some synonyms for the word retrieve? (Answers may vary, but may include get back, recover, rescue, etc.)

Independent Practice/Check for Understanding

Distribute Greek Myth Journals

● Tell students that they will be continuing their journal to help them remember important information about today’s read a-loud. ● Ask students to share about the characteristics of Demeter, Zeus, Hades, Helios, Persephone. ● Have students write “Demeter and Persephone” on the blank. ● They should write two to three sentences about one of the characters to help them remember who s/he is, what s/he does in today’s myth, and why s/he might have been important to the ancient Greeks. ● After writing two to three sentences, students may also draw a picture in the rectangle to illustrate the information.