Challenge #2: Mythin’ It Up at WMS! Due:______/Parent Signature: ______

Skill Gained: Writing Clearly, Public Speaking, & Explaining the World Around You

Congratulations! You have made it past the dangerous beginnings of your odyssey! What’s next…?

An adventurer is constantly seeking explanation for the world around him or her. Why are these obstacles being placed in your way? What explains the hardships & challenges of your journey? What lessons can you learn from overcoming them?

For your second challenge, you will prepare a modern-day myth using Ancient Greek elements to share a single, terrifying, death- defying, horrifying, unbelievable, ”shake-me-to-the-bone” moment in your new world: Wellesley Middle School.

Process for Assignment 2

1. Think about a “Day in the Life” at Wellesley Middle School. Now think of even smaller increments of your day until…you can picture one single TERRIFYING encounter! What obstacle do you face? How do you overcome it? Is it the never-to-be-opened Pandora-of-a-Box locker? The “get-out-of-my-way-Minatour-of-an-8th grader? What could it be?????????

2. Using this every-day experience, prepare a 1 FULL MINUTE epic myth (see rubric on next page) that takes the listener through this perilous moment in your life AND teaches a lesson at the end!

3. Feel free to base at least one teacher, destination, or certain hardship on a mythological creatures or place straight out of Ancient Greece!

4. Be prepared to PRESENT this epic poem ORALLY in class on the due date. It should accompanied by music or costume but your challenge will be to draw us in….just as the Ancient Greeks were pulled in to the captivating stories spun by the likes of Homer. Rubric: Epic Myth

CATEGORY POSSIBLE POINTS COMMENT POINTS EARNED

Time to tell the myth is 2 approximately 1 minute.

Dramatic flair— How ENGAGING 7 is your presentation?

How much ENERGY do you put into it?

ORAL PRESENTATION: The Basics  LOUD? 7  EYE CONTACT?  Use of a distinct VOICE?

Myth teaches a very clear lesson! 5

EXTRAS? Music, Costumes, Props… 4 Mythin’ It Up Examples (NOT TO BE USED!)

“Real Life” “Mythin’ It Up”

Example #1: Opening my locker Zeus has it out for me and keeps changing the combination lock! Example #2: Avoiding Ms. Pinchback in the hallway Fearful of the multi-headed, slightly crazy (she is a Yankees fan) Princess Pinchdusa who eats sixth graders for snack

Example #3: Crossing the The Great Plains of Wellesley Courtyard where danger lurks at every turn. Examples include the 12-foot meat-eating earthworms living below ground! Your Mythology Brainstorming Worksheet

“Real Life” “Mythin’ It Up”