Myths and Legends: Pegasus Teaching Resources

TM Storytime Myths and Legends: pegasus Teaching Resources

Pegasus the Winged Horse is a myth from Ancient Greece about a flying horse that helps a hero In Brief called Bellerophon battle a three-headed monster.

1 Literacy Lesson Ideas

Read our story, then ask these comprehension questions: 1. Who was Bellerophon’s father? 2. Why was Bellerophon unlucky? 3. What were the Chimera’s three heads? 4. How did the goddess Athena help Bellerophon? 5. Where did Pegasus and Bellerophon fly?

See our Pegasus Word Wise Sheet for word meanings, a guide to pronouncing tricky Greek names and some creative writing exercises.

Discuss who is the real hero of the story – Bellerophon or Pegasus. Could Bellerophon have completed his mission without Pegasus?

As well as getting help from Pegasus, Bellerophon gets help from Polyidus the oracle and the goddess Athena. Do real heroes ask for help? Give examples of other Greek heroes who needed help to complete their quests:

Perseus prays to the gods for help when he has to face Medusa, and he is given winged sandals by Hermes and a special mirrored shield by Athena. (Storytime Issue 1) Before he faces the Minotaur, Theseus is helped by Princess Ariadne. She gives him a ball of thread and a sword to help him in the labyrinth. (Storytime Issue 12) In the Twelve Labours of Hercules, even though he was the strongest god of all, he is often helped by Hermes and Athena. (Read Hercules and the Lion in Storytime Issue 24)

Discuss in small groups or partners what you think makes a hero.

Have a go at describing the fountain of Mount Helicon or another location in our Pegasus story using our Setting Description Sheet.

© storytimemagazine.com 2017 Invent your own mythical hero and monster. See our Storytime Picture Frame entry in Art Lesson Ideas and our Real or Mythical Sheet in Science Lesson Ideas to inspire you to create a monster. What special tools could your hero use to complete a quest? Who could he or she ask for help? Plan your hero’s adventure on our Myth Mountain Sheet.

Which mythical monster is the scariest? Ask each pupil to give reasons why and hold a class survey using our Top of the Monsters Sheet.

If Bellerophon’s quest happened today it would be headline news. Ask your class to report Bellerophon’s battle with the Chimera as a newspaper article. Use our Newspaper Template. Don’t forget these key elements:

Give your newspaper a name Include the date Choose a headline that’s short and attention-grabbing Use an eye-catching image (photocopy it from our magazine or draw your own)

2 geography Lesson Ideas

Lycia, where the Chimera lived, was once a real place and is located where Turkey is now. The people who lived there spoke an ancient language with its own alphabet. There is a rocky mountain there called Yanartas, which is covered with deep holes. Gas escapes through the holes, causing small fires all over the mountain. It has been burning like this for thousands of years. Long ago, Yanartas was known as Chimera Mountain and some people think that this amazing place inspired the myth of the Chimera. Use our story as a starting point for looking at old maps and discuss any of the following:

How maps have changed over the centuries as explorers discovered new places. How place names changed as smaller territories joined together to become larger countries or fell into the hands of other rulers. How the world changed as continental plates shifted and came together or were torn apart.

Also, see if you can find Lycia and Yanartas on a map!

There may be no such thing as horses with wings or three-headed fire-breathing beasts, but there are many amazing animals that really exist and could star in myths. Do an investigation and see if you can find some real-life ‘mythical’ beasts. See our Real or Mythical Sheet to get you started – and investigate the real animals we list there.

4 ART Lesson Ideas

Put on a play for our Pegasus the Winged Horse story using our printable masks – we’ve got Pegasus, Bellerophon and the three heads of the Chimera: a lion, a goat and a serpent, so that three children can act out this part.

Print out our Pegasus Drawing and Colouring Sheet and give him his missing wings!

Complete our Hero’s Journey Map, detailing Bellerophon’s adventure with Pegasus.

Invent your own Chimera. Which three animal heads would you put together to make a terrifying monster? Cut out your three favourite animal pictures and stick them in our Storytime Picture Frame.

Make Pegasus wings, using large pieces of cardboard as the base. Use white craft feathers or make feathers from white paper, and glue them to the cardboard wings.

Make sure you know what all the words mean Word WATCH! in our Pegasus the Winged Horse story from Storytime Issue 32.

Oracle – someone who sees the future Radiate – beam, send out Wondrous – amazing, wonderful Elegance – grace, style Nimble – moving quickly and lightly Whinny – high-pitched neigh Altar – a table where you can leave Steed – horse an offering for a god Searing – burning hot Lure – tempt, attract Looming – standing too close Bridle – horse headgear, which you Extinguished – put out attach reins to Triumphant – victorious Exquisite – delicate and beautiful Cantering – gallop slowly, run

Pronounce IT!

Many Greek myths have names that are hard to pronounce. Here’s how to say the names in our story:

Poseidon – Pu-side-un Bellerophon – Bell-air-a-fun Proetus – Pro-u-tus Polyidus – Polly-idus Chimera – Kye-mee-ra Zeus – Z-you-s

Imagine a battle between the Chimera and another Write Greek mythical monster, such as the Cyclops or the Minotaur. Who would win and why? Can you write a It! short story or a poem about it?

© storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM Storytime Myths and Legends: PEGasus word wise sheet Teaching Resources Describe It! Find three adjectives describing the Chimera and three adjectives describing Pegasus in our story. Write them in the columns below and add an adjective of your own to each column.

Chimera Pegasus

spot i Can you find a similet! in our story, which describes how Pegasus moves?

PROBLEM What does the hero have to beat? Name and describe a monster.

______

BUILD-UP solution What happens next? Is there bad How do they beat the monster? news? Does the hero’s life change? With a special weapon? With help?

______

Beginning ending What is your hero’s name? Did the characters learn anything? Where are they? Is everyone happy?

______

Which monster is the scariest? Use tally marks to write down the votes each mythical Top of the monster gets. Add up the total at the end of Monsters Survey each row. Write a story about the winner!

Mythical Monsters Votes Total

Chimera

Minotaur

Cyclops

Medusa

Nemean Lion

The top monster is: ______

Descript

Wri L Feel: rough or smooth, wet or dry, hot or cold? Smell: fresh or rotten, floral or woody, natural or chemical? Sound: hiss or roar, musical or clanging, peaceful or noisy?

ook: colourful or plain, day or night, new or old? ett S

t heet

ing Prompts

ing

How doesitlook,feel,smellandsound? detail asyoucan.Thinkaboutthesenses. Winged Horseanddescribeitinasmuch Choose alocationfromPegasus the Te Storytime a ching Resou rces TM © storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM Storytime Myths and Legends: newspaper template Teaching Resources Name: Class:

Which of these animals are real and Real or which are mythical? Investigate each one Mythical? when you’ve completed the quiz! Name: Class: REAL mythical 1 Kraken 2 Komodo dragon 3 sphinx 4 Tasmanian Devil

5 Giant Spider Crab 6 Basilisk 7 sea dragon 8 Star-Nosed Mole

9 centaur

Only the kraken, sphinx, basilisk and centaur are mythical. are centaur and basilisk sphinx, kraken, the Only Answers:

© storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM Storytime pegasus Character Masks: Bellerophon Teaching Resources Print and cut out our Pegasus, Bellerophon and Chimera head masks and act out our Pegasus the Winged Horse myth!

2017 TM Storytime pegasus Character Masks: Pegasus Teaching Resources

For more free downloads go to: www.storytimemagazine.com/free

2017 TM Storytime pegasus Character Masks: Chimera Serpent Teaching Resources

For more free downloads go to: www.storytimemagazine.com/free

2017© storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM rces Res ou chi ng a St orytime Te colour him in? Pegasus has lost Pegasus draw them on and his wings. Can you ame: Cl ass: Pegasus: Drawing and Colouring Sheet and Colouring Drawing Pegasus: N © storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM rces Res ou chi ng a St orytime Te ame: Cl ass: Plot Bellerophon and Pegasus’s amazing amazing Bellerophon and Pegasus’s Plot adventure on this map. Don’t forget to include home, Athena’s the oracle’s Argos, Polyidus temple, the fountain at Mount Helicon, Lycia and Mount Olympus. Pegasus: Hero’s Journey Map Journey Hero’s Pegasus: N © storytimemagazine.com 2017 TM Storytime Storytime Picture Frame Teaching Resources Name Class

My monster is called a: ______