{"id":1143,"date":"2023-12-27T16:56:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T16:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seizethedayinela.com\/?p=1143"},"modified":"2024-04-30T20:49:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T20:49:47","slug":"the-greek-mythology-activity-i-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seizethedayinela.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/27\/the-greek-mythology-activity-i-love\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Greek Mythology Activity"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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One of the many reasons I am excited each year to teach this Greek mythology activity is because this is where it all began for me.\u00a0 I made my transition from middle to high school in January.\u00a0 When I first started, this unit is where I began.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How I Planned the Greek Mythology Activity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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For me, my classroom space is really important \u2014 specifically how it appears to students. So to start my Greek literature unit, I like to beautify the space with these graphic art posters.<\/span><\/font><\/p>


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When I teach a comprehensive unit, like my unit on Greek literature, I find it most beneficial to situate students in the time period.\u00a0 For this unit, that means an engaging Greek mythology activity to help students better understand the cultural context of the texts we read.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our culminating assessment this unit is an analytical essay that evaluates the role of a particular motif across our Greek texts.\u00a0 Students\u2019 options include hubris; fate versus free will; and the tragic hero.<\/span><\/p>\n

It would be pretty difficult for students to understand the magnitude of, say, the devastating consequences of hubris if they don\u2019t first understand the hierarchy between gods and mortals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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At the same time, this unit isn\u2019t entirely about Greek mythology; it primarily encompasses selected texts from Ovid\u2019s <\/span>Metamorphoses, <\/span>Homer\u2019s <\/span>Iliad<\/span>, and Sophocles <\/span>Oedipus Rex.<\/span>\u00a0 I knew I couldn\u2019t devote more than a day or two to background information.\u00a0 So I devised this Greek mythology activity to introduce the core tenets.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Activating Strategy Ideas for Greek Mythology Activity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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When lesson planning, I often find myself subconsciously categorizing my lessons based on the activator and activity.\u00a0 For example, if I know I have a rock-solid, memorable activator to really capture students\u2019 attention, my activity tends to be shorter.\u00a0 The opposite is true as well.\u00a0 If my activity is a knock-out, I don\u2019t spend as much time on the activator.<\/span><\/p>

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For this Greek mythology activity, I recommend a shorter activating strategy.\u00a0 My school runs on block scheduling, so we have approximately 84 minutes for each class period.\u00a0 For me, I spend no more than about ten or fifteen minutes on the activator.<\/span><\/p>

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One suggestion would be to show students the movie trailer for Disney\u2019s <\/span>Hercules<\/span>.\u00a0 You know the one I\u2019m talking about \u2013 the 1997 version complete with Phil and Meg and Hades.\u00a0 The nostalgia of watching the trailer can be beneficial in pulling in your students for the Greek mythology activity.<\/span><\/p>

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Another suggestion is to show a longer introductory clip.\u00a0 Check out YouTube for some ideas.\u00a0 There are a lot of options that give a quick but comprehensive overview of the origin of different gods and goddesses in Greek mythology.\u00a0 Depending on your class, you could have them complete a half-sheet of questions to discuss after the video wraps up.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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the Heart of the Greek Mythology Activity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The star of the show for this lesson, however, is the Greek mythology activity.\u00a0 Here\u2019s an overview of what I have my students do.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Informational Articles<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Working in pairs, I have my students first read a one-page informational article about their assigned god or goddess.\u00a0 Sometimes I assign the mythological figure; other times, students choose either randomly or intentionally.\u00a0 You could incentivize their choice based on performance or behavior.<\/span><\/p>

For my Greek mythological activity, there are 15 mythological figures included:<\/span><\/p>