Greek Mythology

kdavis1975 · **Greek Mythology** 11-18-2009, 06:22 PM

Hi! I am getting ready to start a unit on Greek mythology with my 6th graders and was wondering what's a good way to begin it, and what kinds of reading skills should I try to cover? I have several Greek Mythology books and ordered the new Scholastic series, "Oh My Gods!..." Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

gingercat · **Read aloud** 11-18-2009, 08:38 PM

the book, "The Lightning Thief" during down time or reading time. It correlates to the whole greek theme and is an excellent book!

WildcatBarb85 · **Greek Myths** 11-19-2009, 02:50 PM

When I begin the unit of Ancient Greece, I start class by reading short myths and have the students summerize them in their notebooks. We discuss what a good summary should have so they stay on track. It helps them remember the story better and then I can have them match god/goddesses to the myth later on in the unit.

vanvic · **What about** 11-19-2009, 04:17 PM

dressing up like a god/goddess and doing a small talk as if you are that god/goddess? Students every year ask if they "get to dress up like Greek gods."

vespergirl · **In terms of skills** 11-20-2009, 04:54 AM

I just finished a unit on mythology -- since we were reading The Lightning Thief -- and the literary elements I focused on with the myths were theme and character traits.

There are many that would fit, but to me, you can't do mythology without tackling theme ~ those universal life lessons authors are trying to communicate. That then lends itself to a great discussion about inferencing, since themes must be inferred.

Have fun! And definitely take the PP's suggestion to read The Lightning Thief aloud whenever you can.

imalith · **theme** 11-21-2009, 07:53 AM

Great post Vespergirl. I like that you are taking the myths to higher level thinking skills, rather than just teaching the genre. Thanks for the great ideas! I think this will beef up my Greek Myth unit later this year. Thanks again.

jady_marie · 11-21-2009, 01:47 PM

We stumbled into Greek mythology by accident when I read aloud The Lighning Thief two years ago. My class loved this book! To understand the plot we found ourselves studying about Greek myths. This book is filled with mythology and will send your kids on a quest to learn more.

You can find a teacher's guide online for the Lightning Thief. This would be a good companion to use in addition to the other sources you have planned.

My class each took a Greek God or Goddess mentioned in the Percy Jackson book to research and learn more about. They made locker posters to represent the cabins mentioned in the Percy Jackson book. The locker posters contained information and symbols related to the Greek God or Goddess represented.

Each time Percy would meet a new monster in the Lightning Thief, we looked up the story in Greek mythology to see how that story turned out, so we could make predictions. Sometimes we couldn't figure out what monster Percy was facing so we searched Greek mythology books until we found it.

Most of the learning just took place on the kids's initiative. They loved this book and WANTED to learn more.

This has been the case in any class where I have started reading this book aloud. Kids just LOVE this book and it is just a natural lead into Greek mythology.

erin7217 · **Greek gods** 11-21-2009, 06:12 PM

I am in the middle of "The Lightning Thief" with my 6th grade students. They LOVE the book - many of my students have bought the whole series. I have seen my students studying the family tree in "Oh My Gods!...," making charts with all the gods/goddesses and their traits, etc. They have independently chosen to do research and research projects on Greek gods. It's so joyful to see students get so excited about a book; so much so they choose to do their own research!

vespergirl · **Truly, The Lightning Thief** 11-22-2009, 07:17 AM

has done more to revive the study of Greek mythology than any other book I've encountered.

Excellent news, too, from the book world -- Riordan is bringing out a new series in May 2010 that will feature ancient Egyptian myths. The first book will be called The Red Pyramid. You can find more information on his website.

vanvic · **vespergirl:Thanks for sharing** 11-22-2009, 07:22 AM

that info. I agree w/ everyone about Lightning Thief. I know my students will love hearing about the upcoming ancient Egyptian myths!

kdavis1975 · 11-24-2009, 07:00 AM

Thank you EVERYONE for such excellent ideas. I will be trying them out. I do have a couple of students that have read the Riordan series and loved them! I have downloaded a copy of the teacher's guide as well. That should keep me busy over Thanksgiving break!

Thank you again!!!