Look in the Mythic Mirror

Weeks 2-3: I'm Reading You Now

Essential Questions ]|[ Standards ]|[ Objectives for this Lesson ]|[ Instructional Plan ]|[ Assessment

OVERVIEW

This lesson spans the course of two weeks, and provides students the opportunity to further explore Greek mythology through various art forms. Students are introduced to Reader's Theater as a means of presenting their mythological character and its related myth.

OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON

At the end of these two weeks, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of archetypes in Greek mythology through Reader's Theater, music, and visual arts.
• Describe the effects of literature, art, and music on mythological archetypes and the communication of myths.
• Select appropriate music and visual arts selections to be used as a part of their Reader's Theater presentations.
• Defend the relevance of their archetypes today, as represented by their mythological characters.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

1. As a means of assessment, initiate sharing of last week's cooperative group research findings through a jigsaw patterned activity that is completed in approximately one hour.
   

• One member from each cooperative group reports to a new peer cluster on the archetype and the mythological character his/her group has researched, thus sharing information with a new audience.
• Everyone must take notes on the information presented by members of their cluster, as the teacher will collect notes from one member of the cluster at random at the end of the hour.

Activities - Students:

• In your new group, provide an "internal report" of what your own cooperative group has researched.
• Tell the new audience about your archetype and its associated mythological character.
  
• Answer questions from others about the character.
  
• Take notes about all mythological characters and myths presented by cluster members, to be collected by the teacher at the end of the hour (i.e., everyone must participate because the group's grade will be dependent upon the notes collected from one student at random).
  

2. Prepare students for the two weeks ahead. By the end of Week 3, they should be ready to present a Reader's Theater performance that personifies their archetype and tells a mythological story. Their presentation must include a piece of artwork, a selection of music, and performance choices that help to communicate the story of the myth and the qualities of the mythological character. (Click here for detail on this assignment.) The interplay of the three art forms is meant to draw students closer to the understanding that the arts have a significant role in communicating [and sustaining] myths. It is therefore important that all the activities leading up to the Reader's Theater presentations, as well as the discussion following, help to accentuate that idea.
3. As an example of what small groups will do to prepare for their presentations, draw three columns on the board, and label them "artwork," "music," and "literature." Present a painting or other artwork that has significance to a myth -- a myth that is not likely to come up in group work later, but that may be part of the yearlong middle school curriculum, such as The Odyssey. Ask the sample unit questions (or your own questions), writing responses on the board in the first of three columns.
4. Play a selection of music appropriate to the mythological story as background during the discussion of the artwork or as students enter the room (they need to hear the music at least twice before making an analysis). Give the music an attentive second (or more) hearing and apply the sample unit questions, again noting answers on the board, this time in column two.
5. Discuss with students the intersection of common words. Have a student volunteer come up and draw lines connecting the words that are similar, while the class makes its comparisons.
6. After discussions of the art and music, give factual information about the painting and its relationship to the myth. Tell the condensed story of the myth, asking about its moral, if appropriate. Discuss with them how the music enhances the story of the myth. Have students fill in any additional words that might describe the myth in the third column. Discuss the overlapping words, and ask students to determine why there might be similarities in the descriptions they have used.

   Activities -- Students:

   • Complete an entry in your journal in response to the question, "What role can the arts play in communicating the story of myths?" Explain how the arts might communicate mood, theme, and moral, in addition to telling a story.

    

7. From this point forward, the class will be working toward the necessary research, group decisions, and preparation for their Week 3 presentations. The assignment and scoring guide provide complete detail of the activities. In brief:
   • Divide the class into their cooperative groups to complete a similar activity to the one completed by the whole class, this time starting with the myth instead of the artwork. The progression of this activity will be dependent upon Internet access and students' level of ability in handling independent research. Ideally, set the same cooperative groups of students out on a search to find a myth that illustrates the archetypal quality of their mythological character. They should find at least two versions of the same myth, told in prose and poetic styles, or told by two different authors. (If this is not possible, pass out brief versions of myths and corresponding narrative poems that depict the six archetypes students have researched.)
   • Again, if possible, have students research on their own to find a piece of artwork and a selection of music that will accompany their Reader's Theater presentation. Use the list of resources provided with this unit as a guide for student research. (Otherwise, present to the class a selection of artwork and music that relates to the myths being studied by each group. Display pictures of various Greek mythological figures on the walls and/or project slides of artwork with a slide projector. Play musical selections from various composers that depict the themes, characters, and/or moods of a variety of myths represented in the class. An extensive list of relevant resources that correspond with myths is provided with this unit.)
   • The students' investigation of appropriate artwork should be done in tandem with their search for music, so that they can begin to make immediate connections between the two art forms and with the literature they have already evaluated. Each time a new painting or a new piece of music is discovered by or introduced to the students, the questions provided in this unit should be considered and answered by the small groups, using one of the three-column forms. Not only will these questions elicit thoughtful answers that explore various aspects of composition, style, subject matter, form, shape, emotional content, rhythm, and movement, but they will help students to make connections between the various art forms and make appropriate selections.
8. Have the students read their myths aloud in groups, preparing to read it aloud in Reader's Theater style (with text in hand, using expressive voices to articulate the meaning in the myth; see Baie Comeau High School's resource site on this topic). As they practice their Reader's Theater presentation, they need to consider how they will bring the art and music selections together with the literature and make effective performance choices (voice, movement, etc.). They should use the scoring guide for Reader's Theater as a guide for self-improvement.
9. Have students dramatize the myths through Reader's Theatre presentations in front of the class. Use the scoring guide to assess each group's performance.
10. Following the presentation of each myth, have the group of presenters and the class consider:

• What purposes does this myth serve?
• What questions about life does this myth address?
• What does this myth tell about human nature (what lesson does this myth tell)?
• How do the various art forms presented help to convey the story of the myth?
• How do the various art forms carry a message about the archetype represented in the myth? the mood of the myth? the culture depicted by the myth?
• How is the archetype relevant today? Why?
• Did the music and artwork match the myth? Why or why not? The groups may justify their choices, if needed, using their word lists.

 

CORRESPONDING ASSESSMENTS

• Jigsaw activity; student's ability to represent their cooperative group's findings to a new peer group
• Journal entries with impressions of artwork, music
• Collaborative work in a cooperative group setting
• Descriptive word lists developed through journals and group work
• Determination of appropriate music and artwork; ability to justify choices
• Scoring guide for Reader's Theater

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