Look in the Mythic Mirror

Week 6: A Funny Thing Happened When...

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

OVERVIEW

This lesson illustrates myths and archetypal characteristics through the art of storytelling. Students will compare and contrast their own original stories, with mythological stories. Students will also identify archetypal features of African Masks, and create their own masks that demonstrate those features.

OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON:

At the end of this week, students will be able to:

• Apply their understanding of composition and rhythm as tools the writer has to tell a story.
• Write a story about something that happened to them, using a perspective that is different than they might have selected at the beginning of the week.
• Submit their stories for publication on African Odyssey Interactive, part of the Kennedy Center's ARTSEDGE Web site.
• Compare characteristics of their own self portraits to those of African masks.
• Determine how to communicate archetypal characteristics in a mask drawing.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

1. Begin the week with a discussion of storytelling. A wonderful background about storytelling and the arts is provided on the African Odyssey Interactive Web site. Ask students to consider such questions as: Why do we tell stories? Are there different kinds of stories? How are myths like stories?
2. Tell the students that as an introduction to the stories and myths of other cultures, we will be exploring the stories that all cultures share. Have students complete the steps for the mini-project, "Spinning Africa: Stories From Life" provided through the African Odyssey Interactive site on the ARTSEDGE network. If the students do not have time this week to present their stories to the entire class, have them present them in their cooperative groups, so that all students have the chance to tell the story they have created.

   Activities - Students:

• Talk about the stories and serve as critics of one another's mini-presentations, using the questions provided through the Stories From Life online project.
• Discuss, how is each student's story similar to one another? How are the stories representative of a common human experience? Write individually in journals your response to these questions.

3. Culminating Project: assign archetypal qualities to student groups as the basis for their culminating projects (drawn out of a hat or emailed from another classroom teacher to the students in your class). Have students begin work on their culminating project with their online groups.

Activities - Students:

• Considering ideas from both Western and non-Western myths, develop a round robin description of the society that reflects the qualities of your group's archetypal figure.
• Turn it in to your own (all three) classroom teacher(s).
• Draw the archetypal character that controls everything in this society. Collaborate in the process and come to agreement among members of your group.
• Turn in your picture to your own (all three) classroom teacher(s).

For detail on all of these activities, see the culminating project Story Development Stages, specifically for Week 6 assignments.

CORRESPONDING ASSESSMENTS

• Online: research using AOI site
• Projection of non-Western form in story
• Projection of non-Western form in self-portrait
• Culminating project: round robin description of society; drawing of archetypal character

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