Engaged Learning Project Template

Title of Project: Modern Mythology Videos

Subject(s): Latin I
Grade Level(s): 9-12
Abstract:
After becoming familiar with Greco-Roman mythology, the students will work in pairs to create videos or animated books
depicting modern myths. Students will interview members of the community from various cultures to learn about myths in
other cultures. The students will find a Greco-Roman myth that is similar in theme to that of the modern myth told by the
community member. The students will create a video or animated book retelling and comparing both the modern myth and a
Greco-Roman myth. These videos will be shared with Language Arts students studying Greco-Roman mythology to enhance
their learning during their own unit. Through this project, the students will act as explorers as they learn about other cultures,
producers as they create their depictions of the modern myths, and teachers as they teach young students about myths via
their videos. The teacher, in his/her role as facilitator, will help the students compare the myths and create the videos.
Learner Description/Context:
This lesson will take place in a Latin I classroom in Snellville. This project will take place in three Latin I classes, containing
35 students each. The school consists of 3,400 students, 48% of which are white, 22% African-American, 15% Asian, 10%
Hispanic, and 5% other. The students have access to a multitude of technology in the classroom and the media center
including computers, tablets, and video cameras. Additionally, the majority of students have access to technology and the
internet at home and through their smart phones. The students are familiar and comfortable with filming and editing, which
will make creating a video easy for the students. Editing software and programs, like MovieMaker and iMovie, are available
on the media center computers. Movie Maker is the editing program with which most students are familiar due to other Latin
and school projects and will, therefore, probably be the most commonly used editing program by the students during this
project. Numerous digital storybook sites, like Little Bird Tales (https://littlebirdtales.com/) and Boom Writer
(http://boomwriter.com/ ), are available for the students online. Due to the students familiarity with Little Bird Tales from
other class projects, the students will most likely choose this site for their digital story books. The teacher, in his/her role as
facilitator, will not force the students to use certain programs but will help the student pick movie editing programs and
digital story book creation sites. Additionally, interviewing community members will be made possible by the local
communitys active role in the school. Fortunately, the community is diverse just like the school, which will make it possible
to find varying cultural myths. Lastly, cross-curricular collaboration is common in the school, making the sharing of videos
possible.
Time Frame:
Thislessonwilltaketwelveweeks.Thestudentswillgetoneclassdayperweektoworkonthisassignment.Afterspending
onedayaweekofthepreviousmonthlearningaboutGrecoRomanmythology,thestudentswillthenbeginresearchingand
creatingtheirowndepictions.AftertheLanguageArtsclassesprovidefeedbackonthevideos,thestudentswillhavetwo
weeks,(1dayperweekinclass)tomakethenecessarychangestotheprojectsbeforetheyareturnedintotheteacher.
Standards Assessed:
Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills for Latin I
demonstrate an understanding of perspectives, practices, and products of the Greco-Roman culture (GPS)
(CLL1_B2009-6)

interpret cultural practices of the Romans (GPS) (CLL1_B2009-7)

identify situations and resources in which Latin skills and cultural knowledge may be applied beyond the classroom
setting for recreational, educational, and occupational purposes (GPS) (CLL1_C2009-10)
American Council for Teaching Foreign Language
1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to audience of listeners or readers in a variety of topics,
2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relation between the practice and perspectives of the culture
studied.
4.2 Student demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparison of the cultures studies and
their own.
ISTE Student Standards
1 Creativity and Innovation
o 1.b create original works as a means of personal or group expression
2 Communication and Collaboration

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Template

o
o
o

2.a - interact, collaborate and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
2.b - Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audience using a variety of media and
formats
2.c develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

Learner Objectives: After this project, the students will have gained a greater understanding of the cultural importance of
mythology in its ability to reflect cultural views and values. The students will understand that the ancient Greco-Roman
society shares many of the same morals and values as that of modern societies. The increased understanding of the students
will be seen in the videos or story books created by the students.
The hook or Introduction:
Before the lesson begins, the teacher will find and post creation videos from various cultures on the class webpage. On the
first day of the project, the teacher will show a video explaining the Greco-Roman creation myth of Deucalion and Pyrrah.
Then students will pick 2 other videos posted on the site to watch which retell creation videos from various world cultures.
The students will then engage in an oral comparison of the Greco-Roman myth with the other creation myths with a close by
peer. The students will share aspects of their peer discussions in a class wide discussion in which the teacher will ask the
students what each myth reveals about the culture it derives. After these discussions, the teacher will assign the project to the
students.
Process:
The students will have one day per week to work on the project in class. The work from each week will be reviewed and
evaluated by the teacher.
Week 1 Using the hook activity, the teacher will introduce the project to the students. Once the project has been outlined,
the students will decide on their collaborative partner for their project. The students will use this period to create a plan for
the project. They will need to discuss who they plan to interview, what questions they will ask, what type of final product
they will make, and what resources or technology they will need from the teacher. The students will also create their own
version of the rubric on which the project will be graded. The students will create this plan and rubric on Google Drive
(https://www.google.com/drive/) and share it with the teacher. The teacher will review and evaluate, using a rubric, each
groups plan in order to prepare for next weeks lesson.
Week 2 The students will start class by reviewing the rubrics of their classmates via Google Drive and deciding on the final
version of the rubric. Next, if they have not already done so, the students will reach out to their neighbors, family members,
teachers, and other community members to find a cooperative expert. They will communicate via email or Skype to arrange
an interview time and date, if possible to take place this week. The teacher will facilitate and help the students find experts.
In preparation for this lesson, the teacher has already emailed parents to notify them of the project and ask for volunteers.
The teacher can provide students with willing participants, if the students are not able to find their own. The students will
spend this period researching the culture of their expert (or potential experts) in order to gain an understanding of his/her
cultural beliefs. The students research will be added to the Google Drive document from last week and will be reviewed and
evaluated by the teacher.
Week 3 The students might have interviewed them in person during the previous week. If they have not already done so,
the students will interview their community expert. The students can invite the expert to the school in order to conduct an
interview in person, or they can use Skype (http://www.skype.com/en/) to interview the community expert during this class
time. If the students have already interviewed the community expert, then they will research Greco-Roman myths to find one
that is similar in theme to that of the modern myth taught to them by their expert. As questions arise regarding comparing the
modern myth to the Greco-Roman myth, students will contact their community expert to guide their comparisons. The
teacher will continue in his/her role as facilitator, guiding the students along with the community expert, in their research and
comparisons.
Week 4-8 Over the next four weeks, the students will be working at their own pace to complete the following tasks.
1) The students will have to continue their research from the previous week in finding a Greco-Roman myth that is
similar in theme to the one told by their community expert last week.
2) The students will create Venn diagram on Google Drive in order to compare and contrast the modern cultural myth
and Greco-Roman myths.
3) The students will create a storyboard on Google Drive, outlining their final project. The storyboard, along with the
research and comparisons, will be added to the Google Drive document, to be viewed by both the teacher and
community expert.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Template

4) The students will create their final products, which will include filming and editing the video or creating digital story
book.
The teacher and community experts will act as facilitators by reading and reviewing each groups research, Venn diagrams,
and projects and by providing feedback and guidance along the way. The teacher will provide technical support as the
students create the final products and will evaluate the research, Venn diagram, and storyboards using a rubric. The
community expert will help the students understand the cultural significance of the myths and will help with the students
portrayal of them in the final product.
Week 9-10 At the eight week point, the projects will be posted on School Tube (http://www.schooltube.com/) for the
Language Arts teachers to show to the students. The Language Arts teacher will show the videos on week nine. During this
week, the Latin students will look over the rubric they created on week 1-2. The Latin students will reassess and make any
changes they see are necessary. After the Language Arts students have viewed all the final products, the students will be
placed in groups to evaluate and critique the videos using the rubric created by the Latin students. Each group, as created by
the Language Arts teacher, will evaluate 3-4 videos. They will orally post their constructive criticism on VoiceThread
(http://voicethread.com/#home), via the link sent by the Latin teacher.
Week 11-12 The Latin students will view the feedback provided by the Language Arts students via VoiceThread. The
VoiceThread wall will contain feedback for all the videos. This way, if the Latin students are interested, they can hear what
the Language Arts students complimented and critiqued on each video. By hearing all the constructive criticism, instead of
just that pertaining to their video, the students may find ways to improve their own videos. Based on the feedback, the Latin
students will work in collaboration with their community expert and teacher to address the issues and improve the final
product. The students will then repost the final products on School Tube. The revised final products will be graded by the
teacher using the rubric created by the Latin students.
Product:
The end product will be a video or digital storybook comparing a modern myth to Greco-Roman myths. These final products
will be published online and will be viewed by Latin I students and 9th grade Language Arts students, after their respective
mythology units. This project will be meaningful to students because they are creating a product that will relay the
information they learned from experts in their community as well as teach others students. Technology will be used to
collaboratively create the story board, Venn diagram, drafts of the final product via Google Drive, research myths,
communicate with local experts via Skype, and during the creation of the final product - filming with flip cameras and editing
videos or creating digital storybooks. This project will be assessed first by the Language Arts classes who viewed the final
products and then by the teacher using a student-generated rubric.
Technology Use: Computers, tablets, and the Internet will be critical in all aspects of creating the final product. Students
will use these tools in combination to research myths, create collaborative drafts in Google Drive, create digital story books
or create and edit video. The students can communicate via Skype (http://www.skype.com/en/) with the community member
they are interviewing, if they are not able to arrange an interview in person. Flip camera, provided by the media center, or
smart phones, provided by the students, will be used to film the videos. Film editing programs, like Movie Maker or iMovie,
will be used to edit the films. Final products will be electronically published on School Tube (http://www.schooltube.com/)
to share them with the 9th grade Language Arts classes. Using the rubric designed by Latin students via Rubistar
(http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php), the Language Arts students will provide feedback for the Latin students and post it
on Voicethread (http://voicethread.com/#home). The Latin students will view the VoiceThread feedback and make the
appropriate changes to the projects. The students are using technology in their role as producers to create meaningful,
culturally-responsive products, which will result in high student engagement.
References and Supporting Material:
Online Resources
I.
Creation videos for hook activity:
Iarevalo94s channel. (July 31, 2013). The Deucalion Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeDkf4UQqXI&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=10.
Iedesign. (June 9, 2011). Hindu Creation Story. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9yWwFWpbRo&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=8.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 16, 2011). The Aboriginal Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koxp_q46z0Q&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=9.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Template

Passantino, Fiona. (May 17, 2011). The Egyptian Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTy49JlgJZE&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=5.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 17, 2011). The Inca Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75kDb2OqBWI&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=11.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 18, 2011). The Navajo Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ZZFCIncA0&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=12.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 19, 2011). The Zulu Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C4MoDIndug&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=13.
Southsidebassman. (July 1, 2009). Ancient Norse Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGjooO5P2cA&index=7&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S.
II.

Digital Storybooks Sites

BoomWriter - http://boomwriter.com/
Little Bird Tales - https://littlebirdtales.com/
The Art of Storytelling http://www.artofstorytelling.org/write-a-story
Tik a Tok - http://www.tikatok.com/
UTellStory- http://utellstory.com/
Zooburst - http://www.zooburst.com/
Supporting Materials
Rubric created by students via Rubistar - http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Feedback posted via VoiceThread - http://voicethread.com/#home
Movie Editing Programs
Movie Maker software by Microsoft
iMovie
Electronic Publishing
School Tube - http://www.schooltube.com/

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University