Rebecca Udall Its All Greek to Me Grade: 4 Objective: Through learning about Greek mythology, students will be able

to incorporate mythological allusions effectively in their own writing as evaluated by a journal entry. Common Core Alignment: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean) Materials: Visual representation of Nike, Amazon, and Pandoras company logos (e.g., poster) Greek Mythology matching game (attached) Prepare for Learning: Display the logos for the companies Nike, Amazon, and Pandora. Tell students that you have a challenge for them. Ask them if they can figure out what these three companies have in common. If needed, hint that the similarity has to do with their names. Reveal that all of these companies are named after characters in Greek mythology. Explain that Greek mythology is a collection of stories told by ancient Greeks. When these stories are referenced by a company, book, movie, or person it is called a mythological allusion. Declarative Learning: 1. Tell students that mythological allusions make writing more interesting and descriptive. Because allusions draw on the readers prior knowledge, they allow him or her to take part in the story. 2. Give the example of the company Nike. Explain that this company is named after the Greek goddess Nike. She is the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. She flies around battlefield and grants victors glory and fame. Ask students, Why would a sporting goods company name themselves after this goddess? Facilitate a discussion and hear multiple students ideas. Expound that Nike probably wants us to think of strength, speed, and victory when we see their products. Highlight the power of mythological allusions. 3. Say something like, Mythological allusions are only powerful if we know Greek mythology. If we dont know about the goddess Nike, then we wont have those associations of victory when we see Nike clothing. 4. Tell the class that we will now play a matching game to learn some Greek mythology. Procedural Learning: 1. Pass out matching game to every fourth or fifth student. Tell students that they will work in groups to match the name of the mythological figure to his or her

description. Although they may not know all the answers, encourage them to work together and do their best. 2. Allow students time to match the names to the descriptions. Walk around the room and help students use context clues if needed. 3. Facilitate a group discussion about why the companies of Amazon and Pandora would chose those names based in Greek mythology. Hear various students ideas. Amazon may have chosen that name to evoke a sense of exoticness and indicate that their products can come from across the world. Pandora may want to indicate that it is a gift to the world and its music selection is as extensive as the gifts in Pandoras box. 4. In their journal entry for the day, tell students to include at least two mythological allusions. Tell students that these mythological allusions should make sense in the context of story and further the entrys message and theme. Example: An example of the matching game and a sample journal entry are attached. Assessment: The matching game will be informally assessed through walking around the room and checking for understanding. The journal entry will be assessed with the following rubric. The entry is out of 6 points. Excellent (6 pts) Uses at least 2 mythological allusions in journal entry. Allusions fit the context of the story and further the message of the piece. Acceptable (4 pts) Uses at least 2 mythological allusions in journal entry. Allusions mostly fit the context of the story and somewhat further the message of the piece. Below Average (2 pt) Uses 1mythological allusion in journal entry. Allusion mostly fits the context of the story and somewhat furthers the message of the piece. Unacceptable (0 pts) If mythological allusions are used, they do not fit the context of the story and fail to further the message of the piece.

Options: 1. For younger students, tell a few stories from Greek mythology in the Preparing for Learning section rather than talking about companies that are named after mythology. Some appropriate characters include Hercules, Demeter, and Narcissus. Rather than have them match names with descriptions, give them pictures of mythological characters and have the students verbally describe them. 2. For older students, have them add mythological allusions to a piece of writing they have done in the past. These allusions should effectively further the meaning of the piece. 3. Students could be put into groups and assigned other names of mythological characters. After researching the characters, students could create their own matching games. These games could be kept in an accessible place in the classroom where students could use them to review.

Cupid
Amazon
Hercules Pandora

God of desire Hangs out with Venus Shoots people with arrows to make them fall in love Portrayed as a baby boy Fierce warriors Tribe of only women Had queens and princesses

Son of Zeus Greek hero Half god half man Many adventures and feats of strength

The first woman created according to Greek mythology Each god gave her a unique gift Released a box of evil things

Nike

Greek goddess of victory Has wings Flies around battlefields and rewards victors with fame

Sample Student Journal Entry: Grace4th Grade I was all alone. Well, my babysitter was there but she is mean like Hades. When she is over, the house is like her Underworld and we have to do everything she says. Her name is Julia. So, as I was saying I was all alone. I was sitting on my bed when I heard my little brother Mike yelling. I ran into the playroom and I saw him crying. He was holding a scorpion!!!!! I ran quickly like an Amazon woman to the other side of the room. I flicked that little devil off my brother. He was still crying so I went downstairs and told my lazy babysitter to help him. I saved my brother.