“Zeus and Nem”:

A Study in Greek and Roman Mythology

 Language Arts

Mrs. J. Askin, Teacher

Objective(s):              1. Students will read and comprehend a selected myth.

                                   2. Students will respond in writing to a myth.

                                  3. Students will understand the relationship between the character names in Greek and Roman mythology and the names of Mardi Gras krewes.

Do Now Activity         “Name the Krewes”  (5 minutes)

Students will be given one (1) minute to list as many carnival krewes as possible. Students share responses when time period is completed.  Responses that are said by a student must be crossed out.  The student with the most unduplicated responses left is the winner.

Lesson Steps              (55 minutes)

• Review “Do Now” Activity
• Teacher-Led Discussion (Mythology/Greek and Roman Myths)
• Students will randomly pick an index card with a picture and a number on it.  The pictures on the cards will be of one of the mythological characters and will determine the group that the student will work with to complete the team activities.   The number on the card will determine which part of the comprehension activities that student will complete.
• Once in the group, each team member will be given a copy of the myth.  The group member should read the myth aloud and each member should complete his or her portion of the assignment.
• Students compile the parts of the assignment, collect materials used, and clean up.

Closing Activity          (20 minutes)

1. Student teams will give a 1-minute summary of the myth that they have read.

                                    2. Students will review their lists of carnival krewes written in the “Do Now” activity to see if any of the names were mentioned in the myths read.  Students will also discuss how certain carnival krewes took their names.

Homework                  Students will create “Character Cards” (see page 2) for the characters  listed in the chart (see page 3) of mythological characters.