DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2012-2013
UNIT 2 PLAN FOR 6th ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Unit Overview:
Instructional Time: 6 Weeks (Approximately)
Quarter
One
Two
Three
Four
Grade Level: 6th Grade
Unit Theme: Folklore: A Blast from the Past
Depth of Knowledge: Level 3, Strategic Thinking
Unit Summary: This six-week unit focuses on what folklore (myths, legends, and tall and pourquoi tales) reveals about world cultures—including
our own. As students begin to examine ancient world cultures in social studies class, they will begin reading myths and folklore from around the
world. In doing this, students will also begin to see similarities in cultures from around the world and parallels to our own culture. Students will
read myths and legends from a variety of sources: ancient Greek or Roman civilizations; Russian society; Viking, Eskimo, or Latin American
cultures; or other cultures of the students’ choice. In addition, students read informational text, listen to music, and examine art from the myth’s or
legend’s country of origin. Class discussions should focus on the fact that folklore provides a limited view of a culture, and that it’s important to
research and find out more about the country before making generalizations. Students will also try their hand at writing a legend or myth of their
own. The goal of this unit is not only for students to find commonalities across this genre, but to discover countries and cultures other than our
own. The culminating project is an open-ended reflective essay response to one of the unit’s essential questions: How is folklore simultaneously
revealing and limiting?
North Carolina Information and Technology Essential Standards:
6.SI.1.1 Analyze resources in terms of their reliability (which can be determined by currency, credibility, or authority, depending on the topic or
purpose)
6.SI.1.2 Analyze content for relevance to the assigned task.
6.SI.1.3 Analyze resources for point of view, bias, values, or intent of information.
6.TT.1.1 Select appropriate technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, ebooks, online communication tools,
etc.).
6.TT.1.2 Select appropriate technology tools to organize data and information (e.g., word processor, database, spreadsheet, graphic organizer,
audio and visual recording, online collaboration tools, etc.).
6.TT.1.3 Select appropriate technology tools to present data and information effectively (multimedia, audio and visual recording, online
collaboration tools, etc.).
6.RP.1.1 Implement a research process collaboratively.
6.RP.1.2 Implement a research process independently.
6.SE.1.1 Apply ethical behavior (copyright, not plagiarizing, proper netiquette) when using resources.
Common Core State Standards:
Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details
RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.6.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from
personal opinions or judgments.
RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the
plot moves toward a resolution.
Reading Standards for Literature: Craft and Structure
RL.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
RL.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of
the theme, setting, or plot.
Reading Standards for Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.6.7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the
text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
RL.6.9 Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their
approaches to similar themes and topics.
Reading Standards for Informational Text: Key Ideas and Details
RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal
opinions or judgments.
Reading Standards for Informational Text: Craft and Structure
RI.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
Writing Standards: Text Type and Purposes
W.6.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization,
and analysis of relevant content.
a. Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and
cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.
W.6.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and wellstructured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds
naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
Writing Standards: Production and Distribution of Writing
W.6.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
W.6.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,
or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 6 on page
52.)
W.6.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate
sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.
Writing Standards: Research to Build and Present Knowledge
W.6.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
Writing Standards: Research to Present and Build Knowledge
W.6.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data
and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.
W.6.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres [e.g., stories and poems; historical
novels and fantasy stories] in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics”).
Writing Standards: Range of Writing
W.6.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or
two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening Standards: Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.6.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 6
topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the
topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
c. Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under
discussion.
d. Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic,
text, or issue under study.
SL.6.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that
are not.
Speaking and Listening Standards: Presentation and Knowledge of Ideas
SL.6.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
SL.6.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 6
Language standards 1 and 3 on page 52 for specific expectations.)
Language Standards: Conventions of Standard English
L.6.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
b. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
c. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.*
d. Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents).*
e. Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others’ writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve
expression in conventional language.*
L.6.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.*
b. Spell correctly.
Language Standards: Knowledge of Language
L.6.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
a. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/ listener interest, and style.*
b. Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
Language Standards: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a
word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine
or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary
L.6.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Essential Questions:
 How is folklore simultaneously revealing and limiting?
 How do people or events become legendary?
Enduring Understandings:
 Folklore can reveal some of the values and beliefs of a culture, but cannot show all elements of the culture.
 Legends are created when ordinary people behave in an extraordinary manner.
I Can Statements:
 I can compare and contrast.
 I can form an opinion about what I see/hear when I read.
 I can form an opinion about what I watch/listen to.
 I can compare and contrast my feelings/reactions/responses when I read a written text to when I listen to or watch an audio, visual or live
version of the same text.
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I can back up my opinion/argument with logical details from what we’ve been reading, listening to or watching.
I can find evidence in a text.
I can make an inference.
I can find details in the text that support my inference.
I can give details from the text to support the main idea(s).
I can be an active participant in a group discussion.
I can give details from the text to support the discussion topic.
I can reflect/think about ideas under discussion.
I can take someone else’s idea and add my personal thoughts and feelings to what he or she said.
I can take on an assigned role in a discussion group.
I can find evidence in a text that supports a discussion topic.
I can follow rules for a group discussion (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening attentively to others, speaking one at a time
about the topic(s) under discussion, sharing my ideas, and justifying my opinions).
I can set goals and deadlines that relate to a group discussion.
I can define the different roles for group discussions.
I can use subjective, objective, possessive and intensive pronouns correctly in my writing.
Vocabulary:
Pourquoi tale
Plot
Oral Tradition
Etymology
Folklore
Culture
Folktale
Legend
Myth
Transdisciplinary Connections:
North Carolina Essential Standards for Social Studies:
History
6.H.1 Use historical thinking to understand the emergence, expansion and decline of civilizations, societies and regions over time.
6.H.2 Understand the political, economic and/or social significance of historical events, issues, individuals and cultural groups.
Geography
6.G.1 Understand geographic factors that influenced the emergence, expansion and decline of civilizations, societies and regions over time (i.e.
Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas).
Evidence of Learning (Formative Assessment):
Summative Assessment:
 Journal Responses
 End of Course Assessments
 Group Discussion
 State Mandated Assessments
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Graphic Organizers
o Plot Diagram
o Character Trait Chart
o Use of text organization: Story Map, Author’s Key Ideas
o Difficult Vocabulary: Concept and Semantic Maps
o Connecting Prior Knowledge: K-W-L Charts, Respond
and Write it Down and Connections Charts
Exit Slips
Writing Samples (from rough draft to final writing)
Durham Public Schools’ Small Goal Assessment
Unit Implementation:
Week 1: The Past (CCSS: RL.6.9, RI.6.4, SL.6.1, L.6.4 a & b)
Inform students they are about to begin a cultural unit entitled “Folklore: A Blast from the Past”. Have students define folklore. Students will also define words they
discover while reading such as myths, legends, pourquoi tales, and tall tales. Students will keep digital index cards via an index card app on an iPad or index cards of
words studied while reading during this unit (index cards will assist students when they sort words by prefix, suffix, root words, meaning, country of origin, spelling feature
and more). Students will find words they recognize that are from the country/culture of the folklore read. As students trace origins in this unit, they will also trace the
origin of words they discover. Students will continue using their vocabulary index cards throughout the 6-week unit.
Have students using the proper academic style (Double-Entry Journal, Cornell Notes, SQ3R, etc.) answer the following question in their Writer’s Notebook.
 How can word origins—etymology—affect our understanding of the words?
During this unit, students will read multiple versions of the same folktale and identify similarities and differences in stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Fisherman and His
Wife, Jack and the Beanstalk. Have students use the website Dr. D. L. Ashliman's Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts website to find additional tale types. Upon
accessing the website students will click on the link to "Cinderella" tale types. From there, students will have many choices of full text versions of Cinderella tale types
from throughout the world:
 Baba Yaga (Russia)
 The Cinder Maid (reconstructed from various European sources by Joseph Jacobs)
 Rashin Coatie (Scotland)
 Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl (Georgia)
Examples of Cinderella Tale Type in Book Form:
 Knight, Hilary. Cinderella. New York: Random House, 1978, 2001.
 Pollock, Penny. The Turkey Girl. Boston: Little, Brown, c1996.
 Steptoe, John, 1950. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1987.
 Climo, Shirley. The Korean Cinderella. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.
Examples of Fisherman and His Wife Tale Type on the Web:
Have students use the Dr. D. L. Ashliman's Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts website to click and locate the link to "Fisherman and His Wife" tale types. Several
choices of full text versions of Fisherman and His Wife versions:
 The Stonecutter (Japan)
 Hanns Dudeldee (Germany)
Examples of Fisherman and His Wife Tale Type in Book Form:
 Wells, Rosemary. The Fisherman and His Wife. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, c1998.
 Polacco, Patricia. Luba and the Wren. New York: Philomel Books, c1999.
Students will read additional myths, legends, tall and pourquoi tales (provide access to text). Using a Venn diagram, students will compare and contrast text from from
one country/culture to another. Students will also use a Venn diagram or another graphic organizer to compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that
of another. Students will share their findings with the class.
Share with students that they are going to choose a book on their own from a list of suggested titles to read during the unit:
 Cut from the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale by Robert D. San Souci, Brian Pinkney, and Jane Yolen
 American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy
 D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
 Favorite Folktales from Around the World by Jane Yolen
 Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America
 Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin
 The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin
 Roman Myths by Geraldine McCaughrean and Emma Chichester Clark
 The Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales by Arthur Ransome
 The Pig Scrolls by Paul Shipton.
 The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 1 by Rick Riordan
 Ithaka by Adele Geras
 Wabi: A Hero’s Tale by Joseph Bruchac.
 The Extraordinary Adventure of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey.
 The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Eleanor Atwood
 The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff
 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
 Tikta’Liktak: An Inuit-Eskimo Legend by James A. Houston
 Women Warriors: Myths and Legends of Heroic Women by Marianna Mayer and Heller Julek
Conduct a Mini lesson on verbs. Explain that the verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or compound verb asserts something about the subject
of the sentence and express actions, events, or states of being. The verb or compound verb is the critical element of the predicate of a sentence. Create activities for
students to be able to identify verbs. Have students create a verb list for the classroom. Review the list with students throughout the unit.
Week 2: Truth in Fiction (CCSS: RL.6.2, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, W.6.8, SL.6.1, SL.6.5, SL.6.6)
Once students choose a text from Week One they will begin outlining how the plot of a myth, legend, tall tale, or pourquoi tale of choice unfolds in a series of episodes by
creating a comic strip of key events. Remind students to include the characters and how they respond or change as the plot moves toward resolution. Instruct students
to make note of the page numbers to which each box refers so they can go back and cite the text during class discussion. If technology will allow, students can use an
online comic creation tool to publish their ideas.
Students will continue to compare and contrast. Students will use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events across the
text, drawing on specific information from the stories students and their classmates read. Allow students to choose a graphic organizer to populate as they read different
types of folklore, keeping track of country, characters, problem, setting, hero, ending, and cultural characteristics.
Students will now begin to read informational text about the country/culture of origin of some of the myths read in class and identify what the informational text tells them
about a culture that the stories do not.
Examples:
 Aztec, Inca, and Maya by Elizabeth Baquedano and Barry Clarke
 Beneath the Stone: A Mexican Zapotec Tale by Bernard Wolf
 Building an Igloo by Ulli Steltzer
 First Americans: Story of Where They Came From and Who They Became by Anthony F. Aveni and S.D. Nelson
 First Facts about the Vikings by Jacqueline Morley
 Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America by Lulu Delacre
 Greeks Internet Linked by Susan Peach, Anne Millard, and Ian Jackson
 Romans: Internet Linked by Anthony Marks
 The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug For Troy by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd
 The History Atlas of South America by Edwin Early
 The Inuit (Watts Library) (Suzanne M. Williams)
 The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History (Jane Bingham)
 Vicious Vikings by Terry Deary and Martin Brown
 You Wouldn’t Want to be a Roman Soldier! Barbarians You’d Rather Not Meet (You Wouldn’t Want To…Series) by David Stewart and David Antram
 You Wouldn’t Want to be a Slave in Ancient Greece! A Life You’d Rather Not Have (You Wouldn’t Want To…Series) by Fiona MacDonald, David Salariya, and
David Antram
 You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Viking Explorer! Voyages You’d Rather Not Make (You Wouldn’t Want To…Series) by Andrew Langley, David Salariya, and David
Antram
 You Wouldn’t Want to Live in Pompeii! A Volcanic Eruption You’d Rather Avoid (You Wouldn’t Want To…Series) by John Malam, David Salariya, and David
Antram
Have students choose a scene from one of the myths or legends that they think are the most revealing about that culture. Have students choose a partner to present the
scene as a dramatic reading. Students will record the readings using a digital camcorder and use iMovie, Creaza or MovieMaker to edit their recording. Upon completion,
upload each pairs finished video to the classroom blog.
Introduce the historical fiction, Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad written by Rosemary Sutcliff to students (The text takes place during the Trojan War,
retelling the Iliad. The version maintains realism typical to Sutcliff's writing style, while still including the pivotal actions of the Greek Gods and other supernatural
occurrences. The major characters of the Iliad focused on include Paris, Helen of Troy, Hector, Ajax, Achilles, Patroclus, and Odysseus. Gods focused on include Eris,
Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, and Zeus. Subjects focused on include the Judgement of Paris, the Amazons, Funeral Games, and the Trojan Horse. The personal motivations
of the characters as well as the direct intervention of the gods are both shown as driving the events of the story.)
Have students begin a new section in their Writer’s Notebook using the proper academic style (Double-Entry Journal, Cornell Notes, SQ3R, etc.). Share a Prezi,
PowerPoint, or a Webquest via an Interactive Whiteboard providing background on Rosemary Sutcliff, author of Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad and the
historical context of the text. Have students preview the cover of the book. Ask students to share what they know about the author using a KWL Chart. After students
populate the K and W columns of the chart instruct them to research Rosemary Sutcliff. Students will complete the L column while researching.
Project or distribute this passage from the text for students to view, “And they set out, prowling like a pair of hunting lions through the darkness and the scattered bodies
of the dead.' The adventure is as fresh and exciting as it would have been when first told to an audience in Homer's time - here are noble (and not so noble) heroes, great
loves and greater loyalties.” Call students’ attention to the poetic formality of the phrasing and vocabulary used by Sutcliff. Encourage students to use such devices
while writing during the unit.
Continue the verb Mini lessons. Continue to review the verb list with students throughout the unit. Conduct a new Mini lesson on Direct and Indirect Objects. Explain to
students that in a sentence, an object may follow the subject and verb. An object is a noun or pronoun that gives meaning to the subject and verb of the sentence. Not all
sentences contain objects, but some may contain one or more. There are two kinds of objects within a sentence: direct and indirect objects. Have students diagram
indirect and direct verbs.
Week 3: Fantastic Voyage (CCSS: RL.6.1, RI.6.4, SL.6.1, SL.6.3, L.6.3, L.6.6)
As students continue reading Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff have them to continue to respond to writing prompts such as:
 How does the story provide insight into ancient Greek civilizations? Discuss insights into characters from this story; plot developments, and ancient Greek society
in general. Provide students an opportunity to research ancient Greek civilizations and cite sources to support their writing. Students can share their findings
with a classmate.
In groups, ask students to use a concept map to brainstorm ideas on how antagonistic ideas, like ones from the text could cause such a huge argument between schools,
between people in countries, between students in the class. As students continue to read myths, folktales, etc. they will encounter the theme of mortality. Project the
following quote from the text and ask students to explain the quote in their Writer’s Notebook: “But the immortal gods do not know time as mortals know it.”
Have students complete a character analysis for the following characters from Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad:
 Hector
 Paris
 Odysseus
 Helen of Troy
 Paris
Inform students to use specific examples from the story to support what they say and provide page and or chapter numbers. Students may use notes taken while reading
the book to assist with this activity. Rubric for One Pager-character traits 6.docxÓ
Conduct Mini lesson on Sentence Structure, Clauses, prepositions and prepositional phrases.
Week 4: Folklore Galore (CCSS: RL.6.3, RL.6.7, W.6.4, W.9a & b, SL.6.1, L.6.1)
Have students examine artwork that deals with characters in myths, tall tales, or folktales and have them identify how knowing the story behind the subject influences
appreciation for the artwork. Provide an opportunity for students to find artwork that portrays the characters or culture(s) about what they read. Ask students once they
find works of art to answer the following questions in their Writer’s Notebook:
 How does knowing the story behind the character give you a deeper insight into the artwork?
 What aesthetic or cultural considerations might have been on the artist’s mind during the creation of such works?
Distribute Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories to students. After students finish reading the stories, have them listen to the audiobook version of Just So Stories. Once
they finish listening to the story have students to answer the following questions via the class blog:
 How is listening to Just So Stories as an audiobook similar to or different from reading the book?
 Which do you prefer?
 Why?
Week 5: Visualize Legends (CCSS: W.6.2, W.6.3, W.6.4, W.6.5, SL.6.1, SL.6.2, L.6.1, L.6.2a and b)
Continue Week 4 activities of viewing artwork related to literature. Have students view the Winged Victory of Samothrace in comparison to a wall painting of the Great
Goddess at Teotihuacan. Ask students:
 How are these two goddesses depicted?
 Are they portrayed similarly? What are some of the differences?
 Examine the images for evidence. What leads you to believe that these are goddesses that were worshipped?
Students will watch a video of a legend, folktale, or myth, and compare it to the written text. Students will discuss director’s choices in telling the story. Additionally,
students will listen to a recording of a story they have previously read and identify how hearing it compares to reading it.
Examples:
 Jason and the Argonauts
 Clash of the Titans
 The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
 John Henry
 Pecos Bill
 Paul Bunyan
 Anansi Tries to Steal All the Wisdom in the World
 Anansi and the Sky Kingdom
 Anansi Goes to Lunch
 Anansi and Turtle go to Dinner
 Anansi and the Tug’o War
 Why Anansi Has Eight Legs
Additional Resources for Folktales:
 PBS’ Swahili Folktales Website: http://pbskids.org/africa/tale/index.html
 University of Pittsburgh’s Japanese Folktales Website: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/japan.html
 Scholastics’ Folktale Writer’s Workshop: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/folktalewshop_index.htm
It is time for each student to become a legend. Students will write their own myth or legend. Remind students that myths and legends were written to explain natural
phenomena (often before scientific explanations were found). Share the typical pattern (as in the following list) for writing a myth or legend. Encourage students to build
on their insights from graphic organizers used throughout the unit.
 Explanation of the setting
 The problem
 The failure to solve the problem
 The main character comes along
 He/she has a plan
 The solution is found
 Conclusion (usually a happy ending)
Remind students that their well-developed myth or legend should clearly and logically include the characteristics of myth and legends (cited in the preceding list). Instruct
students to edit their writing for pronoun shifts and vagueness. Have students draw and scan an illustration or to find relevant visuals from the web for publication on the
class web page. Remind students to use vocabulary correctly in context. Use prepositions and prepositional phrases correctly to enhance written expression.
Week 6: Become a Legend (CCSS: RL.6.3, RL.6.7, RI.6.2, RI.6.4, W.6.2, W.6.3, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.7, W.9a & b, SL.6.1, W.6.10, L.6.1, L.6.2a and b)
Continue to read folklore from various countries. Create a visual display of folklores by country and tell students to choose one country and pick a folktale to read from
that particular country. After students finish reading their chosen text, have them choose an informational text about the country/culture of origin to read. Instruct
students to talk with a partner about why it would be good to know more about the country or culture. Collaboratively have students formulate two to three questions to
guide their research. Students will need to plan how they will conduct their research. Upon completion, students will communicate their findings in an
informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: How is folklore simultaneously revealing and limiting? Remind students that their writing should
include at least two supporting details from each text. Additionally, instruct students to edit their writing for pronoun shifts and vagueness. Have students include relevant
visuals found on the Internet. Extend this activity by adding a multimedia component. Students will present their research report, either by creating a digital slide
presentation to highlight key points using SlideRocket, PowerPoint, Prezi or Keynote, or by reading their essay set to music and images from the country of choice and
present to the class.
Via the class blog, ask students to respond to the following questions:
 How does knowing factual information enhance the understanding you have of the culture from reading its folklore?
 What information did you learn only from research?
Supportive Unit Resources: (Please note that these are resources that can be used to supplement instruction before or during a lesson.)
Instructional
Activities:
Scaffolding Option 1:
Intervention
Scaffolding Option 2:
Maintenance
Support Letters
As the best friend of a mythological character,
students will write a letter offering support,
encouragement or guidance. For example,
students might write to the following characters:
Orpheus after failing to bring back Eurydice from
Hades (sympathy and advice), Polyphemus after
being tricked by Odysseus (compassion and
concern), Ariadne after being jilted by Jason
(commiseration).
Job Opportunities
Tell students their favorite mythological character
has just retired. Zeus, the father of the gods, is
now accepting applications for a replacement.
Ask students to write letters of application and a
brief resume or biographical sketch.
Scaffolding Option 3:
Extension
A Myth of My Own
A valuable experience for your students is writing,
telling and illustrating their own myths. These can
be recorded in little booklets and compiled in a
class anthology. Students can write a myth
explaining a natural phenomenon or create a
story with a moral lesson. Some students may
want to think of an emotion (love, envy, fear or
jealousy) and write an adventure using that
emotion as the theme. After the myths have been
written, invite your students to read their myths to
the class or post on the class blog.
Technology Integration: (Please note that these are resources that can be used to supplement instruction before or during a lesson.)
Multimedia
Activities:
Students, in the role of their favorite hero or
heroine, will be leading an expedition on a
dangerous journey (examples: Jason questing
after the Golden Fleece, Perseus seeking
Medusa's head or Theseus attempting to defeat
the Minotaur). Before they can go, students
must order the necessary supplies. Students
will create a proposal using a Word Processing
program asking for supplies from the gods.
Letters can be addressed to Heroic Discount
Supplies, 744 Olympian Way, Athens, Greece.
The Ancient Greeks used the myths in all
varieties of their artwork. Architecture, sculpture,
painting, pottery, metalwork, jewelry, weaving and
embroidery showed how important the myths
were in the lives of the people. Students will visit
online art museums and view sculptures, pottery,
jewelry and coins of ancient Greece. Students
will create a podcast and record the myths that
inspired them. Students can also use an online
illustration tool to draw sketches of some of their
favorite items.
Mythology's influence is evident in our language.
It is hard to imagine reading or writing without
drawing upon myth-oriented adjectives or idioms.
Ask students to research the histories of words
that come from the Greek myths. For instance,
ask them what it means to have an "Achilles
heel". As they do their research, they'll find that
Achilles was a Greek hero whose mother rubbed
him with ambrosia and put him in a fire (or dipped
him in the river Styx) when he was a baby so his
body could not be pierced by weapons. From this,
let pupils speculate on the meaning of the
modern-day expression and then let them check
their definition with dictionaries (online). Students
might record words in a notebook or compile a
mythological online dictionary.