As part of the Folktale Unit, we explore Native American folktales and delve into Greek myths. Why do I use Greek myths? They strongly support teaching the central message and many other related literature standards.
They’re also some of my favorite stories to teach! Though they have lasted for thousands of years, these stories still entertain my students yearly. The Greek gods and other characters are complex characters that lend themselves well to analyzing their traits. Each story carries some moral or lesson to be learned, making it ideal for teaching the central message.
FREE BOOKLET
Sign up for my newsletter and RECEIVE a FREE set of 4 BOOKLETS to practice
the central message with Greek Myths! Read to the end!
Teaching the Central Message
One standard related to teaching the central message is character analysis. Understanding character traits leads to understanding character motivation, which drives the actions or events in the story. Motivation can also lead to rewards or punishment!
One thing I have noticed about teaching character traits (the concept already introduced and practiced with the Native American folktales) is that students get stuck with very limited ways to describe a character’s behavior. Conversely, they describe characters incorrectly because they don’t fully understand the definition of certain traits. Just the other day, I had students confuse dull with lazy!
Teaching the Central Message AND Character Traits
To help students expand their vocabulary and select appropriate character traits, I developed a Character Traits PowerPoint with 25 character traits. Each trait is introduced through a scenario that provides clues to the trait. Then, a picture is shown with some dialogue about what a person who exhibited that trait might say. This is when I have students try to identify the character trait.
We discuss possible traits, give evidence from the slide, and then reveal the trait. The slide continues with four synonyms for that character trait. I teach with this PowerPoint daily, and we manage to do about 3 – 4 per day.
I also created accompanying posters that I hang in my room for reference. From there, it is easy to follow up on the day’s ELA lesson.
Check out the VIDEO PREVIEW.
FREE BOOKLET
Sign up for my newsletter and RECEIVE a FREE set of 4 BOOKLETS to practice
the central message with Greek Myths! Read to the end!
Which Greek Myths Do I Use?
As I mentioned earlier, I use Greek myths not only to teach the central message but also to character traits, problems, solutions, and many other Common Core literature standards. Some of the Greek myths I use include
Picture Books for Read-Aloud
I have some favorite picture books I read aloud to teach the central message. One great resource is the Usborne Greek Myths for Young Children. This particular book has all the well-known Greek myths, including the Odessey. The pictures are appropriate, and the text is written in kid-friendly narratives. It is one of my go-to picture books for teaching the central message.
I will project one of the pages and sometimes use it as shared reading and a read-aloud.
King Midas’s story presents a character bested by his greed. It’s wonderfully and beautifully portrayed in Demi’s King Midas: The Golden Touch. It has an amazing fold-out in the middle!
One of my favorite authors also has a version of Icarus and Daedalus! Gerald McDermott’s book Sun Flight again shows his amazing artistic interpretation of this classic Greek myth.
FREE BOOKLET
Sign up for my newsletter and RECEIVE a FREE set of 4 BOOKLETS to practice
the central message with Greek Myths! Read to the end!
Who, What, Where, When, How?
The Greek myths have many many characters and stories. I remember having to read Homer’s Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid in college. I still have my copies of those stories! I’ve shared them with my class to show them the original texts. Then, I explain to them how these stories, though considered myths, have some basis in actual events and people. The city of Troy was discovered by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870!
But I also explained how hard it was for me as a college student to keep track of all the gods, goddesses, heroes, beasts, and creatures! I created this set of 48 Greek Mythology Posters I used with my class. This is another valuable tool I use to teach the central message.
They became a great resource for keeping track of the myriad characters we encountered in the Greek myths. They’re also great for having students research their Roman counterparts (you know, the Romans are practically Greeks!).
FREE BOOKLET
Sign up for my newsletter and RECEIVE a FREE set of 4 BOOKLETS to practice
the central message with Greek Myths! Read to the end!
Practice with Identifying the Central Message
Once we’ve read and understood the myth, I give each student a booklet that they use to explain the central message. But first, we start with character traits. I had the students brainstorm ideas using the graphic organizers I created.
Then, I created these booklets about four Greek Myths: King Midas, Icarus, Arachne, and Pandora’s Box. For example, on one of the pages, students had to write a description of King Midas using trait words and evidence to back up the description.
Once they understood the character traits that motivated him, we discussed how they led to his troubles. Because King Midas was greedy and foolish, his wish caused him nothing but trouble. So, what lesson can we learn from King Midas?
That is when I had students select from 4 choices.
Most students agreed that “Be careful what you wish for” was the best option.
Then, it was time to back that up with text evidence on the booklet’s next page.
I had the students first practice with sentence frames to have some scaffolding for their writing. Then, they rewrote it together as one short constructed response on the following page.
Get These Booklets for FREE!
I recently revised the booklets, which are now available for FREE exclusively on my blog. Sign up for my newsletter, and I will send you the link to download them for FREE! Use them to teach the central message in your literature lessons. Sign up below, and you’ll get four Booklets: Icarus, Arachne, King Midas, and Pandora’s Box. These booklets will help you practice teaching the central message.
Continuing With the Greek Myths
I continue teaching the Greek myths as we learn about the Trojan War. I like to focus on the characters of Achilles, King Priam, Helen of Troy, and Odysseus.
The Folktale Unit is one of my favorites. When you think about how these stories STILL influence our culture (Percy Jackson, Hercules, Troy, etc.), we would be doing a disservice if we DID NOT read these stories to our students.
For more ideas on using Greek Myths, follow my Pinterest Board!
How do you teach the Greek myths or Central Message?
Share your ideas in the comments below!
