4 Exciting Mythology Activities For Middle Schoolers

My research and planning in preparation for a mini-unit about mythology for my sixth graders was a fun re-fresher for me.

 

Through my research, I was reminded that a myth is a traditional story that explains a natural or social phenomenon and presents supernatural events involving gods and heroes.  The three categories of myths include creation myths, origin myths, and hero myths.  I may be aging myself by saying this, but it had been so long since I studied mythology in school that this background information felt new (and exciting!) to me. 

 

I must admit, I heavily relied on resources I found on the internet from other teachers to make my lessons about mythology successful.  My sincere thanks to the community of educators whose materials on the internet made my lessons possible.  I found a slideshow and a short YouTube video that I shared with my students as an introduction to mythology.  Then, I assigned my students a group activity to complete a WebQuest about the 12 gods of Olympus.  Members of each group shared information, uncovered in the WebQuest about their assigned gods, with the class. 

 

When it came time to read the myths, we read them aloud as a class.  For each myth, after the reading and discussion, students were split into assigned groups, based on ability, to complete activities that aligned with the appropriate level.  All activities encompassed tasks of various tiers of complexity as related to Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

Take a look at the myths my students and I read, as well as the resources used with each myth:

·         “The Twelve Labors of Hercules” – I used worksheets and resources I found on the internet from other teachers.  Much of the activities were focused on recalling facts and details from the text.

·         “Persephone” – I used worksheets and resources I found on the internet from other teachers.  These activities were a combination of basic comprehension as well as critical-thinking questions.

·         “Echo and Narcissus” – I used resources I found on the internet in combination with graphic organizers I was inspired to create thanks to my research.  The activities ranged in complexity including a focus on analysis and cause-and-effect prompts.  I also found a short, animated YouTube video of this myth. 

·         “Arachne and Athena” – I used resources I found on the internet in combination with graphic organizers I was inspired to create thanks to my research.  The activities ranged in complexity including analytical thinking about who the victim was in this tale and needing text evidence to defend this claim.  I also found a short, animated YouTube video of this story, which had slight differences from the version we read, so it was a prime opportunity for a compare-and-contrast activity. 

In two of my sixth-grade classes, I had one student per class who was especially knowledgeable about mythology, so each student proudly shared mythology factoids with classmates.  This was something I appreciated since my knowledge of mythology was limited to my “just scratching the surface” information I researched about one week or so prior to sharing these lessons with my students. 

 

Overall, I’d say this mini-unit about mythology was a homerun because of the myths we read and my students’ contribution to the discussions and activities.

 

The balance of elements in Greek and Roman myths – fantasy juxtaposed with real-life occurrences – was a balance that kept my students engaged.  It also helped that some days’ activities included watching animated adaptations of the centuries-old myths.  What kid doesn’t like to watch videos?!

 

One of the interesting things about mythological stories is that while the characters sometimes possess non-mortal qualities and find themselves in seemingly unfeasible situations, there are still human qualities woven into each character’s demeanor.  This realization makes both the villains and the heroes relatable to the readers.  These tales gave my students a lot to think about and a lot to question, which is what made our discussions so interactive. 

 

If my lessons were a hit (with my limited background knowledge!), then your unit about mythology will surely be a success.  Explore the “Mythology Writing Prompts” material on my Teachers Pay Teachers store to incorporate into your mythology lessons.  My store also has a variety of versatile products for all grades and subjects!

 

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Peace.  Love.  Reading & Writing.

 

💗 Miss M