Lesson Plans
Lesson 1. Elements of the myth. (This is the opening lesson of the unit.)
Objectives
The instructional objectives of this lesson are to engage students in generalizing the basic elements of a myth and to enable them to realize that basic elements of cultural identity are revealed in myths.
Materials
The materials needed for this lesson include:
- A handout containing creation myths from 4 cultures (see bibliography for websites)
- T-Chart organizer (paper divided into 2 vertical columns) Chart paper and markers
Procedure
The students are organized into teacher-determined teams of four. Students who resist reading, or are reluctant for any reason to engage in activities like this, are grouped together and provided the shortest reading, or the one most easily interpreted. Each student in the team is handed a separate myth, and asked to read it. When all have finished, the teacher gives a very broad description of mythical accounts of creation, saying only that most people around the world seem to have stories, some magical, some scientific, about how human beings have come to be.
Students are then asked to retell to their three team members, in their own words, the stories from the different cultures they have been assigned. When this activity is finished, students work as a team to complete a T-chart (a dual column organizer), on one side of which they note similarities among the myths as to characters, natural phenomena, individual objects, and supernatural occurrences. This is a good time for the teacher to float from team to team and assist and groups that are stuck. When all are finished, one member of the team records on chart paper one similarity and one difference that the team considers to be the most important or attractive. When done, charts are posted on the wall, and another team member takes the class through their charts and
When the charts are completed, students are asked to think about and try to answer any of these prompts, which the teacher reads aloud: What do the people in these cultures seem to believe about how they came to be? What qualities do they share as a people? What seems important to them? Why does the creator in the these tales make people in the first place? Do the people have a reason to be there? If people want to be like their creators, what would a good person be like, and what would a bad person be like?
After a discussion of these questions, the teacher simply says that he is handing out four different parts of a real mythical story, told by people whom he will not name. The teacher encourages students not to "cheat" by trying to find out who the people are, because it is a good idea to approach the task as if the students were scientists, in other words, trying not to be very biased when they start the study. For the end of this class, the teacher hands out the four parts of Popol Vuh—one to each team member—and reads the first lines of each aloud. Students are asked to put the writing away and to bring it the second day, without peeking.
Lesson 2. Literary Study.
(This lesson occurs midway through the unit, after students have completed the reading of their parts of the tale, but before they record responses to their individual tasks.)
Objectives
The first instructional objective of this lesson is to review the basic definitions of the literary focus of the study: theme, tone, point-of-view, plot structure, audience and purpose, and figurative language.
The second objective is to prompt students to look for discrete identification of the various elements in Popol Vuh, so that they can make statements about how it functions as a story. They must support their statements with evidence from the story.
Materials
Students will need:
- an organizer and note-taking paper that will provide a brief reminder of what their individual literary focuses are, and directions for locating places in their texts where there is evidence supporting character features,
- characterization techniques, point-of-view, figures of speech, tone, and plot structure.
- handouts with basic literary definitions, charts for recording instances of
- methods of characterization, character profiles, tone, and figures of language
- model statements of narrative point-of—view, and a place to comment on and support students' understanding of this feature in the myth
- a traditional plot structure diagram for the student charged with determining the structure of the story
Procedure
Students are seated in teams of four. Each member is assigned his or her tasks after direct instruction refreshes memory about the meaning of each literary concern. (The assumption is that by twelfth grade, students are familiar with these basic literary features, and need only a quick refresher.)
Each member is then regrouped with his or her peer in another team comprised of those given the same responsibilities in their home teams, forming what are called "expert" teams. These students work collaboratively to complete their common tasks. In a ninety-minute block, this activity should take about forty-five minutes.
Experts return to their home teams to compile and share their results. When this has been completed, the team determines how they will present their results to the whole class. This presentation may take many forms. Students may decide to elect one presenter, or they may individually present, or they may create a mini-drama to present key notions. A list of possibilities for presentation is provided at this time, and teams must decide on the format, determine individual contributions, and determine a timeline for completion and presentation to the whole group. (This presentation must occur in the latter part of the second week.)
Lesson 3. Research
Objectives
The instructional objectives for this lesson are to enable students to conduct effective documentary and Internet research, and to develop answerable research questions.
Materials
Students need:
- access to the Internet, either as a group, or individually
- a list of key words, phrases, and topics for searching both Internet and library resources is also needed (Appendix A). Copies of McKillop's The Ancient Maya (2004), Mann's 1491 (2006), and Miller and Taube's The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion (1993) are provided through the library or in the classroom.
Procedure
In their base teams, students divide the broad categories for research among themselves: Maya history, architecture, agriculture, geography, language, religion, art, and mythology. Each student develops 2 specific questions in his or her category, and conducts a search to find answers by means of scholarly work, imagery, or Internet sites.
Students share questions and answers with teammates and the whole class as a research component of their class presentation on the Popol Vuh. (This presentation will have been scheduled for the latter part of the second week of study.) Students should have a ninety-minute block to complete this research.
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