Day Two: Comparative Mythology

Lesson 1.2 Comparative Storytelling in Alternate Realities (Part 2): Mythology
Created by John Kotnarowski (Spring 2014)

Objectives: Students will be able to…

• Identify the common features and/or identifying characteristics of mythology
• Place this tradition on a greater (historical) storytelling “spectrum”
• Relate the cultural importance of this type of story telling to global culture and their own home culture
• Compare and contrast the common features of mythology writing with other genres from the unit
• Engage in critical thinking about the features of this genre

Materials
Copies of (access to) the story of Prometheus and Fire
Copies of (access to) the Mayan Creation Myth
Mayan Creation Myth video
“Comparative Mythology” presentation
Story Elements Organizer
Comparative Genre Analysis Chart

Sources
Edgar. F. (1994). Prometheus Gives Fire to Man in Greek and Roman Mythology (pp. 21-24).
    Quincy, IL: Mark Twain, Inc.
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (n.d.) Creation Story of the Maya.
    Retrieved from:http://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/default/files/transcripts/
    the_creation_story_of_the_maya.pdf
Smithsonian NMAI. (2012, June 2014). The Creation Story of the Maya? [Video file]. Retrieved
    from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb5GKmEcJcw

Preparation
Students will come to class having read the Prometheus Myth (the attached comp questions are optional). They will also have filled out a common elements organizer, which will provide the basis for the first communicative schema activation activity.

Teaching Instructions [60 minutes]
I. Schema Activation -> Brainstorming [5-7 minutes]
Have students get up out of their seats and find a classmate they haven’t worked with yet. After introducing themselves, have the pairs discuss the following questions:

• Did you already know the story of Prometheus giving fire to humanity? 
• What was your reaction to the story? 
• What kind of message do you think the story was designed to convey? 
• What does the term “mythology” refer to? 
• What role(s) does mythology play in a society? Explain. 
• Does your home culture have it’s own mythology? If yes, tell your partner a little about it. If no, try and find information on another culture that does.

II. Schema Development: Fantasy Overview PPT [5-7 minutes]
Use this presentation to provide a short overview on the important (common) features of mythology. The presentation is meant to raise awareness about common links between different mythological traditions and to spark discussions between students in class who come from different cultures.

Note: Try and keep any such discussions “diplomatic” (polite/civil) and avoid letting them digress into arguments about religion (a real possibility).

III. Intensive Reading: “The Mayan Creation Myth” [25 minutes]
1. Pre-Reading: As a class, discuss the following questions:

• What do you know about the Mayan civilization? 
• Where are they from? Do you think geographic information influences the creation of myths? How?

2. Reading: As students read, have them fill out the story elements organizer. For now, this should be done individually. They will have a chance to discuss their answers in groups after reading.

3. Post-Reading: As students finish reading, have them form new groups of three. Task them with discussing the information they included in their story elements organizers. Here are some additional discussion questions:

• What is the purpose of this story? 
• Who is the narrator? 
• What kind of information does this story provide us with respect to Mayan culture? 

Once the small group discussions finish, transition into a brief full class discussion designed to answer any remaining questions. Then, watch the video version of this story found here.

IV. Comparing & Contrasting Genres Chart [10 min]
Give students some time to begin filling out the comparative genre analysis chart. They can use this time to ask the instructor questions or to discuss the chart with classmates.

V. Introduce Final Project Options

VI. Homework
Students should do the reading for the second “theme” unit on “Fables & Fairy Tales” as well as filling out a common elements organizer. For the reading, they can choose any one story from the “Brother’s Grimm”. The stories from that collection can be found here.

Students should also watch a short vidcast on summarizing stories (here) and fill out the comprehension questions (here).

Finally, they should continue filling out the comparative genre analysis chart