Mythology Series: The Myth of the Titan Prometheus

Item description

Engage English Language Arts middle and high schoolers with the ancient Greek Myth of Prometheus — a creation story from Ancient Greece about the human race’s origins. Or is it a story about a god chained to rock, and an eagle picks out its liver? Or is it a story about a rivalry between two gods? Or, is it a story of two brothers, one forethought and the other afterthought? You decide. There is more to this myth than just granting fire to humanity.

• This resource is optimized for distance learning. The product includes a durable Google Apps link. Access and modify this resource for student-use on Google Classroom and other classroom management sites.

Use this Digital Download for a Three-day English Language Arts Lesson

Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, your kids will want to discuss the pros and cons of technology, the representation of the gods in World Literature, and more. So I have loaded this resource with discussion questions that will get your students talking and writing! N.B. — The text of the myth is not included in this digital download, but I provide multiple links to the story online.

Common Core Standards: This resource aligns well with the reading literature standard: “Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux-Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).”

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

• 1 Teacher’s Three-day Lesson Calendar
  • With a teacher-tested-stamp of approval, follow my suggestions on how to teach the story of Prometheus. Start with artwork, read the text, engage in questions, and quick writing, and sharing, and cap off the lesson with a writing activity.

• 3 Art + Literature Connections (with Visual Aids)
  • Compare the text with eye-popping artwork from the New York Public Library and the Vatican Museums. Note — all images are in the public domain.

• 1 Key Characters and Places Worksheet
  • Orient your learners by identifying the story’s key characters and geographical location.

• 10 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Either use these questions as a quiz for after reading, independent work, or in a discussion or small group setting.

• 5 Critical Thinking Questions
  • Use these questions for whole-class discussion, but I also like to spice things up and get my students moving by having a carousel-style discussion.

• 4 Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards (with student sample)
  • Frayer models are a way to get kids to think about vocabulary visually in a four-section square —- A square for meaning, one for examples, another for non-examples, and a sketch. It is impressive to see the work they produce. A great way to decorate your classroom to showcase your kids’ vocabulary-in-text understanding. The cards contain terms, geography, and challenging words (as well as contextual entries fit the story).

• Half-Sheet 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
  • Exit tickets are a way to get data about your students’ understanding of the lesson right before the class is finished. Collect these exit tickets and quickly see what ideas your students picked up about the myth of Prometheus.

• 1 Essay Writing Activity (with visual starter and prompt)
  • Cap off this three-day lesson with a prediction-based writing activity.

• 1 Further Reading List
  • Don’t disregard this further reading list if you think it is merely a bibliography. Share the list with your students or have them do projects based on the available research. Assign different sources to students and organize presentations where learning can go deeper into this popular myth of origin.

• Answer Keys for all student-facing documents
  • Teachers always ask for answer keys for my products, so I gave you plenty of guidance on what to expect from students in their written and oral responses.
• Bonus: Informational Text on Archaeology — Explore the origins of a 1,800-year-old medallion from antiquity.

I created this resource with middle and high students in mind. It is designed for an English Language Arts Mythology unit — 

• For any myth-related unit!
• On characteristics of myths of origins and creation myths.
• Use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or, pair it with a larger unit on Myth, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robert Graves’s Greek Myths, or Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, or Parallel Myths.