Myth Madness

This activity explores reading comprehension and characterization by analyzing the sort of “stereotypes” that come along with the Ancient Greek pantheon. In this activity, students are instructed to read a passage about a Greek god (in our particular case, the D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths was a perfect supplemental material). Then, they break down the character, starting with their symbols and relative themes, then stating a thesis and explaining why they believe their god acts the way they do.

This activity is fairly short, but optionally pairs wonderfully with the Myth Makers activity, where students are asked to write their own myth based on the tropes, symbols, and characterizations they identified previously.