Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Understanding Myths

Name: Ryan Darrow

Content Area: English Language Arts

Grade Level: 9

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

RL 9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL 9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped
and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL 9-10.6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of
world literature.
W 9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W 9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's
capacity to link information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W 9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames(time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single day or a day or two) for a
range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Big Ideas:
Recognizing Patterns in Myth.
Understanding how the creation and uses of myth allows us to make sense of our world.

Unit Goals and Objectives:

Objective: Identify and categorize patterns in myths by citing evidence.
Recognize and understand the criteria of a myth.
Analyze how myths include similar patterns.

Unit Summary:
This unit introduces students to the ideas and concepts of myths and exposes them to mythology from around the world, focusing closely on the
patterns that all myths share. Students will research world myths and by comparing and contrasting begin to recognize the patterns of myth. By learning to
recognize these patterns, students will make connections between age-old stories and the world they live in to reveal universal truths.
Students will apply new learning by completing a project in which they create their own myth using the concepts and patterns theyve discovered throughout the
lesson.
Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level:
Introductory Quickwrite and Video Discussion Students will perform quickwrite to access their preknowledge of the subject and assess student
understanding of myth. Students will view a video
detailing one world creation myth followed by a brief
discussion on the origin/use of myths.

Formative:
Along with the teacher lecture, students will complete
the Guided Notes handout which includes questions on
various world myths, compare/contrast questions on
these myths, and general definitions and patterns of
myth. The notes will not be graded but there will be an
in-class review of the notes and an online quiz game
will be issued following the next two steps of the
webquest.

Summative:
The final project includes the completed submission of
their Heros Journey Myth. Students must display their
understanding of figurative language and imagery as
well as confident use of technology. For further
assessment guidelines see the rubric which is posted
below.

Lesson 1
Student Learning Objective:

Acceptable Evidence:

Students will recognize

archetypal myth similarities
throughout various
civilizations and cultures.

Answering document based

questions.

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
Students perform an introductory quickwrite to access prior knowledge on
myths.
Students watch a video on an African myth followed by brief discussion on why
they think the story was made.
Students watch the first 5 minutes and 20 seconds of the myth overview video
and then provide four definitions of myth from the video and four examples of
myth in literature or popular culture 2 from classic literature/culture and 2
from the 20th or 21st century.
Students then define archetypes.
Students visit PBS website to retrieve information on archetypal myths. Students
then explain why archetypal myths exist and name three archetypal myths.
In small groups students visit interactive website and choose two different
regions myths, create a brief summary of creation myth and compare
similarities/differences. Students take notes during the video on the regions
creation myth.

Students further explore one regions myth and provide brief summary of this
regions history (time period), religion/religious practices, and their
politics/economy.

Lesson 2
Student Learning Objective:

Acceptable Evidence:

Students will identify the

elements of the heros
journey, distinguish the
patterns of the heros journey
and provide examples of
these patterns from
contemporary media, and will
illustrate these elements and
patterns by creating their
own mythical character and
journey outline.
Lesson 3

Answering document based

questions. Printed copy of
myth outline.

Student Learning Objective:

Acceptable Evidence:

I will demonstrate my
understanding of the heros
journey and the patters in
myth by composing a hero
character and a heros
journey that includes an
explanation of some event(s)
in our world.
Unit Resources:

Create finished web

document.

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
Students engage in a quiz game on concepts and definitions reviewed over the
previous lesson.
Students watch heros journey video then provide the 12 elements on the heros
journey clock. Students then provide examples of another character/story from a
piece of literature or film (one not mentioned in the video) that follows these
same patterns. Students provide examples of these patterns.
Students use the heros journey interactive tool to begin outlining their own
myth. Students print out myth outline when finished to bring to class the
following day for a myth writing workshop.

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
Students visit website and use one of the 20 myth writing prompts to include in
their story.
Students use Popplet to continue creating their myth. Students take the outline
they started from the heros journey interactive tool and re-create and expand it
using Popplet, adding their choice from the myth writing prompt. Students create
12 popples and write 3-4 sentences in each popple including a picture or
illustration in at least 6 popples and a citation for each illustration or picture.

African Myth video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWU2oyqCg5o

Myth Overview Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9v8GjMOX4Q
PBS Article: http://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths_archetypes.html
Interactive World Myths Site: http://bigmyth.com/fullversion/password033/2_eng_myths.html
Heros Journey Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA
Interactive Myth Writing Tool: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/hero-journey-30069.html

Myth Writing Prompt: http://writerswrite.co.za/using-myths-for-writing-prompts

Interactive Document Creating Site: http://popplet.com/app/#/demo
Webquest Site: https://sites.google.com/a/csu.fullerton.edu/exploring-myths-and-the-hero-s-journey/
Handout PDF: https://drive.google.com/a/csu.fullerton.edu/file/d/0BwXZh-51cZvxczhldkFyalAxUWc/view?usp=sharing
Quiz Game: https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/58ea6f4a-22cb-4d4d-b105-948614a2834a
Lecture Prezi: http://prezi.com/vrfqcctqdetz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Guided Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwXZh-51cZvxTFNybmg3YTctVnc/view?usp=sharing
Myth Writing Rubric: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwXZh-51cZvxMjZmdzJzdHZjU2s/view?usp=sharing

Useful Websites:
Encyclopedia Mythica. A great source for information on Greek mythology, images, etc.: http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/europe/greek/
Windows to the Universe. This site has a world mythology map. A good source for a basic overview of world myths for comparing and contrasting:
http://www.windows2universe.org/mythology/worldmap_new.html
Myths From Around the World. This site offers brief descriptions of world myth stories: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/myths.htm