What is the difference between myths, legends, and folktales? From greek mythology and creation myths to heroes and heroines, here is a nice series of lessons for providing your kids with solid foundational knowledge about myths.

Leave it to the experts. Scholars work in expert groups to analyze new myths. Each group is assigned to become an expert on either The Fates, The Story of Medusa and Athena, or Theseus and the Minotaur. They answer questions and...

Two is company. Scholars pair up to continue their mini essay writing from the previous instructional activity. They work on their introduction and conclusion paragraphs and then trade partners for peer feedback and a fresh set of eyes...

Scholars complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Cronus and Shrouded in Myth. Learners work in their triads to write similarities and differences on sticky notes. They then take a look at the text The Key Elements of...

It's all just an allusion. Scholars learn the meaning of allusion and read an allusion in The Lightning Thief. Learners gather in their triads and discuss questions from the text to take a close look at vocabulary words and choose...

How do the narrative and play versions of the myth "Pyramus and Thisbe" affect meaning? Scholars reread Act 5, Scene 1 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and compare its structure to "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use a...

There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...

Here's a fresh take on a mythology unit. Use the myths of the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Mesoamerica instead of the more traditional Greek and Roman stories. This abstract suggests possible approaches and resources that can be...

Refresh my memory please. Scholars quickly read over the Myth of Cronus to refresh their memories of the story. They then get in groups and write parts of the myth on sticky notes that relate to the elements of mythology, sticking their...

Expert groups discuss the theme of their myths and the life lessons people learn from it. They then regroup their triads so that there is a pupil from each expert myth group and share details about their myths. The class also talks about...

Scholars look at and describe a picture of Cronus and Rhea and discuss the process of making predictions. Learners then use the images to write a prediction about the myth of the gods on an index card before completing guided...

There's nothing like a good theme! After reviewing the story of Cronus, learners participate in a mini instructional activity about theme by pulling papers from an envelope and identifying the writing on it as either a topic or a...

Pupils explore the narrative structure of a piece of literary text, mapping out the plot structure of the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use their completed graphic organizers to write story summaries.

That was a good talk. Scholars learn about how to conduct a good discussion. They use chart paper and markers to record and discuss  expectations for members when working in a group. They then take a look at vocabulary...

It's time to make a claim. Scholars learn what it means to make a claim by first looking at a model analytical mini-essay to determine how the author relayed ideas. Pupils then work with partners to discuss how the author might have...

A theme runs through it. Scholars analyze how a common theme runs through the myths they have read and The Lightning Thief. They complete graphic organizers and view a four paragraph model essay. They analyze the essay for structure and...

It's all about the introduction. Scholars work on the introductory paragraph for their essays, connecting the theme of a myth and The Lightning Thief. They use a graphic organizer to help focus their work and then move to working on the...

Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...

Explore the folklore of Asia and the South Pacific with this language arts lesson series. Complementing a reading of Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia by Jan M. Mike, this resource supports learners with understanding cause and...

The firsthand accounts of what it was like to be an enslaved person in the mid-1800s riveted a nation and the issue ultimately led to civil war. Using excerpts from Frederick Douglass's autobiography, budding historians examine what it...

The halfway mark of a series offers final skills practice in spelling patterns, suffixes, and building sentences with conjunctions in preparation for assessments that gauge proficiency. Remediation and enrichment follow the test results...

Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.

Compare and contrast folktales, myths, and fables in an interactive eBook. The interactive is broken up into three topics: myths, fables, and folktales. Each section includes a reading passage and a guided lesson on the theme, topic, and...

Inevitably, whenever you give an assignment, at least one person won't start until the last minute. As the 13th handout in the 24-part Writing the Paper series explains, procrastination sometimes brings consequences. It breaks down...