Tricksters

In your journal, brainstorm a list of rule-breakers in society, films, T.V. sports, or your own life. Keep an open mind--rule-breakers can be dangerous or not so dangerous. Also restrict your list to include only those who break rules for selfish reasons (in other words, leave out civil rights leaders, revolutionaries, heroes).




Let's synthesize this information. Create three separate categories that can be applied to our list. Begin selecting items on our list and assign them a category.



Let's read a trickster narrative together and discuss what  makes the character a trickster.


HW: Read your trickster folktale. In your journal:

 1.Identify the trickster character
 2. Explain whether or not this character should be taken seriously. Give at least 3 details from the text to support.
3. Compare this character to another individual, either from your brainstorm list or someone who pops into your head.

Free-Style Friday

Freewrite: What was challenging about being an author?
                 What did you enjoy?
               
                Author's advice: When developing theme, what advice can you offer other authors. In your professional opinion, what is the most important thing or things to pay attention to as a writer so that your theme is clearly communicated?

Principal, Teachers, and Kindergarteners for the day!

Yes! That's right! You will be playing several different roles today, and I won't be the one grading you!

 Your teachers for the day, AND your Principal for the day will be your judges.

-If you are a Kindergartener: Take your role seriously. Your level of cooperation and participation with your teachers will impact your grade, for better or worse.

-If you are a teacher- take the 10-15 minutes at the beginning of class to really develop and focus your lesson. Plan SPECIFIC times for when you'll ask the questions I provided you on the "Teacher for a Day" handout. The principal will be watching, so make sure it's your best lesson!

-If you are a principal- pay close attention to the teachers' questions. Are they good questions? Are they coming at natural times or do they seem forced? How appropriate is the book for a group of kindergarteners? Do they do a good job teaching the theme? You will score them using your "Principal for a Day" handout.

Children's Book: Last Day

Today is your last day to work on your children's books in class.
Begin working as soon as everyone gets into class. I'll stop you with 10 minutes to go with an announcement!





Last 10 minutes of class:

A. If not finished, does everyone know what they must complete on their own?
B. If finished, put the story in order. Does everything make sense? Is everything colored?

Writing A Children's Book

You will start team-writing your children's book today. Here's a list of tasks to keep you focused:

1. First, complete the children's book brainstorm sheet with your group
2. Decide who will be in charge of illustrations and writing the text
3. Make sure you all agree on the illustrations and the story itself
4.  Using the T.D.P strategy, discuss how you would teach your book to a group of kindergartners

Other advice:

Keep text no longer than a sentence or two for each page.

Make sure your pictures have details that help tell the story.
Do NOT come right out and tell your audience what the story's moral or theme is.

T.D.P Strategy

When thinking about a story and its meaning it's helpful to use a T.D.P strategy

Every text has a topic (a general idea or subject it explores)

The topic is explored through the use of details or events (think descriptions of setting or character, conflicts, story action)

The chain of details or events and their consequences lead up to a point  about the topic that can be applied to life or the human condition (the message, main idea, moral, theme, etc.)


Tomorrow, you will team-write a children's book with a theme or moral. (you will be given a list of topics and matching themes/morals).


HW: Finish Chilren's book theme worksheet. Bring your book and children's book to class TOMORROW.

Observation Vs. Inference

Observation: What we detect with our five senses: see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

Inference: a conclusion based on evidence (observation) and reason

Observation=fact

Inference= a guess, prediction, or idea based on the facts.


Let's play around with it:
Observe these chairs (describe what you see, what do they remind you of?)














Make an inference: what type of person might own these chairs?



Close your eyes. I want you to see the story as I read following passage about Zeus. What does he look like? Can you see the expression on his face?


Take out charts from yesterday.



When Zeus finds out the humans have fire the following takes place:

Zeus was full of rage. He seized his largest thunderbolt. "So they want fire," he said to himself. "I'll give them fire--more than they can use. I'll turn their miserable little ball of earth into cinder."

In regards to humans before fire, Prometheus says, "Look at him. Look below. He crouches in caves. He is at the mercy of beast and weather.  He eats his meat raw. . .Tell me why you refuse to give man the gift of fire."

Can you infer who the storyteller is trying to put in a more positive light? Does this mean anything for us when considering what message we take away from the story?


Many times, we cannot come to a conclusion about a character or a story's meaning until we look at the WHOLE picture.

We need to SEE the story first. Only then can we start forming our own ideas on what it means.

Need proof?


HW: Bring in a favorite children's book. We will be working with it in class tomorrow.

What's the moral

Class agenda:
Share Two- Sided Stories
Class discussion

What's the Moral?


HW: Choose a theme from "Prometheus":
                                   1.The story is about the importance of obeying all rules, no matter what.
                                   2. The story supports disobeying rules, if the rules are unfair.

On a filler paper,write a letter, as an Ancient Greek that has been told this story. You are writing to an Ancient Greek who also had been told this story, but believes in the opposite theme as you. Using details from the story, convince the other Greek that you're interpretation is more accurate. For example, if you think the theme is that disobeying rules is okay if the rules are unfair, you might start you letter like this

Dear Cornellius,

I heard that after listening to "Prometheus" you've been going around town spreading the idea that the story is about the importance of obeying all rules no matter what. I strongly disagree with you. Here is why...(support your idea using details from the story)

Working With Theme

***Theme: the lesson, moral, or message about the human condition in stories.

Human condition: simply put, what it means to be human in this world (how we interact, cope, get by each day, etc.)

Freewrite (Journal): Think of your favorite book or movie. What is the lesson or moral in that book or movie? How do you know?

Have you ever disagreed with the moral or lesson that was intended by a story? 

Activity: Two-Sided Story

Rewrite the story if it had taken place at school.

Purpose: To connect the story to your life

What's the lesson?




HW: Finish your two-sided story. You will turn this in.

Stranger in Role

After taking some notes on myth, we will read "Prometheus".

To review important information, we will use a strategy called Stranger in Role

You, the students, are actually Greeks who witnessed all the events in the story.

I will play someone who was recently out of town and realizes that humans now have fire. I am in desperate need of all the details, as I'm also a person who loooooves gossip! How did it happen? Why weren't we given fire before? Is anyone in trouble?

What makes a myth, a myth?

I've scrapped the storytelling activity. My reasons?
-not all of you are willing to share your stories
-some of you claim you don't have stories
-and it might get hard to get at the deeper meanings of some

So, let's move on: What makes a myth, a myth? We already know that they hold cultural importance, but are there similarities about the characteristics and purposes of myths that can help us identify a myth when we come across one?

You will read a short myth in class today. But there's a twist. Not everyone is reading the same myth. You will compare your notes of your myth with a group who took notes on the other myth. YOUR MISSION: To find similarities and come up with a list of characteristics and purposes that you think all myths might have have in common.

Step One: Read the myth (read it again, if your group members haven't finished yet)

Step Two: Work together to record notes on an index card (see the board)

Step Three: Make sure one group member copies notes from the card to their journal.

Step Four: You will trade cards with another group (a group who read a different myth).

Step Five: Make a list of common characteristics/purposes

Step 6: Make an inference: What do all myths have in common: uses? and characteristics?

Mythology: A Basic Overview

Myth: 

-A story of unknown authorship that people 
told  in an attempt to answer 
serious questions about how important 
things began and occurred. 
 
-Stories that explain natural occurrences 
and express beliefs of right and wrong.

Uses of Myth:

-To explain natural phenomena or an 

occurrence. 

-To explain the creation of the world. 

-To teach people moral lessons.

- To reveal values and customs

-To reveal the common hopes and fears of 

mankind (such as death)

Elements

-Myths will often contain heroes, gods and goddesses, or tricksters

-Myths often contain magic or supernatural events

-Myths usually involve nature or the adventures of heroes, gods and goddesses, or tricksters.

Storytelling

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How can stories influence the way we think and live?

Warm-up: Draw a quick collage of things, ideas, or images that come to mind when you hear the word culture. You have 5 minutes to collaborate with your group members and draw a telling picture.

Important term:
Culture: One's way of life (routines, beliefs, values, arts, traditions) usually shared by a group or community of people.

Model: Creation Myth of the Aboriginal Australian people (as told by Dr. Scott Campbell)

-A window into a culture (seeing past the words and events of the story)

What can I learn about this culture:

Beliefs?

Values?

Traditions?

Does this story influence the way YOU think?


GHOST STORY:

You are a colony of aliens who invaded earth 3000 years ago. You are especially interested in the species they call "humans."  Your alien community has recently come into contact with a story about a ghost in someone's family. Different alien mythologist groups have been assigned to study the story and figure out what it means.
Your mission is to figure out why this story might be told among other humans. The group who has the most convincing reason will go into Galactic Museum of Fun Facts about Humans! Yes!

In your groups:
1. develop a list of terms or ideas that you, as aliens, might be unfamiliar with
2. Circle the terms/ideas that matter to the meaning of the story
3. Write beliefs this culture (the human culture) might have
4. Write out what this culture (human culture) might value, based on the story.