Lesson Plan

Ancient Myths Retold

Main Subject Area: Language Arts

Additional Subjects: Social Studies

Duration of Lesson:  90 minutes

Keywords:

• Coin History
• Coins
• Greece
• Greek Coins
• Informational Texts
• Mythology
• Roman Coins
• Rome
• U.S. Coins
• Writing
• Writing Across the Curriculum

Brief Description:

Students will be introduced to mythology and will create modern versions of ancient myths based on figures represented on modern U.S. coins.

National Standard(s):

• Demonstrate competence in the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
• Use grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions

Additional Subject Area Standard(s):

• People, Places, and Environment
• Time, Continuity, and Change

Objectives:

Students will be introduced to mythology and gain an understanding of this literary form.

Students will create a modern version of an ancient myth based on figures represented on modern U.S. coins.

Materials (online):

Access to a computer that has connection to the Internet.

Legends on Roman Coins - http://www.math.montana.edu/~umsfwest/numis/legends.html

Materials (offline):

Pencils

Paper

Possible Books to use:

D’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar, Book of Greek Myths, Garden City: Doubleday and Company Inc. 1962.

Grant, Michael. Roman History From Coins. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1995.

Hamilton Edith, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Mentor, 1942.

Harper, David C., editor. North American Coins and Prices 9th edition. New York: Krause Publications, 2001.

Klawans, Zander. Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins. Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing, Co., 1995.

Official 2001 Blackbook Price Guide to United States Coins. Random House, Inc., 2000.

Schwarz, Ted. Coins as Living History. New York: Arco Publishing Inc., 1976.

Sutherland, Carol H.V. Art In Coinage. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc., 1956.

Yeoman, R.S. A Guidebook of United States Coins, 53rd edition, 2001. Racine, Wisconsin, 2000.

Coins Used in Lesson:

All current U.S. circulating coins

Grade Level(s):   3-5     6-8  

Procedures (online):

Use the Internet to research information about Greek and Roman Myths.

Procedures (offline):

1. Students need to become familiar with ancient Greek or Roman myths. If students have already studied myths, then you can review several stories with them, and brainstorm a list of myths they are familiar with. If mythology is new to them, it is best to focus on just 2 or 3 stories so they can understand the main elements in ancient myths. Help students to recognize symbols and people in myths and what these symbols and people represent.

2. Have students brainstorm a list of symbols and people on modern U.S. coins. You could do this first in groups and give each group a set of circulating coins. There are many symbols on coins and if students get a chance to look at the coins they will find many more than they realized. The new state quarters have many new symbols and figures.

3. Direct your students to research a bit about the symbols on their coins, so they can find correlations between ancient symbols and ones used today.

4. Have each student pick an ancient myth to retell using symbols and figures on modern coins. If mythology is new then the class can retell the same myth but use different symbols and figures. Thomas Jefferson could become Hercules or Lady Liberty could become Athena.

5. Have the students write their retelling of the myth and have them underline or highlight the modern symbol or person used in their story. They can illustrate their myth with drawings of the symbols and people they used.

Assessment / Evaluation:

Teachers can assess the student’s writing based on literary elements in myths and mechanical conventions.

Differentiated Learning Options:

Students could create a coin with one side being the symbols and characters from the ancient myth and the other side being the symbols and characters of their retelling of the myth.