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ES Literacy Reading Grade 4: Mythology

Purpose: Why This Unit?

Myths are one of the oldest and most powerful genres. For the next 3 weeks, you and your scholars get to explore myths and get a window into one of the most important forms of socialization for ancient cultures around the world.

In this unit, your job is to instill in your scholars a love of myths and to help them become expert interpreters of the big ideas and great tactics found in these origin stories.

The development of the capacity to read new genres and interpret stories should be applied at home and at school. It is imperative that ALL your scholars are reading at home and at school. Meet with the parents of scholars who are not reading at home. If you cannot convince parents to ensure that their children are doing their homework, you need to manage up to leadership.

It is your responsibility to ensure that ALL of your scholars are reading 6 days a week at home!

Lessons

Spend two days on each lesson to give scholars practice.

Lesson 1: Great readers recognize the common characteristics of myths.

Lesson 2: Great readers pay attention to what characters say, do, and think over time to develop ideas about characters.

Lesson 3: Great readers identify how the negative and positive attributes of characters lead to consequences or rewards.

Lesson 4: Great readers retell myths by explaining the key events and how they lead up to the outcome of the story.

Lesson 5: Great readers explain what they’ve learned about life from the characters by using key details to prove their thinking.

Lesson 1

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers recognize the common characteristics of myths.

Success is when scholars have mastered the idea that myths are often either cautionary tales, or origin stories (how something in the world came to be).

Lesson 1

Engage — 1 minute

Today we’re going to begin our exploration of myths. Just like folktales and fables, myths are stories that have been passed down for many, many years. It is our job as readers to find out what kinds of stories keep occurring throughout myths.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

  • Read “The Golden Touch: The Story of Bacchus and King Midas,” on pages 9-11 of Mary Pope Osborne’s Favorite Greek Myths. Think aloud about how the myth serves as a cautionary tale by teaching us not to be greedy.
  • Read “Demeter and Persephone: A Tale of Four Seasons,” on pages 42-43 of Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Monsters.
  • Scholars turn and talk about the outcome of the myth. Listen in to understand how well scholars can recognize myths’ roles as cautionary tales or explanations of how something came to be.
  • Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes

  • Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
  • Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
  • Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
  • Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
  • Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
  • Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
  • Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

  • When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
  • In partnerships, scholars share whether the myth they read is a cautionary tale or origin myth and how they know.
  • Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

  • Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
  • Choose a scholar to share the common characteristics of myths she found in her book, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 2

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers pay attention to what characters say, do, and think over time to develop ideas about characters.

Success is when scholars understand the traits and motivations of mythical characters like the hero, villain, and wise one.

Lesson 2

Engage — 1 minute

Today we will further explore the common characteristics of myths by focusing on the characters that appear in these stories! As readers, we must understand the traits and motivations of these characters to help us better understand the genre.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

  • Read “Perseus and Medusa,” on pages 110–111 of Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Monsters. Think aloud about how the hero is overcoming challenges to accomplish his goals or gain wisdom.
  • Scholars turn and talk about what other characters appear in the story and their characteristics. Listen in to understand how well scholars can identify characters and their traits.
  • Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes

  • Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
  • Make sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
  • Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
  • Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
  • Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
  • Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

  • When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
  • In partnerships, scholars describe the traits and motivations of the characters in the book.
  • Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

  • Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
  • Choose a scholar to describe the hero, villain, or wise one in the myth, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 3

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers identify how the negative and positive attributes of characters lead to consequences or rewards.

Success is when scholars understand that specific characters’ attributes affect what will happen to them in the mythical story.

Lesson 3

Engage — 1 minute

We know that the hero, villain, and wise one all have specific characteristics that help us identify who they are. Today, we’ll explore how these characteristics lead to positive or negative outcomes.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

  • Read paragraphs 1–2 of “Echo and Narcissus,” on page 92 of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Think aloud about Echo’s punishment for gossiping.
  • Read paragraphs 3–9 of “Echo and Narcissus.”
  • Scholars turn and talk about how Narcissus’ attributes led to a specific outcome. Listen in to understand how well scholars can recognize the connection between positive attributes leading to rewards and negative attributes leading to unpleasant consequences.
  • Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes

  • Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
  • Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
  • Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
  • Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
  • Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
  • Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
  • Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

  • When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
  • In partnerships, each scholar shares an example of a positive or negative attribute leading to a specific outcome.
  • Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

  • Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
  • Choose a scholar to share a connection between a positive attribute and reward, or negative attribute and subsequent consequence, as demonstrated by one of the characters in her book. Have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 4

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers retell myths by explaining the key events and how they lead up to the outcome of the story.

Success is when scholars are able to retell a myth by identifying key events and articulating how these events lead to the outcome.

Lesson 4

Engage — 1 minute

Myths are traditionally told by word-of-mouth, which is how they’ve been passed down over so many years. As we learn more about this genre, we too can retell a myth by identifying the key characters and events in the story and explaining how they lead to an outcome.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

  • Read “Arachne and the Weaving Contest,” on pages 36–37 of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths.
  • Scholars turn and talk about the key events and how they drive toward the outcome of the myth. Listen in to understand how well scholars can identify the effects of specific events on the outcome.
  • Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes

  • Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
  • Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
  • Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
  • Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
  • Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
  • Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
  • Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

  • When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
  • In partnerships, scholars share the key events that occur throughout the myth and how they lead to the outcome of the story.
  • Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

  • Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
  • Choose a scholar to share the key events that occur in her myth and explain how those events lead to the outcome. Have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 5

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers explain what they’ve learned about life from the characters by using key details to prove their thinking.

Success is when scholars can use evidence from the myth to articulate a lesson they’ve learned from it.

Lesson 5

Engage — 1 minute

As we’ve seen, characters in myths can teach us many things about life. As readers, we must always explain the things we learn by using key details from the story that help us understand these lessons.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

  • Read “Pandora’s Box: How Evil Came Into the World,” on pages 34–35 of Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Monsters.
  • Scholars turn and talk about what they’ve learned about life from the myth, citing the key details that support their thinking. Listen in to understand how well scholars can support their thinking with details from the story.
  • Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes

  • Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
  • Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
  • Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
  • Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
  • Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
  • Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
  • Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

  • When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
  • In partnerships, scholars share how they’ve used evidence from their myths to understand life lessons.
  • Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

  • Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
  • Choose a scholar to share something she has learned about life from her myth and have her identify the key details that support her thinking. Have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Targeted Teaching Week

Use the next 5 days to work with scholars and increase their capacity to read.

The most important thing you can do is give kids independent reading time. The best way to improve reading is by having kids read.

Listen to scholars as they read independently. Talk with scholars one-on-one about their reading and coach them through the key obstacles to being great readers.

Depending on their needs, work with scholars whole group, in small groups, or one-on-one to support them with the:

  • Tactics of Great Readers
  • Unit goals

You Did It!

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of The World of Mythology! As a result of teaching this unit, you, as the teacher, have:

  • Shown scholars that myths are engaging stories that teach powerful life lessons.
  • Oriented your scholars to the common features of myths to enhance their understanding of the stories they read.

Your scholars can:

  • Identify common characteristics of myths and understand the purpose of the stories.
  • Identify key characters of myths such as the hero, villain, and the wise one.
  • Understand how character traits can cause either positive or negative outcomes for that character.
  • Retell myths and articulate lessons learned by using key events from the story to back up their thinking.

Celebrate your scholars’ successes by acknowledging what they can now do as readers as a result of their work over the last several weeks. For example, scholars now understand the key features of this new genre and are able to use these features to deepen their understanding of the myths they read!

Reflect on your successes and stretches, as well as those of your scholars. Look at your F&P results. Have your scholars grown as readers over the last month?

Scholars must read at home, as well as in school. Are 100% of your kids reading 6 days a week at home? Make sure at-home reading is happening, and meet with families who are falling short to recommit them to this team effort.

Are 100% of your kids reading fluently? Are they using all of the tools at their disposal to figure out the meaning of what they are reading?

Are 100% of your kids doing their literacy homework?

Going into the next unit, make specific reading goals for yourself. Set a percentage goal for how many children you will move in the next 15 days. Set a goal for children who are not reading at home. Who will you get to consistently read at home? Do they understand what they’re reading? What is their struggle with decoding? How will you partner with parents to support their growth?

If you are having trouble meeting your goals, do not wait until you have NOT succeeded. Consult your colleagues. Consult your leaders. ASK FOR HELP so you can meet your goals!

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