The question I get asked almost every day happens mostly on a staircase where I am walking up four flights to my classroom. My student want to know what lays ahead of them. It doesn’t seem to matter that we have schedules posted on doors, or that they know the routines of the day. The kids want to know, “What are we doing next?”.
Today I read to my class a classic Greek myth about Cupid and Psyche. My goal was to introduce them to the flow and structure of the myths and then set them off in pairs to work on creating their own original myths. From that, they will design and name a constellation. The myths will take the form of a picture book, and include a description of their new constellation in the back of the book. What will they do? What will they learn? For me, it is about them owning some Greek history and tradition, but its also about them problem solving and figuring out the layout of their book. Communicating and compromising with their literary partner, presenting their finished work to the community, considering their choices; every step in the creative process becomes an opportunity for children to make choices and learn. I am very excited by this project, as are my students. I hope it will be a success.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Stephanie // Feb 8, 2008 at 11:30 am
Hi Lori - I am curious - What are some of your student’s questions about this unit?
You are wondering, “What will they do? What will they learn?”
What are they wondering…?
2 Gen Berretta // Feb 9, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Lori…great project. Not only will they be taking along some Greek history, writing in the a particular genre, but they will also be walking along with some scientific knowledge about the constellations. Hmmm, history, literacy, and science…sounds like you’re teaching across the curriculum. Thanks for passing along some great lessons. Perhaps you’d like to visit my school to share the books. We’re a great audience. We could schedule an author visit day. Would you consider it? Let me know. Thanks.
3 Phil // Feb 11, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Hey Lori,
I like your lesson’s connection of mythology (something people create) with the natural world, i.e. the constellations, something people encounter or discover. It reminds me of when I took a class at the Hayden Planetarium a few years ago about the constellations and the stars. I learned several things I didn’t expect to, such as the fact that different cultures see the stars, planets and moon in different ways. For example, the Japanese refer to the Rabbit in the Moon, not the Man in the Moon. (When you see a full moon, you might notice the silhouette of an animal that looks like the Energizer Bunny, without the drum).
Another thing I learned about was the different qualities of stars and planets, how there is a whole scale of brightness and that some stars are primarily winter stars and others are primarily summer stars. So, I’m wondering if you have been connecting this lesson (or “integrating it,” to use a favorite ESP word) with any astronomy as well (or would that be done by a different teacher)?
And I hope you’ll share some of the students new constellations and myths, when you have them!
Thanks,
Phil
4 Lori Diamond // Feb 15, 2008 at 9:45 pm
My students are buzzing along, listening to myths and writing, editing and revising their own work. Once we come back from our vacation they should have the stories completed and then the work of creating the picture book begins. What will the layout look like? What will the binding be made of? How many words on a page? And what about those constellations? The questions the children have been asking revolve around how to build their characters in the story. They are considering keeping many of the characters as they are in literature, or changing, for example Posideon’s family tree or powers. Other questions are about chosing one ending vs. another ending for their stories.
As for the constellations and astronomy, I am currently learning how to use a telescope, which my husband recently brought home. I would love to add that knowledge into the mix. And, yes Phil, I would love to learn with my students some more about astronomy.
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