This collection presents techniques for tapping a broad range of literary sources to inspire young writers. Drawing upon poetry, folk tales, story jokes, and more, Literary Ideas walks students in grades 3-8 through the process of creating new stories and developing them as scripts for choral readings, readers theatre, and classroom plays. The…

Myths and tales from around the world about constellations and facts about stars in the constellations are presented. Most of the stories are from Greek and Roman mythology; however, a few Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian, Arabian, Jewish, and American Indian tales are also included. Following an introduction, myths are presented for the following 32…

In this book, the author reveals the creative force of children's narrative imagination and shows how this develops through childhood. He provides a new and powerful understanding of the significance of narrative for children's intellectual growth and for learning and teaching. The book explores a series of real stories written by children between…

Designed for students with little or no background in classical literature, this book introduces the Greek and Roman myths of creation, myths of the gods, Greek sagas and local legends, and presents contemporary theories about the myths. Drawing on Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, Vergil, and others, the book provides many translations and paraphrases of…

Among the many contributions made by Ancient Greeks and Romans to contemporary life, are those which influence art, architecture, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, theater, athletics, religion, and the founding of democracy. The Tampa Museum of Art's classical collection offers a unique opportunity to learn about Ancient Greeks and…

Designed for use with the text "Greek and Roman Myths," this junior high school learning activity packet introduces students to mythology and examines the influence of myths on contemporary culture. Over 20 exercises, tagged to specific readings in the text, cover identification of the major gods, the Prometheus myth, the Atlas myth,…

Written and published by the students at Gary High School, Gary, Texas, "Loblolly Magazine" is published twice a year. Issues are frequently devoted to a distant theme. The theme of this issue, "East Texas Storytellers," attempts to capture some of the local color and regional history of eastern Texas. The first article,…

"The Goldfinch" is a periodical that introduces young children to various facets of Iowa history. Each issue has a different theme topic and a number of articles covering diverse aspects of the topic being addressed. This issue focuses on myths and legends. Featured articles discuss how stories passed from generation to generation to…

This text explores an isolated and indigenous people who live in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico. Isolation has allowed the Cora Indians to maintain their traditional customs to a much greater extent than many other groups of Native Americans. The historical and geographical contexts of the Cora are presented in this curriculum resource.…

The life of a primary mythical character of the Hupa culture unfolds in this story, which was translated from a version told by an 82-year-old Hupa. The introduction summarizes the story plot explaining that the hero of the story is born under strange circumstances (dug up by a girl who ignores the warning not to dig potatoes with two leaves) and…

The booklet tells the story of Josephine, a little Choctaw girl, who picks wild flowers and hurts her Aunt's feelings. Josephine later learns from her grandmother the importance of respecting nature and how the flowers came to be. The story introduces constellations, how weaving came to the Choctaw, how the sick were prayed for, and why wild…

The story is about how Possum wanted a beautiful tail like Raccoon. Raccoon jokingly tells Possum how he got his pretty black stripes by wrapping his tail with hickory bark and singing it in hot ashes. As a result of Possum doing as Raccoon told him, oppossums today have no hair on their tails, travel at night because of embarrassment, and…

Most Americans think of the Fourth of July as Independence Day, but is it really the day the U.S. declared and celebrated independence? By exploring myths and truths surrounding Independence Day, this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed stories regarding the beginning of the Revolutionary War and the Independence Day…

Yurok Indian legends in Yurok Unifon text include English translations of the entire texts in order to produce fluent reading for English speakers and a continuous text for Yurok readers. Although corresponding sentences are numbered, translation is not word-for-word or sentence-for-sentence. The five stories refer to a time when animals could…

This 10-week middle school curriculum unit for grades 6-8, integrating concepts, materials, and content from language arts, music, and visual arts, provides a set of specific instructional plans relative to the study of myths (often a content area in middle school grades across the country). All the sample lessons and examples in the curriculum…