Mythology

During this unit you are responsible for :

• World Mythology Presentation:  You will choose and study the mythology of an ancient culture.  Using the comparative mythology sheet and notes on the heroic journey, you will explain several of your culture's major mythological themes (creation stories, gods & godesses, death & afterlife, role of fate, identity, society v. individual, beauty, love, fear, heroic quests, etc).  This will be presented as a Google presentation or PowerPoint (see Mr D if you have an idea for a different presentation format). 
• Must include:
• 40 points total:
• 5 - supernatural entities
• 3 - Mythical stories
• 5 - Stages of Heroic Quest described in one other myth/legend story
• 8 - categories of myth from the comparative mythology sheet
• 4 - comparison to categories or entities of other cultures
• 5 - style/appearance
• 5 - live presentation
• 5 - review a peer's presentation
• All pages should be for presentation purposes - at least as much graphical information as textual information (eg: for gods.goddesses, a picture and caption is better than sentences/paragraphs)
• Presentations must be ready to present on Friday, November 8.  
• We will begin sharing presentations with the whole class on the same day.  I will let students sign up for presentation days in descending order of QT1 grade percentage.
• This assignment is an Assessment grade, just like Independent Projects!

• Heroic Quest Narrative:  Using the "Monomyth" notes as a template, you will write original fiction (short story, film, or graphic narrative representation) of a heroic quest.  You must incorporate research about your culture's mythology and/or the stages of the heroic quest in your tale.  This story is your chance to apply what you understand and have learned about major themes of mythology.  The setting could be culturally historic (ancient Egypt or pre-Columbian America) or modern (think The Lightning Thief, Grimm, or American Gods).  
• Make a plan before you write (outline, graphic organizer, short story elements map).  The PLAN AND STORY must include at least eight (8) elements from the Heroic Quest notes AND/OR things you learned about your culture during your research. Make sure to identify the eight elements on your plan, because they might be harder for me to find in your story.
• Stories must be at one page typed on Drive (single space, Normal Text format). Scripts or stories with a lot of dialogue paragraphing must be at least two pages typed.
• I will stop grading your story after five pages.  If you want to write a 30-page novella that's fine, but make sure you include the eight elements from your plan in the first five pages.
• Grading = 8 pts for eight elements, 8 points style, 4 points grammar/usage/mechanics. Because this is original creative fiction, the style grade is completely subjective. However, if you put a lot of thought into your ideas and spend time planning and writing, I will be generous with these points.
• You MUST complete your research and the monomyth assignment before writing your story.  Due Friday 11/15. This assignment is an Assessment grade, just like Independent Projects!

• Greek and Roman Mythology: You will be responsible for taking notes on and learning about a variety of Greek and Roman mythological figures.  This work will be done independently, in small groups, and with direct instruction from Mr. Dennis.  "Who's Who" sheet due TBD.

This information will be critical to our work on The Odyssey, which is the next unit.