Subject: Grade 4-6 Language Arts
Description of Task: How to write a myth.
Introduction: Ask students what is a myth?
How do you know it is a myth?
What are the characteristics of a myth?
Myth: A story that is passed from one generation to the next, that tries to explain something unexplainable in our world. Often it provides a moral or lesson.
Guided Practice: Read a short mythical story to the class. Ask the students if the story is true or false or somewhere in between. Is the story a myth or did it occur in the past? Have students do a think, pair, and share the information with the class.
On the chalkboard or on chart paper write the characteristics of a myth.
Teacher will ask students who is the Easter Bunny. Often there are a variety of stories to explain the origin of Santa Claus but the origin of the Easter Bunny is unknown to many. The teacher will have the class brainstorm about the origin of the Easter Bunny and write down the different answers on chart paper. Students should be asking themselves how the Easter Bunny came about, what are their beliefs. The teacher may prompt them with questions such as what are the characteristics of a bunny.
The class will write a short story on the origin of the Easter Bunny based on the information on the chart paper. Students must decide how the Easter Bunny originated and why. Why did people begin to tell the story of the Easter Bunny, what is its purpose?
Independent Practice: Students will write their own story about the origin of the Easter Bunny. The story will explain how the Easter Bunny became a part of our traditions and how it is or is not linked with Christianity. Students must make the story believable and have a reason for the introduction of the Easter Bunny.
Students will write their myth on a piece of paper and decorate around the outside edge of the paper. The teacher will combine all the myths in a booklet to share with other classes.
A few students will design the front and back cover of the book.
Closure: Students will present their myth to the class. A myth was passed down from one generation to the next by mouth and it is important for students to share their myth as it was done in the past. The delivery of the myth will also add to the believability of the story.
Debbie DeSpirt - Debbie DeSpirt is an Elementary Teacher for the York Catholic District School Board in Ontario, Canada. Her post secondary education ...
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