Lesson Plan Number One
The following names and words would be learned by the students so as to acquaint them with the names connected with the stories as well as the unusual terms which have come from the myths. This list can be expanded as necessary, adding words and names that the students find troublesome. They will not become spelling words, per se, but rather words with which the students become familiar. The students will use the names on the mural they will create as well as for the signs describing the pottery we will create.
Glossary and pronunciation guide
Alcmene [Alk-ME-ne]
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Amazons - a tribe of fierce women warriors who worshipped Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt. She was the twin sister of Apollo
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and decided to never marry.
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Aphrodite [Af-ro-DI-tee]
EAugeas [O-gee-as]
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Cerberus, the three-headed hound which guarded the gates to the underworld
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Cerynean [Sair-EE-nee-an]
Charon
Erymanthian [Er-i-MAN-thi-an]
Eurystheus [You-RISS-theus]
Eurytion [u-RIT-i-on]
Geryon [GER-i-on]
Hades
Hephaistos [heh-FAIS-tos]
Hera
Heracles
Hermes
Hesperides [hes-PER-i-des]
Hippolyte [hi-POL-i-ta]
krotola
labyrinth
mare
Orthrus [OR-thrus], brother of Cerberus
Pasiphae [pa-SI-fa-e]
Persephone
Philoctetes [fill-LOC-tee-teez]
Poseidon [po-SI-don]
Stymphalian [stim-FAIL-ee-an]
Styx
Zeus
Lesson Plan Number Two
A Mural of the Travels of Hercules
The students will create a wall-sized map of Europe and Asia Minor. In the appropriate locations, they will add depictions of the twelve labors of Hercules. This mural will be shared with other students in the school either in small group discussions or as a whole school presentation. In addition, each student will create his own scrapbook with drawings and descriptions of each of the events in the life of Hercules.
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Lesson Plan Number Three
Pottery from Ancient Greece
Students will study examples of ancient Greek pottery in museums, in books and on the internet to see how these stories have been kept alive throughout the ages. They will bring in discarded bottles, plates and containers which will be used as the base for creating the depictions of the stories of Hercules. When possible, we will make the dishes, urns and pitchers from clay with the assistance of the art teacher. They will use them as examples of the art of storytelling as it has existed through the ages.
Lesson Plan Number Four
Reviewing Disneys Hercules
The class will view the animated Disney version of the story once again. We will follow this viewing with a critical discussion of the merits of the film. We will look at both the positive and negative aspects of the cartoon. As part of this discussion, we will look at the criteria which make good movies and stories and try to get the children to apply them to their daily television viewing habits.
