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10.8.23
Tracking & Analyzing Myth Variations: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Graphic Organizers and Visual Aids in the Classroom

3.8.23
Engaging ELA Lessons: Exploring the Greek Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with Middle and High School Students
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Stones of Erasmus offers an Educational Download designed to teach the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice |
In the realm of English Language Arts (ELA), the ancient, tragic tale of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice offers a rich tapestry of themes and lessons for middle and high school students. Stones of Erasmus has created a comprehensive educational resource that provides an engaging, interactive, and distance-learning optimized approach to this timeless tale.
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Orpheus enters the underworld. Image Credit: NYPL Digital Collections |
The story of Orpheus, the divine musician who loses his wife Eurydice twice, is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the creative power of music and art. Our resource brings this myth to life in the classroom, whether virtual or physical, through a variety of activities and discussion prompts.
Over a three-day lesson plan, students will delve into the myth, analyze its characters and themes, and engage in critical thinking. The resource includes:
1. Art + Literature Connections: Students compare the myth with artwork by renowned artists like Auguste Rodin, fostering a deeper understanding of the story.
2. Reading Cards: This lesson is most effective when supplemented with diverse texts from Edith Hamilton's Mythology, Bulfinch's Mythology, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. However, the resource also includes an introductory dictionary entry on classic Greek and Roman mythology for a comprehensive start.
3. Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking Questions: These questions encourage students to delve deeper into the text, promoting comprehension and critical thinking.
4. Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards: This visual approach to vocabulary helps students understand terms, geography, and challenging words in the context of the story.
5. Exit Tickets: These provide immediate feedback on students' understanding of the lesson, helping teachers adjust future instruction as needed.
6. Essay Writing Activity: This activity caps off the lesson, allowing students to express their understanding of the myth in a creative way.
Our resource aligns well with the Common Core Standards, particularly the reading literature standard that encourages the analysis of a subject or key scene in two different artistic mediums.
Whether used as a stand-alone lesson or paired with a larger unit on Myth, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robert Graves’s Greek Myths, or Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, or Parallel Myths by J.F. Bierlein, this resource offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
For more resources like this, visit the Stones of Erasmus TpT store, and join us on our journey to make ELA education more engaging and interactive.

13.7.23
Unlocking Student Accountability in Group Discussions: The Power of Self-Evaluation in the English Language Arts Classroom
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Empower your ELA class! Foster accountability & reflection with Stones of Erasmus' Self-Evaluation Form. |
Imagine if your classroom could emulate this! With Stones of Erasmus' Self-Evaluation Form for Group Work, it can! This resource offers a teacher guide, a self-evaluation form, a Google Form for group work self-evaluation, and a bonus link to a FREE student note-taking template.
Exclusively from Stones of Erasmus |

30.6.23
Discovering the Divine Huntress: A Journey into the Realm of Artemis, Or, Diana
In the bustling city of Ephesus, amid the bustling marketplaces and thriving harbors, stood the magnificent Temple of Artemis. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this sacred edifice was a testament to the divine Artemis (or Diana), the revered Olympian goddess of the moon and the hunt. A deity of nature and wildlife, her influence, much like her arrows, stretched far and wide. Today, let us rekindle the flickering flames of ancient fires and bring to life the enigmatic goddess and her magnificent temple.
As an educator who designs digital downloads, I've found that the allure of Artemis provides a rich, captivating context for teaching and learning. With this in mind, I've created an engaging, resource-packed digital download that uncovers the mysteries surrounding Artemis and her legendary temple.
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Take a Sneak Peak at the Artemis (Or, Diana) Educational Digital Download |
The Quintessence of Artemis
With this comprehensive resource, navigate the mythic landscape of Artemis, or, as the Romans called her, Diana, tracing her origins from a probable river or vegetation goddess to the celestial twin of Apollo. The fascinating intricacies of her cultic status offer fertile ground for intriguing discussions and insights.
An Array of Learning Tools
The resource comes with a plethora of pedagogical tools designed to foster a deep understanding of Artemis and her world. It includes a three-day lesson calendar complete with teacher’s notes, an anchor chart of key characters and places, and student-friendly reading cards exploring Artemis at Ephesus and her representations in literature and art.
The 18-count question bank ensures comprehensive topic coverage and encourages critical thinking. A custom note-taking template fosters active engagement, while the Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards help students visually explore and grasp complex terms and ideas.
Evaluating Understanding and Deepening Knowledge
Exit tickets, collected at the end of each lesson, provide immediate feedback on students’ understanding. As a summative assessment, a writing activity encourages students to delve deeper into the characteristics and symbolism of Artemis, particularly focusing on her as a representation of female power, nature, and fertility.
The included further reading list isn't just a bibliography—it's a portal for deeper exploration and individual or group projects. By assigning different sources to students, you can create an engaging space where learning expands beyond the confines of the classroom.
Fitting Mythology into the Middle and High School English Language Arts Curriculum
Designed with high school students in mind, this Artemis resource fits seamlessly into an English Language Arts Mythology unit. It provides an opportunity to discuss female goddesses, the role of women in society, and fertility symbolism in art and literature.
The resource stands strong as an independent lesson but can also be paired with a broader unit on early Greek myths, primordial stories, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robert Graves's Greek Myths, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, or Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.
So, take your students on a mesmerizing journey into the realm of Artemis—a world where gods, goddesses, and the intricacies of the ancient Mediterranean world come to life. Explore more mythology-related resources at Stones of Erasmus, © 2023 stonesoferasmus.com.

16.12.21
Stones of Erasmus Teacher's Planner: Teach the Mythology of the Titan Gods and Goddesses with Middle and High School Students (Or, How to Make Mythology Relevant for Adolescent English Language Arts Students)
In this post, I briefly outline why it is both a challenge and a reward to teach mythology as a unit in a middle and high school classroom!
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Last year my students sat at desks with plexiglass screens, but we were still able to engage in meaningful conversations (including the meaning of myth). #thumbsup |
Mythology is a powerful topic to introduce to adolescent learners in a Language Arts or Humanities classroom. But, there's a catch. You don't want to present mythology as "kids' stuff" — and you definitely want to have a conversation about how students were first introduced to mythology — via Disney's Hercules or from a children's book, or a trip to the library, or not at all! The aura of myth is everywhere. And myths originate from all the world's societies — from the moment the first human could speak, myths have been told.
State and reiterate to students that mythology is a wide-reaching topic, and in every culture and civilization, there is a mythology — the stuff of narrative that sticks, that is universal, and tells a human story. Greek mythology is a standard go-to when teaching myth. It's standard fodder in schools today — especially because of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and Edith Hamilton's Mythology. But don't just stick with the Greeks — provide a variety of mythic stories and see how they are parallel, and share common patterns.
Finding Patterns in Myth and Identifying Tropes
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Believe it or not — characters like Spider-man, from Marvel comics and movies — are just modern-day iterations of myth. What god would Spider-man be? Anansi? Arachne? Perhaps! |
In a middle or high school setting, it's important to contextualize myth and to make it relevant for today's learners. How do you do that successfully? The best way to do it is to show how patterns in myth crop up in our everyday world. Perhaps your students are not worried about finding a nymph on the sidewalk, or striding a bull that turns into a God — but, mythology is all around us. I love to use the website TV Tropes — it organizes common tropes found in literature, movies, television, and video games to show how popular allusions form and where they can be found! One good place to start is to show students how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is just another version of mythology, re-packaged for the new media set.
The difficulty with teaching myth to students is just simply the gulf of content that is out there. It can be overwhelming. But less is more. The goal of teaching mythology is to have students make connections. Also, older students can learn about the discrepancies found in myths, and chart out and graph those inconsistencies — such as why the stories from ancient sources change, are adapted, and evolve over time. There is no universal text when it comes to these stories — and prepare to leverage this reality to your advantage. Create group work that has students investigate the differences and similarities found in myth. And make sure to record and document what you find.
Teach a Three-Day Lesson on the Titan Gods and Goddesses
Where to start on a myth unit for middle and high school students? You can start with a lesson on creation myths, but don't forget the Titans. The Titans are the "old gods," and their stories are filled with violence, wonder, intrigue, rebellion, and the rise of the new gods, the Olympians. Learn with your students as you traverse stories that include a father castrated by his son; a wise, compassionate one who attempts to save humankind, and how a jar (or, is it a box?) unleashes mayhem onto the world!
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Use a three-day lesson plan digital download from Stones of Erasmus. Adolescents will love the messiness and insanity of the old gods, the Titans. |
Engage Secondary English Language Arts students with the story of the Titans, the second-generation gods, and goddesses of Greek Mythology. Learn each Titan's backstory, where they came from, and their relationship to the Giants, and the Olympians. There is a clash of the Titans, that's for sure. Hesiod called it the Titanomachy. Use this fully packed three-day lesson plan, designed especially for students aged 13-17 years old.
- This resource is optimized for distance learning. The product includes a durable Google Apps link. Access and modify this resource for student use on Google Classroom and other classroom management sites.
Use this Digital Download for a Three-day English Language Arts Lesson
Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, your kids will want to discuss good and bad parenting skills, cursed families, sins of the fathers, the role of women in myth, power, and the clash of the Titans! So I have loaded this resource with TEN reading cards and a set of THIRTY questions that will get your students talking, writing, and wondering!
Common Core Standards: This resource aligns well with the reading literature standard: "Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux-Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus)."
This Resource Includes the Following Features:
- 1 Teacher's Three-day Lesson Calendar
- With a teacher-tested-stamp of approval, follow my suggestions on how to teach the origin story of the Titans with high school students. Start with background knowledge, places, and geography, engage students in group reading with custom-made reading cards, and quiz your class with trivia-style questions. Cap the lesson off with a creative writing activity.
- 10 Art + Literature Reading Cards
- Included in this resource are ten reading cards that cover the lives, misdeeds, and fates of all the Titans and Titanesses:
- Kronos (Saturn), Rhea, Crius, Coeus (Koios), Ocean (Oceanus), Tethys, Hyperion, Leto, Mnemosyne, Themis, Hecate, Phoebe, Iapetus, Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, the Giants, the Curedes, and the Dactyls!
- Included in this resource are ten reading cards that cover the lives, misdeeds, and fates of all the Titans and Titanesses:
- 1 Key Characters and Places Worksheet
- Orient your learners by identifying the key characters and the geographical location of the story.
- A Bank of 30 Trivia-style Questions about the Titans
- After your students engage in the reading cards, test their knowledge with a custom-made question set.
- 10 Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards (with student sample)
- Frayer models are a way to get kids to think about vocabulary visually in a four-section square —- A square for meaning, one for examples, another for non-examples, and a sketch. It is amazing to see the work they produce. A great way to decorate your classroom to showcase your kids' vocabulary-in-text understanding. The cards contain terms, Greek and Latin roots, and challenging words (as well as contextual entries fit to the story).
- Half-Sheet 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
- Exit tickets are a way to get data about your students' understanding of the lesson right before the class is finished. Collect these exit tickets and quickly see what ideas your students took away from reading and discussing the myth.
- 1 Essay Writing Activity (with two visual starters and prompts)
- Cap off this three-day lesson with a creative essay prompt to get students to make text-to-world connections.
- 1 Further Reading List
- Don't disregard this further reading list if you think it is merely a bibliography. Share the list with your students or have them do projects based on the research that is available. Assign different sources to students and organize presentations where learning can go deeper into the stories of the Titans.
- Answer Keys for all student-facing documents
- Teachers always ask for answer keys for my products so I made sure I gave you plenty of guidance on what to expect from students in their written and oral responses.
- Bonus: 3-Box Notetaking Template — Embed accountability into the lesson by having students annotate the text cards with notes, questions, and a summary of what they've read and comprehended.
I created this resource with secondary students in mind. It is designed for an English Language Arts Mythology unit —
- For any myth-related unit!
- On the Clash of the Titans!
- Use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or, pair it with a larger unit on Myth, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, The Theogony of Hesiod, Robert Graves's Greek Myths, or Edith Hamilton's Mythology, or Parallel Myths by J.F. Bierlein.
For resources similar to this one see my:
- Pairs perfectly with a stand-alone lesson on Kronos and Rhea, and Prometheus and Pandora! (They're basically the sequel stories to this myth)
- Greek Cautionary Tales, Apollo and Daphne, and Orpheus and Eurydice
- and my popular Plato's Cave lesson!
You can purchase this three-day lesson on Teachers Pay Teachers, Amazon Ignite, Made By Teachers, and The Wheel Education!

10.7.21
Teacher's Summer Diary #2398: On the Tedium of Making Educational Digital Content (And Why a Walk, a Stretch, and a Sip of Water is Essential)
In this post, I talk about making educational resources for the middle and high school classroom and why distraction is my friendly passenger (although they don't always feel so friendly).
As per my last email (don't you hate it when you receive a message that begins that way) — or, shall I say, post — I've learned some new tips. First — there is beauty in
A message spray-painted on a side of a train car. |
small details. But my iPhone finds it challenging to capture the subtle beauty, so you'll have to contend with the bigger picture.I read a quote today that I like — about achievement — "Before the gates of excellence, the high gods have placed sweat.”
I'm attempting to complete a monumental task this week, and I feel overwhelmed. I want to expand the teaching resources I created under my @stonesoferasmus brand — I have to go and proofread my inventory of 137 digital downloads I've created. I like the “making part” of the process — using design skills and creating incredible resources that middle and high school students can use. It's just very time-consuming. So to inspire me, I take long walks — hence the photos you see — and eat healthy — and stretch. Also — I got a bigger monitor for my computer. OMG. Having a large screen to work on makes a huge difference when creating digital stuff. OMG.
My goal is to have 200 products reviewed and created by the end of Summer. And on top of that, I'm taking a class on Special Education and Differentiation at Hunter College. The course is good — it solidifies some things I already knew about teaching and has already given me good ideas to move forward. Next year I'm teaching a section of Eighth Grade English, a World Religions class, a New York City history class — paired with Tenth and Eleventh graders in a combined section. Whew. I better get to planning. But. Oh. I see a bird in a tree. Ohh. Let me check this out. *Loses thirty minutes*. By the way, @kfs0520, is the last picture in this post an excellent example of Nantucket Red? Inquiring minds want to know.

