Greg Tosto / Lesson Plan #5

School/Period:
Lesson Plan #5 / 6 Grade
th

Course/Number:
EDA 523-90
Lesson Topics:
Legacy of Greek Gods
Objective(s):
Identify and research various Greek gods and goddesses.
Common Core Standard:
CC.1.2L Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to
informational text with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among
ideas and between tests with focus on textual evidence.
Vocabulary:
Mount Olympus
God
Goddess
Agenda: 45 Minute Class
Anticipatory Set: (10 Minutes)
-Write down homework: No homework

-Do Now: Ask the students if they know the names of any Greek gods or
goddesses. Most students may not know any but some may know popular
gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. If students are able
to name any gods or goddesses, they teacher should write the names on
the board. (5 minutes)

-The students should then watch a two minute clip of the Disney movie
Hercules and listen closely to hear the names of some famous gods and
goddesses. When students hear the name of various gods or goddesses
they are to write the names they hear in their journals. Then the teacher
will call on a few students to say out loud the names of the gods and
goddesses that they heard. (5 minutes)

Lesson Procedures: (25 Minutes)

-Begin lesson by explaining to students that today we are going to learn
about fourteen of the most important gods and goddesses that the ancient
Greek people worshipped. But before that, the students need to learn
about why the ancient Greeks worshipped gods and goddesses and where
the myth came from. The teacher should hand out the Olympian gods
introduction worksheet and students can take turns reading aloud together
the introduction. The teacher will then break the class into groups of 7 and
hand out one Greek god and goddesses fact sheet and one Greek god
and goddesses graphic organizer per student. (5 minutes) All worksheets
can be abridged and edited into a lower reading level for students who
may need it. Worksheets can also be written in larger fonts.

-Once students are broken up into groups of seven, they will then each be
assigned two of the fourteen gods or goddesses to research and fill in the
appropriate boxes in the Greek god and goddess graphic organizer. Each
box for the graphic organizer can be enlarged for students who may need
it. Some students graphic organizers will be set up slightly different with
sentence starters and fill in the blanks. Students may use the Greek god
and goddesses fact sheet to gather some of their information, but they
must also get their information from at least one other source. The teacher
will provide numerous websites that the students may use and will also
have multiple books that will have information on Greek gods and
goddesses. Certain books will be made available for students who read
below grade level. For this step, the students only need to fill out the
information for their specific god or goddess and only the information that
the graphic organizer requires. (10 minutes)

-Once students have found the information for their two gods and
goddesses, they will then share their findings with the other members of
their group, who will in turn write down the information on their graphic
organizer, until all 14 gods and goddesses are filled out. Certain students
graphic organizers will already have some information filled in for them so
they dont have to write all the information and can instead focus on
listening to the information. (7 minutes)

-The teacher will then bring the whole class together and they will discuss
the findings they wrote down in their graphic organizers. The teacher
should take this time to ensure that every student has the same correct
information in their graphic organizers. The teacher will provide frequent
comprehension checks to ensure students have written down the correct
information. (8 minutes)

Closing:
-Each student will be given one piece of plain white paper and will use
crayons, markers, and colored pencils to graphically represent one of the
fourteen gods or goddesses they just learned about. Underneath their
picture, they should write two facts that they learned about the god or
goddess they chose to represent. Some students will only have to write in
one fact. The students should hand their picture into the teacher at the end
of the class so the teacher can hang their pictures on the class wall. (10
minutes)
Materials/Equipment:
-Whiteboard
-Copy of Hercules
-Olympian god Introductory worksheet (one for each student)
-Greek god and goddesses fact sheet (one for each student)
-Greek god and goddesses graphic organizer (one for each student)
-Various Greek mythology books
-Plain white paper (one for each student)
-Markers, crayons, and colored pencils
Technology:
-SmartBoard
Anticipatory Set:
-Write down homework: No homework

-Do Now: Ask the students if they know the names of any Greek gods or
goddesses. Most students may not know any but some may know popular
gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. If students are able
to name any gods or goddesses, they teacher should write the names on
the board. (5 minutes)

-The students should then watch a two minute clip of the Disney movie
Hercules and listen closely to hear the names of some famous gods and
goddesses. When students hear the name of various gods or goddesses
they are to write the names they hear in their journals. Then the teacher
will call on a few students to say out loud the names of the gods and
goddesses that they heard. (5 minutes)

Closing/Check for Understanding:

-Each student will be given one piece of plain white paper and will use
crayons, markers, and colored pencils to graphically represent one of the
fourteen gods or goddesses they just learned about. Underneath their
picture, they should write two facts that they learned about the god or
goddess they chose to represent. The students should hand their picture
into the teacher at the end of the class so the teacher can hang their
pictures on the class wall. (10 minutes)

Formative Summative Assessments Used:

-Graphic Organizers
-Whole class discussion
-Closer activity
Homework:
No homework
Differentiation:
*Adaptations are highlighted

Reflection on Planning:
While the main focus of this lesson is in introducing 6th grade students to
Greek god and goddesses, it also introduces research to the students. The
students will have to use two different means (internet and books) to
research various gods and goddesses. This is a valuable skill that will be
needed when students advance into middle and high school.
Reading is used often in this lesson both in the introduction to the idea of
Greek gods and goddesses and in the research students will need to do to
fill in their graphic organizer.
Reflection on Instruction:
NA
Works Cited:
http://www.mensaforkids.org/MFK2/assets/File/Teach/LessonPlans/Lesson_GreekMy
thology.pdf
The Olympian Gods

Use the information in this lesson to begin to fill in the gods and goddesses
chart at the end of this lesson; you will also need to do your own research to
complete it. Now that you understand the way that the Greeks viewed the
beginning of the world, you are ready to learn about the Olympian gods.

First, we have to explore

exactly what we mean by
Olympian gods. Mount
Olympus is a real mountain in
the north of Greece. Gradually, it
became associated less and less
with an actual mountain and
more with an imaginary place
high above the earth. According
to the ancient Greeks, the gate
to Olympus was made of clouds
and it was guarded by four
goddesses, the Seasons. Each
god had his or her own dwelling
place, but Olympus was home base.

There were up to 14 gods considered Olympian gods. Seven of them were

Zeus and his siblings, and seven others were children of Zeus. Sometimes only 12
will be listed. The Greeks and Romans shared mythology, so you will find two names
for most gods.
 God and Goddesses Chart
Greek Facts/Characteristics God of Symbol
Name
Zeus

Hera

Poseide
n
Hades

Athena

Apollo

Artemis

Aphrodit
e
Hermes

Ares

Hephaes
tus
Hestia

Demeter

Dionysu
s