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Professional Literature Section Education 302303

This document summarizes two articles about teaching ancient history and mythology. The first article provides tips for teaching Ovid's Orpheus, including addressing major Greco-Roman themes and how mythology relates to history. It influenced the author to have students interpret primary myths through costumes and props. The second article suggests using primary sources as daily warm-ups to review lessons. Incorporating images of ancient Greece in daily warm-ups will prepare students for interpreting primary myths. Both articles informed adjustments to the author's ancient Greece unit to better engage students with primary sources and ancient texts.

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72 views4 pages

Professional Literature Section Education 302303

This document summarizes two articles about teaching ancient history and mythology. The first article provides tips for teaching Ovid's Orpheus, including addressing major Greco-Roman themes and how mythology relates to history. It influenced the author to have students interpret primary myths through costumes and props. The second article suggests using primary sources as daily warm-ups to review lessons. Incorporating images of ancient Greece in daily warm-ups will prepare students for interpreting primary myths. Both articles informed adjustments to the author's ancient Greece unit to better engage students with primary sources and ancient texts.

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Professional Literature

Article #1: Teaching Ovids Orpheus to Beginners


This article, dealing with Ovids Orpheus, is a great exploration and instruction
on how to teach mythology to beginners. As the article so accurately notes, it is hard to
find Latin [and Greek] texts that students will be able to read and enjoy (Mack 279).
Now, while I am very aware that Ovid is Roman and not Greek, this article is, in fact,
applicable to my unit on Ancient Greece for two reasons. First, Roman gods were highly
influenced by Greek religion and mythology, thus, the same basic principles and theories
from this article apply to Greek mythology, and, second, because many students at East
Grand Rapids take Latin and are thus familiar with Latin texts whereas I am not, this
article helps bridge the gap between our two familiar skill sets.
The article itself, with an intended audience of educators, addresses the major
themes seen in most Greco-Roman mythical textsirony, comedy, and hubris (pride). It
also addresses the many ways in which Greco-Roman mythology is synonymous with
Greco-Roman history, as well as how important it is to understand what different
translations of these ancient texts can tell us about when they were written and the
cultural norms that existed at the time. The article also addresses how Ovid used other
ancient texts to influence his work, which was very common in Ancient Greece and
Rome since oral tradition was the main way in which these stories were told which, of
course, led to various versions of each story.
Now, the author of this article has, in a sense, a dual purpose. She both wants to
communicate helpful ways in which to teach mythology as well as the particulars of
teaching Ovids Orpheus. For that reason, of course, there are some elements of the

article that simply would not apply to teaching Greek mythology within ones own
classroom. However, since I do plan on using translations of some primary sources,
particularly myth on day four of my unit, I think that the tips that Mack offers her readers
will be very applicable to my own lesson in helping students dissect these difficult texts.
After reading this article I have settled on part of the structure for my lesson plan
for day four of my unit which focuses on ancient Greek religions. Ill introduce students
to some primary mythological texts that day, asking them to interpret it in their own way
through their use of costumes and props. This will then help them understand how orally
transmitted Greek mythological tradition was slightly different depending on the orator.
For that reason, I think that reading this article was quite beneficial in helping me finalize
some of my lesson plan for day four of my unit.

Article #2: Primary Source of the Day: A Warm-Up Activity


This article, titled Primary Source of the Day, deals with two very important
aspects of teaching history to middle school and high school studentsthe inclusion of
primary sources and the practice of bell-ringers, or warm up activities, at the start of
each class period. In the article, the author suggests that it is possible to combine these
two important activities into one by offering students either a short quote from a
historical figure or an excerpt from a historical document at the start of each class period.
The quote or excerpt can then serve as a review of the previous days lesson, a transition
to todays lesson, or an overview to a whole new topic (Trenkle M2) to get the day
started. The author also suggests that these primary sources can be varied in accordance
with each days lessonperhaps introducing photographs, images, maps, or objects to

accomplish the same end goal. Finally, the author stresses the importance of acquiring a
collection of these primary sources before beginning any unit, good questions that can
prompt students to think deeply about the source, the social skills and classroom
management required for these bell-ringers, and what student feedback relating to these
activities can tell us as teachers.
As a history major and in accordance with what I said relating to the focus of the
first article, I am quite aware of the importance of primary sources in any history
classroomand I love the idea of using primary sources as a way to kick-off each days
lesson. I think that it is a great idea to introduce students to as many primary sources as
possible throughout the school year. Not only that, but familiarizing middle school and
high school students with primary ancient texts and images will be a great way to prepare
them for day 4 of the unit, when they will read ancient mythology, as well as help them
feel more comfortable with reading unfamiliar texts which will, hopefully, assist them in
literature classes and future history classes.
Therefore, after reading this article, I think I will adjust my unit to include one of
these bell-ringers at the beginning of each period. Though they may not be based off of a
primary source like the author suggested, I do have the ability to incorporate a lot of
images of Greece within my lessons since I spent three weeks in traveling across Greece
last year and have plenty of photos of ancient sites to get students thinking about Ancient
Greek life, culture, architecture, religion, and imperialism.
Works Cited:
1. Mack, S. (1995, February). Teaching Ovid's Orpheus to Beginners. The Classical
Journal, 90(3), 279-285.

2. Trenkle, A. (2010). Primary Source of the Day: A Warm-Up Activity. Social


Education: Middle Level Learning, 38, M2-M5.

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