Lesson One

If you have a chance, begin with a discussion of the importance of stories in our lives. Talk about how stories have been used as a form of communication, as well as an art form, in all countries. Discuss the fact that there are some stories (like "Anansi the Spider") that appear in many cultures. Begin to discuss the concept of culture (with the students doing most of the talking):

What cultures are represented in the room?

How can you tell what culture group someone belongs to?

Use the Student Handout Cultural Identity Circles to help students place themselves within their various groups, including cultural groups.

How do students express their culture?

Are there any stories from their culture that they could share with the group? Allow several students to tell brief stories from or about their groups not from or about their own lives.

Distribute the Student Handout, Discovering Your Cultural Identity. Have students complete the exercise and discuss the results in a large group setting. Draw the quotation on the sheet into the discussion.

Now, how many cultures are represented in the room?

Today, we will begin an exploration of each student's own personal culture that leads to them documenting one of the special stories from their culture group. It may be a unique story or it may be one of those stories that is told everywhere, but maybe with a special twist. Many of those stories are the oldest of stories.

Does anyone know what they are called?

Begin to introduce the concept of myth. Use the resources found at our major curriculum unit Look in the Mythic Mirror to introduce the concept of myths and storytelling with the remainder of the period. At this time, spend as much or little time and sessions as you need to introduce or review mythology. Relate it to storytelling, and make the students feel comfortable with the fact that all cultures have and value myths and stories as communicative devices.

Supplemental Mythology Lessons:

Use the materials found at Look in the Mythic Mirror as many class periods as necessary to give your students a basic grounding in mythology, its origins and its purposes. Make certain that students understand that many of these stories were the "science" of the day. This makes for a good discussion about certain topics like life in space, infectious disease, cloning et cetera, how we view them now, and how they may be viewed in the future by scientists.