This year, I'm teaching a class called Myth Makers. We read the stories of ancient Greek and Roman mythology and use them as inspiration for all kinds of projects. I have 85 students enrolled in 3 sections, and the kids represent a wide variety of ages (10-15), backgrounds, and abilities. We spend a LOT of time reading the stories and writing about them. But the best part of this class is the maker component. In each unit, I design a project that asks the students to think creatively.
In our first unit about the "beginning of time," the students read the story of Pandora. They love this story. You may recall that Pandora was the first woman, given to humankind as a "gift" but really as a punishment. Gifted with curiosity by Zeus, Pandora is tasked with not opening a mysterious jar (or box, in later versions of the story). When she finally gives in to her curiosity, Pandora unleashes all the evils of the world, such as gossip, theft, jealousy, etc. All this detail is rich fodder for student outrage, but the bit that gets the kids really riled up is the fact that HOPE is left inside the box. It raises all kinds of questions such as "Why was hope in a box of evils?" and "Why did Zeus do this to people?" and "Why is hope left INSIDE the box? Does it really not exist in the world?"
This questioning of the story led me to design a project that allows students an opportunity to meditate further on this fascinating tale. They get to create their own Pandora's box! I teach them how to make a box out of paper (a simple origami method), and then they decorate the box as they think the original might have looked. (Was it beautiful to create more temptation, or was it just a plain box? Or did it have a mysterious light shining from within like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? LOL)
Once the students have created their boxes, their next job is to write about the evils that are flying out of them. I ask them to pick five evils that are affecting the world, their home state, their school, their own personal lives, and one that they think will never be fixed. This writing prompt really gets the kids thinking, and it also helps me get to know them. At the beginning of the year, that information is helpful to have.
Can I tell you that I absolutely LOVE to read these projects? Some of them are hilarious - one kid this year picked our school system's superintendent! (To be fair, the start of our year has been challenging due to a school bus crisis that involved a bus driver strike, long-overdue bus maintenance, and an extreme heat wave, and many of these problems were blamed on our leader.) Others picked predictable evils like social media overuse and homework. My favorite evil was the overpumping of our city's aquifer by chemical companies and subsequent saltwater intrusion! I'm pretty sure that the student learned about that evil in a unit on water systems in last year's Roman technology class so that made me super proud.
After everyone is done with the project, the students do a showcase walk. After displaying each project on a desk, the students rotate their seats so that they eventually see everyone else's project and write their thoughts on similarities and differences. They take this work so seriously and really enjoy seeing their classmates' projects. It's a great way to start the year!
Interested in bringing this project to your Latin/classics classroom or club? You can find project details here.
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| Our superintendent does not have hair so... |
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