Lesson 2 Perseus and Medusa

Transcription

1 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Lesson 2 Perseus and Medusa Learning objectives To analyse a quest myth and identify the text structure and language features. (Child-friendly version) I can say what happens in a quest myth. To compare quest myths and to identify common features and themes. (Child-friendly version) I can see similarities and differences between quest myths. Possible learning outcomes Children can discuss the features of a quest myth. They can recognise similarities and differences between quest myths. National Framework references Year 3, Term 2: T2 to identify typical story themes, for example, trials and forfeits, good over evil, weak over strong, wise over foolish; T3 to identify and discuss main and recurring characters, evaluate their behaviour and justify views. Vocabulary Technical: compare, different, key events, quest myth, similar Topic: desire, equipment, escape, evil, feast, god, goddess, good, gorgon, graeae, hero, hideous, invisibility, journey, magic, mythical creatures, obstacle, quest, reflection, reflective, revenge, scaly, shield, slay, superhuman, supernatural, sympathy, triumph Resources Essential Activity Sheet 2a The story of Perseus and Medusa Activity Sheet 2b Perseus and Medusa PowerPoint Presentation N2 L2 Perseus text of the story of Perseus and Medusa (see LCP CD) Activity Sheet 2c Comparing quest myths PowerPoint Presentation N2 L2 Comparing myths key features to look at when comparing quest myths (see LCP CD) Writing materials Enrichment A copy of The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch Copies of other myths such as the labours of Hercules, the stories of Pandora s box, Icarus and the sun, King Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan Horse or the story of Rama and Sita. Cross-curricular links Art Look at illustrated or animated versions of the myths, in particular at representations of the mythical creatures such as the dragon or Medusa. Explain because these creatures are mythical we have no way of knowing what they should look like. Ask them to draw/paint their own versions from the descriptions but using their imagination too! Science Discuss reflection, introduce a range of convex and concave mirrors that can alter the appearance. Overview of lesson Children listen to the story of Perseus and Medusa. They compare the features of this quest myth with that of Jason and the Golden Fleece. They discuss and express their views on the two stories, giving reasons for their opinions. Activities Recap the features of a quest myth. Ask individual children to retell the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece in two minutes using their story maps completed in the previous lesson. Ask questions to check their comprehension: Who is the hero? Who is the villain? What is the challenge? 51

2 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Explain that the children are going to hear another myth and you would like them to look out for similarities and differences between this and the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece. The story of Perseus and Medusa is given on Activity Sheet 2a for your reference. A simpler version of the story is provided on Activity Sheet 2b for you to read to the children you may want to include additional details depending on the ability of the class. Read the story to the children. If you have an IWB, project the story on to the board or use the PowerPoint presentation provided and ask children to highlight key features of quest myths; if not, then use a large photocopy of the text and invite children to circle the key features. Ask the children to try and pick out the same features that they identified in Jason and the Golden Fleece you may need to prompt them with the list of features. Who is the hero? (Perseus) Who is the villain? (King Polydectes) Where is the story set? (Ancient Greece, island kingdoms) What is the challenge/quest? (To bring the head of Medusa the gorgon.) Where is the journey from and to? (From Seriphos, Perseus s home, to far off lands where mythical creatures reside and to the lair of Medusa.) Is there a friendly helper? (Perseus gets help from the goddess Athena, the god Hermes and the water nymphs.) What is the crisis? (Perseus approaches Medusa using the reflection in the shield, beheads her and, using the winged shoes, escapes.) What is the resolution? (Perseus uses the gorgon s head to turn Polydectes to stone and saves his mother.) With the children working in pairs, hand out a copy of Activity Sheet 2c to each pair. Ask them to discuss and complete the sheet together. Once they have completed Activity Sheet 2c, hold a whole-class discussion to discuss what they have found out. The questions from Activity Sheet 2c are provided on a PowerPoint presentation for you to project during the whole-class discussion. Using the chart they have completed, can the children identify any similarities or differences between the two myths? For example, Jason and Perseus both have a task to fetch an object for someone else or Jason doesn t have to kill the dragon but Perseus kills Medusa. Scribe their suggestions on the board. Ask the children to draw conclusions: Is the story of Perseus and Medusa also a quest myth? Why have you decided this? What key features do the stories share? Do the stories end in the same way? Does good always triumph over evil? Extension activities The children can create story boards for both of the myths. Encourage the children to read The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch as an antidote to all the male heroes! Ask the children if they can think of any other stories with heroines instead of heroes. Encourage the children to read more myths, such as the story of how Athens was created, the labours of Hercules, the stories of Pandora s Box, Icarus and the sun, King Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan Horse or the story of Rama and Sita. Plenary Generate a whole-class discussion by asking: Which myth do you prefer, and why? Which hero do you like the best? Do we feel sorry for any of the characters? Do we have any sympathy for Medusa? Do you think the heroes would have triumphed without help? Encourage the children to give reasons for their answers. Differentiation Less challenging Children may need extra help to remember the features of Jason and the Golden Fleece they will benefit from having the story map from the previous lesson available and/or working in mixed-ability pairings. Ask children to draw a cartoon strip version of either Jason and the Golden Fleece or Perseus and Medusa. More challenging Children can write short summaries of each of the stories to pick out the key elements of the quest myth stories. They should also think of adjectives to describe the heroes, villains, mythical creatures and the settings. Evaluation 52

3 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Activity Sheet 2a The story of Perseus and Medusa King Acrisius of Argos learned from an oracle that his daughter Danae would have a son, and that son would kill him. To prevent this he locked Danae in an underground room made of bronze, but Zeus turned himself into a shower of gold and visited Danae. Danae gave birth to a son, Perseus; the king was very angry and so he put Danae and Perseus into a wooden chest and set it adrift in the sea. Eventually the chest washed ashore on the island of Seriphos. A kindly fisherman, Dictys, took them in and looked after them as Perseus grew up. Perseus became a fine and good young man. One day King Polydectes, who was Dictys brother, came to visit; he fell in love with Danae and wanted to marry her. Polydectes was not a well-liked king, and Perseus did not like the attentions he paid Danae. Polydectes knew that Perseus would be an obstacle to his marriage to Danae and so he hatched a plan to get rid of him. Polydectes pretended that he wanted to marry another woman. In order to woo her he gave a great feast at his palace and ordered everyone on the island to bring a great gift. Perseus arrived at the feast but, being very poor, he had no gift to give to the King. Polydectes was angry at this and so Perseus said, I will bring you any other gift that you desire. Polydectes seized his chance, Bring me the head of Medusa the gorgon he declared. Medusa was one of the gorgons. She had once been a beautiful maiden, but she had offended the gods and so had been turned into a hideous monster. She had snakes for hair, scaly skin and was very ugly; anyone she looked at or who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. Perseus was a brave young man, but he did not know where to find the gorgons let alone how he was going to slay one. Nevertheless, he set out on his quest. He was soon visited by the goddess Athena, who gave him a shield that was so highly polished and shiny it was reflective. She also told him that to find the gorgons he first needed to visit the graeae. The graeae were three old women who lived in a cave; they had one eye and one tooth that were shared between them and the sisters took turns in using them. They were also the sisters of the gorgons and so knew where to find them. Perseus stole their eye when they were passing it between them so they could all see him; he refused to give it back unless they told him where the gorgons resided. On his journey to the gorgons Perseus travelled through Hades and at the river Styx he met the water nymphs and the god Hermes. The water nymphs gave him the cap of invisibility to help him escape unseen by Medusa s gorgon sisters and a magical bag to carry Medusa s head in once he had chopped it off, for Medusa s eyes kept their power to turn anyone to stone even after she was dead so he had to keep it hidden. Hermes gave Perseus a special curved sword that could never be broken and a pair of winged sandals that would enable him to fly. So, Perseus set off with his magical equipment to Medusa s lair; he made his way in past the stone remains of her victims. Medusa and her sisters were sleeping, so Perseus crept closer looking at her only in the reflection of his shield so he would not be turned to stone. He cut off her head and placed it in the magical bag. As he removed her head the winged horse Pegasus emerged from her severed neck. Putting on his cap of invisibility and his winged shoes, Perseus made his escape before the other gorgons could take revenge. On his way home Perseus spied a beautiful maiden, chained to a rock in the ocean. The maiden was Andromeda, who was to be sacrificed to a sea monster. Perseus rescued Andromeda and took her with him back to Seriphos to be his wife. On returning to Seriphos, Perseus found that Polydectes was still pursuing Danae against her wishes. Perseus went to see the King in his court to present his gift. What have you brought me, enquired the King. I have brought you the head of the gorgon Medusa, Perseus replied, and with that he took the head from the magical bag and the King and his entire court were instantly turned to stone. Perseus lived on happily with Andromeda in Seriphos and made Dictys king. In return for her help he gave the head of Medusa to the goddess Athena, who mounted it on her shield to make it an even more powerful weapon. Perseus decided to return to Argos and meet his grandfather, Acrisius. All went well until Perseus took part in a sports contest; unfortunately during the discus competition Perseus s discus went further than expected and into the crowd. It hit his grandfather on the head and killed him, fulfilling the prophecy. 53

4 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Activity Sheet 2b Name: Date: Perseus and Medusa Perseus was the only son of Danae; they lived on the island of Seriphos with a kindly fisherman, Dictys, who took them in when they were washed ashore on the island. Perseus became a fine and good young man. One day King Polydectes, who was Dictys brother, came to visit; he fell in love with Danae and wanted to marry her. Polydectes was not a well-liked king, and Perseus did not like the attentions he paid Danae. Polydectes knew that Perseus would be an obstacle to his marriage to Danae and so he hatched a plan to get rid of him. Polydectes pretended that he wanted to marry another woman. In order to woo her he gave a great feast at his palace and ordered everyone on the island to bring a great gift. Perseus arrived at the feast but, being very poor, he had no gift to give to the King. Polydectes was angry at this and so Perseus said, I will bring you any other gift that you desire. Polydectes seized his chance, Bring me the head of Medusa the gorgon, he declared. Medusa was one of the gorgons; she had once been a beautiful maiden, but she had offended the gods and so had been turned into a hideous monster. She had snakes for hair, scaly skin and was very ugly; anyone she looked at or who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. Perseus was a brave young man, but he did not know where to find the gorgons let alone how he was going to slay one. Nevertheless, he set out on his quest. He was soon visited by the goddess Athena, who gave him a shield that was so highly polished and shiny it was reflective. She also told him that to find the gorgons he first needed to visit the graeae. The graeae were three old women who lived in a cave; they had one eye and one tooth that were shared between them and the sisters took turns in using them. They were also the sisters of the gorgons and so knew where to find them. Perseus stole their eye when they were passing it between them so they could all see him; he refused to give 54

5 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Activity Sheet 2b it back unless they told him where the gorgons resided. On his journey to the gorgons Perseus travelled through Hades and at the river Styx he met the water nymphs and the god Hermes. The water nymphs gave him the cap of invisibility to help him escape unseen by Medusa s gorgon sisters and a magical bag to carry Medusa s head in once he had chopped it off, for Medusa s eyes kept their power to turn anyone to stone even after she was dead so he had to keep it hidden. Hermes gave Perseus a special curved sword that could never be broken and a pair of winged sandals that would enable him to fly. So, Perseus set off with his magical equipment to Medusa s lair. He made his way in past the stone remains of her victims. Medusa and her sisters were sleeping, so Perseus crept closer looking at her only in the reflection of his shield so he would not be turned to stone. He cut off her head and placed it in the magical bag. Putting on his cap of invisibility and his winged shoes, Perseus made his escape before the other gorgons could take revenge. On returning to Seriphos, Perseus found that Polydectes was still pursuing Danae against her wishes. Perseus went to see the King in his court to present his gift. What have you brought me, enquired the King. I have brought you the head of the gorgon Medusa, Perseus replied, and with that he took the head from the magical bag and the King and his entire court were instantly turned to stone. Perseus lived on happily in Seriphos and made Dictys king. In return for her help he gave the head of Medusa to the goddess Athena, who mounted it on her shield to make it an even more powerful weapon. 55

6 Year 3 Narrative Unit 2 Lesson 2 Myths and legends Activity Sheet 2c Name: Date: Comparing quest myths 1. Who is the hero? 2. What is the test or quest? 3. Who helps him? 4. Who is the villain? 5. What is the crisis to overcome in which he nearly dies? 6. What is the magical object or weapon that helps him to achieve his goal? 7. What happens in the end? Jason and the Golden Fleece Perseus and Medusa 56