Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

Title of Project: Modern Mythology Videos

Subject(s): Latin I
Grade Level(s): 9-12
Abstract:
After becoming familiar with Greco-Roman mythology, the students will work in pairs to create videos or animated books
depicting modern myths. Students will interview members of the community from various cultures to learn about myths in
other cultures. The students will find a Greco-Roman myth that is similar in theme to that of the modern myth told by the
community member. The students will create a video or animated book retelling and comparing both the modern myth and a
Greco-Roman myth. These videos will be shared with the middle and elementary schools to enhance their learning during
their own mythology units. Through this project, the students will act as explorers as they learn about other cultures,
producers as they create their depictions of the modern myths, and teachers as they teach young students about myths via
their videos. The teacher, in his/her role as facilitator, will help the students compare the myths and create the videos.
Learner Description/Context:
This lesson will take place in a Latin I classroom in Snellville. This project will take place in three Latin I classes, containing
35 students each. The school consists of 3,400 students, 48% of which are white, 22% African-American, 15% Asian, 10%
Hispanic, and 5% other. The students have access to a multitude of technology in the classroom and the media center
including computers, tablets, and video cameras. Additionally, the majority of students have access to technology and the
internet at home and through their smart phones. The students are familiar and comfortable with filming and editing, which
will make creating a video easy for the students. Editing software and programs, like MovieMaker and iMovie, are available
on the media center computers. Movie Maker is the editing program with which most students are familiar due to other Latin
and school projects and will, therefore, probably be the most commonly used editing program by the students during this
project. Numerous digital storybook sites, like Little Bird Tales and Boom Writer, are available for the students online.
Interviewing community members will be made possible by the local communitys active role in the school. Moreover, the
community is diverse just like the school, which will make it possible to find varying cultural myths. Lastly, cross-curricular
collaboration is common in the school, making the sharing of videos possible.
Time Frame: Thislessonwilltaketwelveweeks.Thestudentswillgetoneclassdayperweektoworkonthisassignment.
AfterspendingonedayaweekofthepreviousmonthlearningaboutGrecoRomanmythology,thestudentswillthenbegin
researchingandcreatingtheirowndepictions.AftertheLanguageArtsclassesprovidefeedbackonthevideos,thestudents
willhavetwoweeks,(1dayperweekinclass)tomakethenecessarychangestotheprojectsbeforetheyareturnedintothe
teacher.
Standards Assessed:
Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills for Latin I
demonstrate an understanding of perspectives, practices, and products of the Greco-Roman culture (GPS)
(CLL1_B2009-6)

interpret cultural practices of the Romans (GPS) (CLL1_B2009-7)

identify situations and resources in which Latin skills and cultural knowledge may be applied beyond the classroom
setting for recreational, educational, and occupational purposes (GPS) (CLL1_C2009-10)
American Council for Teaching Foreign Language
1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to audience of listeners or readers in a variety of topics,
2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relation between the practice and perspectives of the culture
studied.
4.2 Student demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparison of the cultures studies and
their own.
ISTE Student Standards
1 Creativity and Innovation
o 1.b create original works as a means of personal or group expression
2 Communication and Collaboration
o 2.a - interact, collaborate and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
o 2.b - Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audience using a variety of media and
formats
o 2.c develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

Learner Objectives:
After this project, the students will have gained a greater understanding of the cultural importance of mythology in its ability
to reflect cultural views and values. The students will understand that the ancient Greco-Roman society shares many of the
same morals and values as that of modern societies. The increased understanding of the students will be seen in the videos or
story books created by the students.
The hook or Introduction:
Before the lesson begins, the teacher will find and post creation videos from various cultures on the class webpage. On the
first day of the project, the teacher will show a video explaining the Greco-Roman creation myth of Deucalion and Pyrrah.
Then students will pick 2 other videos posted on the site to watch which retell creation videos from various world cultures.
The students will then engage in an oral comparison of the Greco-Roman myth with the other creation myths. The teacher
will ask the students what each myth reveals about the culture it derives. After these discussions, the teacher will assign the
project to the students.
Process:
The students will have one day per week to work on the project in class. The work from each week will be reviewed and
evaluated by the teacher.
Week 1 Using the hook activity, the teacher will introduce the project to the students. Once the project has been outlined,
the students will decide on their collaborative partner for their project. The students will use the remainder of the period to
create a plan for the project. They will need to discuss who they plan to interview, what questions they will ask, what type of
final product they will make, and what resources or technology they will need from the teacher. The students will also create
their own version of the rubric on which the project will be graded. The students will create this plan and rubric on Google
Drive and share it with the teacher. The teacher will review and evaluate, using a rubric, each groups plan in order to
prepare for next weeks lesson.
Week 2 The students will start class by reviewing the rubrics of their classmates via Google Drive and deciding on the final
version of the rubric. Next, if they have not already done so, the students will reach out to their neighbors, family members,
teachers, and other community members to find a cooperative expert. They will communicate via email or Skype to arrange
an interview time and date, if possible to take place this week. The teacher will facilitate and help the students find experts.
In preparation for this lesson, the teacher has already emailed parents to notify them of the project and ask for volunteers.
The teacher can provide students with willing participants, if the students are not able to find their own. The students will
spend this period researching the culture of their expert (or potential experts) in order to gain an understanding of his/her
cultural beliefs. The students research will be added to the Google Drive document from last week and will be reviewed and
evaluated by the teacher.
Week 3 The students might have interviewed them in person during the previous week. If they have not already done so,
the students will interview their community expert. The students can invite the expert to the school in order to conduct an
interview in person, or they can use Skype (http://www.skype.com/en/) to interview the community expert during this class
time. If the students have already interviewed the community expert, then they will research Greco-Roman myths to find one
that is similar in theme to that of the modern myth taught to them by their expert. As questions arise regarding comparing the
modern myth to the Greco-Roman myth, students will contact their community expert to guide their comparisons. The
teacher will continue in his/her role as facilitator, guiding the students along with the community expert, in their research and
comparisons.
Week 4-8 Over the next four weeks, the students will be working at their own pace to complete the following tasks.
1) The students will have to continue their research from the previous week in finding a Greco-Roman myth that is
similar in theme to the one told by their community expert last week.
2) The students will create Venn diagram on Google Drive in order to compare and contrast the modern cultural myth
and Greco-Roman myths.
3) The students will create a storyboard on Google Drive, outlining their final project. The storyboard, along with the
research and comparisons, will be added to the Google Drive document, to be viewed by both the teacher and
community expert.
4) The students will create their final products, which will include filming and editing the video or creating digital story
book.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

The teacher and community experts will act as facilitators by reading and reviewing each groups research, Venn diagrams,
and projects and by providing feedback and guidance along the way. The teacher will provide technical support as the
students create the final products and will evaluate the research, Venn diagram, and storyboards using a rubric. The
community expert will help the students understand the cultural significance of the myths and will help with the students
portrayal of them in the final product.
Week 9-10 At the eight week point, the projects will be posted on School Tube (http://www.schooltube.com/) for the
Language Arts teachers to show to the students. The Language Arts teacher will show the videos on week nine. During this
week, the Latin students will look over the rubric they created on week 1-2. They students will reassess and make any
changes they see are necessary. After the Language Arts students have viewed all the final products, the students will be
placed in groups to evaluate and critique the videos using the rubric created by the Latin students. Each group, as created by
the Language Arts teacher, will evaluate 3-4 videos. They will orally post their constructive criticism on VoiceThread
(http://voicethread.com/#home), via the link sent by the Latin teacher.
Week 11-12 The Latin students will view the feedback provided by the Language Arts students via VoiceThread. The
VoiceThread wall will contain feedback for all the videos. This way, if the Latin students are interested, they can hear what
the Language Arts students complimented and critiqued on each video. By hearing all the constructive criticism, instead of
just that pertaining to their video, the students may find ways to improve their own videos. Based on the feedback, the Latin
students will work in collaboration with their community expert and teacher to address the issues and improve the final
product. The students will then repost the final products on School Tube. The revised final products will be graded by the
teacher using the rubric created by the Latin students.
Product:
The end product will be a video or digital storybook comparing a modern myth to Greco-Roman myths. These final products
will be published online and will be viewed by Latin I students and 9th grade Language Arts students, after their respective
mythology units. This project will be meaningful to students because they are creating a product that will relay the
information they learned from experts in their community as well as teach others students. Technology will be used to
collaborative create drafts of the final product via Google Drive, research myths, communicate with local experts via Skype,
and during the creation of the final product - filming with flip cameras and editing videos or creating digital storybooks. This
project will be assessed using a student-generated rubric as well as feedback from the Language Arts classes who viewed the
final products.
Technology Use:
Computers, tablets, and the Internet will be critical in all aspects of creating the final product. Students will use these tools in
combination to research myths, create collaborative drafts in Google Drive, create digital story books or create and edit
video. The students can communicate via Skype (http://www.skype.com/en/) with the community member they are
interviewing, if they are not able to arrange an interview in person. Flip camera, provided by the media center, or smart
phones, provided by the students, will be used to film the videos. Film editing programs, like Movie Maker or iMovie, will
be used to edit the films. Final products will be electronically published on School Tube (http://www.schooltube.com/) to
share them with the 9th grade Language Arts classes. Using the rubric deigned by Latin students via Rubistar
(http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php), the Language Arts students will provide feedback for the Latin students and post it
on Voicethread (http://voicethread.com/#home). The Latin students will view the VoiceThread feedback and make the
appropriate changes to the projects. The students are using technology in their role as producers to create meaningful,
culturally-responsive products, which will result in high student engagement.
References and Supporting Material:
Online Resources
I.
Creation videos for hook activity:
Iarevalo94s channel. (July 31, 2013). The Deucalion Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeDkf4UQqXI&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=10.
Iedesign. (June 9, 2011). Hindu Creation Story. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9yWwFWpbRo&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=8.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 16, 2011). The Aboriginal Creation Myth. Retrieved from

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koxp_q46z0Q&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=9.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 17, 2011). The Egyptian Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTy49JlgJZE&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=5.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 17, 2011). The Inca Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75kDb2OqBWI&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=11.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 18, 2011). The Navajo Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ZZFCIncA0&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=12.
Passantino, Fiona. (May 19, 2011). The Zulu Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C4MoDIndug&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S&index=13.
Southsidebassman. (July 1, 2009). Ancient Norse Creation Myth. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGjooO5P2cA&index=7&list=PLyNoHS702airJie42vFnuxSAAAC7rlm2S.
II.

Digital Storybooks Sites

BoomWriter - http://boomwriter.com/
Little Bird Tales - https://littlebirdtales.com/
The Art of Storytelling http://www.artofstorytelling.org/write-a-story
Tik a Tok - http://www.tikatok.com/
UTellStory- http://utellstory.com/
Zooburst - http://www.zooburst.com/
Supporting Materials
Rubric created by students via Rubistar - http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Feedback posted via VoiceThread - http://voicethread.com/#home
Movie Editing Programs
Movie Maker software by Microsoft
iMovie
Electronic Publishing
School Tube - http://www.schooltube.com/
What modifications have you made since you submitted your idea for feedback?
I made the project more challenging and standards-based by altering the final product of the students. The students are
creating products that will compare modern myths to Greco-Roman myths, instead of just retelling modern myths. Also, the
students will create a rubric on which they will be evaluated by the 9th grade Language Arts classes. I have also included time
in the project for the Latin students to make changes to their final products based on the feedback from the Language Arts
students. The Language Arts students not only will use the rubric to provide the feedback but will also post feedback video
on VoiceThread. Based off of the feedback of the Language Arts classes, the Latin students will make changes to their
project before the final projects are graded by the teacher. Further changes I made to the idea include the addition of national
foreign language standards, which are being addressed by this project.
Which indicators of Engaged Learning will be high in this lesson and Why?
Standards-based - Both local and national standards will be addressed
Authentic and Meaningful- students will create a product for audiences
Student-directed Student will be interviewing locals, researching the myth, and creating the final product in order
to increase their understanding of mythology as an important part of a culture

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

Multi-disciplinary - Reading, writing, and research will be a vital part of the project
Culturally Responsible the representation of other cultures myths will recognize the local communitys
knowledge and culture
Student as Producer students will produce a product that will assist peers in the learning process of standards
Student as Teacher by showing the video to Language Arts classes, the students are the ones teaching others
about modern myths
Teachers as Facilitator Teacher will assist in the learning of new technology and in the comparison on modern to
Greco-Roman myths
Collaborative working in pairs as well as interviewing a community expert will provide the students will
collaborative opportunities
Performance-based the final product is for real audience and will be graded by rubric

Which indicators would you like to strengthen?

Generative
What LoTI level do you think this lesson would be and Why?
If executed properly, I believe it is a LoTi 6. The students are interacting with local experts to learn about new cultures in
order to create comparisons between modern and Greco-Roman myths. The students are actively engaged as they create the
final product. Moreover, the student-directed, collaborative and cultural-responsive aspects of the projects will get the
students excited. Since the videos will be watched by other classes and published electronically, the project will meaningful
for the students, since they will be acting in the role as teacher via their projects.
What help would you like to receive from us?
Is there a more exciting hook activity?
Is there a better place to electronically publish student videos?

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University