Got Myths?

In humanities, we have been learning about myths, mainly focusing on the ones that are Greek.  After learning about these myths, we got to make our own myth comic strip.  It had to be completely original.  Mine was about the goddess of hope, named Opta.  Before time, she lived alone in a cold, dark place with no company.  She would weep and hope for happiness, people, animals and nature.  One day, when she fell asleep, all she had ever hoped for poured out of her ear.  She woke up to see animals, people, nature, the variety of things in which she had always hoped for.
My myth is orginal because in Greek myths, the world was created involving the Titans.  In my story, the world is created rather differently.  I think that it is interesting for us to be able to answer a question about the world, because there are so many different explanations to things.
The elements of a myth that my story included were the following-

• I had a goddess
• I explained how something came to be
• I had a moral
• I included the element of fantasy/magic

I included all of those things.  If I had not, then it would not be considered a myth, but only a story.  A myth is not a myth if it does not have those elements.


I decided that I would compare my myth with my friend Abigail's myth.  Her's was entitled "Phases of The Moon."  Evidently, it explains the phases of the moon and how they came to be.

This is my myth

I noticed that Abigail's myth involved a goddess, as did mine.  We both explained how something came to be and also had the element of magic.  What mine had and Abigail's did not was a moral.

I enjoyed this activity so much and I hope we can do something like this again!

This is Abigail's myth

How Can I Be Better?

In Community Time, we have been thinking of SMART goals.  SMART is an achronym that helps you set goals that are more successful.  S means simple, M means meaningful, A means actions, R means realistic and T means track.  I will be sharing two goals, one academic, one non academic.
My academic goal is to get grades that are 5-7.  (7 is the highest achievable grade for our grading system)  I think that this is simple if I apply myself, so I will study harder this year.  This goal is extremly meaningful to me, because I feel like my grade is a reflection of part of me.  I want to be able to feel better about my school life because last year, there were some days that I did not feel too self confiedent.  In terms of actions, I will try to carve out at least an hour devoted to studying and working (not on homework) on what I need help with.  I think that this goal is fairly realistic, as long as I strive for more.  To track, every week, I will check on my grades to see how I am doing on certain assignments.
For my non academic goal, I would like to jump 80 centimeters in a horseback riding competition and get at least third place.  I think that this goal is not too simple, but I think I will be able to do it.  It is meaningful to me.  Horseback riding is something I really enjoy doing and I want to be better at it.  As for actions, I will work very hard in lessons and take into account what my instructor is telling me to do, and use it to improve.  Also, after every 3 lessons, I will ask my instructor what I am doing wrong or what I can do better.  I think that this goal is realistic, as long as I keep at it.  To track, I will ask my dad to video tape parts of my lessons when I am doing something right or wrong and have him show me so I can improve.

I look forward to a great year and a fresh start!

Norse Myths and Greek Myths- The Differences And Similarities

In humanities, we have been learning about Greek gods and goddesses.  We had a chart where we collected information about all the myths.  We had to notate character traits, morals, and we had to observe the civilization through GRAPES.  (Geography, religion, achievements, economics, and social structures.)  Then, Mr. J had us each choose a god or goddess.  I chose Selene, minor goddess of the moon.  We then were given a small card in which we had to write information about the god, for example-

• Who are they related to?
• Why are they worshipped?
• Quotes by god or about god
• Moral of the story

Then, we were assigned to read three non Greek myths.  I read three myths, two Norse, the other Brazilian.  The Brazilian one that I read was called The Creation of Night.  I found Norse myths to be extremely interesting, so I read two, one entitled Twilight of The Gods and the other The Creation of Thor's Hammer.  In both, the main character in the mischiveous Loki.  My favorite was The Creation of Thor's Hammer.

In the Greek myth, Selene is the protagonist.  She is gentle and kind and worshipped.  She is the goddess of the moon, thus the sister of Helios, the Sun.  On one of her nightly rounds, her gaze falls upon the sleeping Endymion.  She wishes eternal sleep to him so that she can always watch him.  Loki, however uses his time for things other than love.  He enjoys causing trouble for the other gods.  They are different because where Selene is looking for love, Loki is looking to cause some mischef.  For example, in The Creation of Thor's Hammer, Loki decided to cut off Sif, Thor's wife's hair.  Or, when Selene pleads Zeus for eternal sleep for her love, Loki bets his head on the fact that the two expert metal-workers Brokkr and Sindri cannot fashion creations as good as Ivaldi's sons had fashioned.

I think that these two myths were both written for entertainment and so that you can learn something at the end of it.  I think that both of the myths were entertaining, I did not find them boring.  I also think that we were meant to learn a lesson.  For example, what I got out of Selene's myth was that you should always think your decisions through.  With Loki's myth of the other hand, I thought that the moral was to know when enough is enough.  

I have been enjoying this unit so much because I had never thought to look at the under currents of myths.  It has given me a new perspective on stories.
Student Led Conference Reflection

This is my card of Selene