Atalanta Myth ELA Lesson | Standards-Aligned 7-12

Starting from:

Atalanta The Swift Runner Hero — Myth Series for Middle and High School 7-12 ELA

Engage English Language Arts Students with the story of Atalanta the Swift Runner — a tale of surprising arch-nemeses and bachelors competing for a wedding engagement — plus a lot of running.

Atalanta’s story is about a female hero-athlete who makes the best of a bad situation — and she may or may not turn into a lion.

Aligned with Common Core Standards, this individual lesson pack prompts students to discuss the myth, read different versions, compare it to other works of art, work in groups, learn new vocabulary in context, and complete a writing activity.

This resource is optimized for distance learning. The product includes an editable Google Workspace link. Modify this resource on Google Classroom and other classroom management sites for student use.

Use this Digital Download for a Two-day English Language Arts Lesson

Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, high school kids will want to discuss the role of gender and power as it relates to Atalanta’s suitors who vie for her hand in marriage and how one uses a ploy to get what he wants. So, I have loaded this resource with activities, formative assessments, and essential questions that will get your students talking and writing! N.B. While this resource includes ample content related to the story of Atalanta, for obvious reasons, no copyrighted material that would infringe upon the protected works of others is included.

Common Core Standards: This resource aligns well with the reading literature standard: “Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux-Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).”

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

1 Teacher Two-day Lesson Calendar
- With a teacher-tested stamp of approval, follow my suggestions on how to teach the myth of Atalanta in a two-day block with room for extension activities. Start with artwork, read the text, engage in questions and quick writing and sharing, and start the lesson with a writing activity.
1 Key Characters and Places Anchor Chart
- Orient your learners by identifying the story’s key characters and geographical location with an illustrated anchor chart.
Illustrated Reading Cards
- Entry on “Atalanta” (Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology)
- Atalanta and Hippomene: Art & Literature Connection
- An Illustrated Depiction of the Atalanta Story with Text
13-Count Quiz Bowl Questions
- Either use these questions as a quiz after reading or in a discussion or small group setting.
2 Critical Thinking Questions / Essay Prompts
Frayer Model Vocabulary Template
- Frayer models are a way to get kids to think about vocabulary visually in a four-section square —- A square for meaning, one for examples, another for non-examples, and a sketch. It is amazing to see the work they produce. A great way to decorate your classroom to showcase your kids’ vocabulary-in-text understanding.
Half-Sheet Exit Tickets
- Exit tickets are a way to get data about your students’ understanding of the lesson right before the class is finished. Collect these exit tickets and quickly see what essential ideas and text connections your students made.
1 Further Reading List
- Don’t disregard this further reading list if you think it is merely a bibliography. Share the list with your students or have them do projects based on the available research. Assign different sources to students and organize presentations where learning can go deeper into this popular myth.
Answer Keys for all student-facing documents
- Teachers always ask for answer keys for my products, so I gave you plenty of guidance on what to expect from students in their written and oral responses.

I created this resource with high school students in mind. It is designed for an English Language Arts Mythology unit —

Use it also in a genre unit on heroes, proto-heroes, demigods, and famous athletes in literature and myth!
Use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or pair it with a larger unit on Myth, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Robert Graves’s Greek Myths, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, or J.F. Bierlein’s Parallel Myths.