Decoding Pandora's Box | A Deep Dive into Origin Myths for Middle and High School

Engage English Language Arts middle and high schoolers with the ancient Greek Myth of Pandora — a creation story that pops open the lid on things.

Curiosity killed the cat. And Pandora opened a box. Or was it a jar? All hell broke loose. But hope remained. Explore this entertaining myth with your students, and go deeper into the historical, archaeological, and literary elements of the story.

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

Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, your kids will want to discuss the pros and cons of curiosity, the representation of women in World Literature, and more. So I have loaded this resource with discussion questions that will get your students talking, and writing!

N.B. — The resource includes original content, public domain content, and multiple links to the story online.

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:

• Includes Google Workspace and PDF
• 1 Teacher’s Three-day Lesson Calendar
  • With a teacher-tested-stamp of approval, follow my suggestions on how to teach the story of Pandora in a three-day block. Start with artwork, read the text, engage in questions, quick writing, and sharing, and cap off the lesson with a writing activity.
• Reading Cards
  • “Pandora” Dictionary Entry
  • Bonus: Informational Text on Archaeology — Was it a box? Or, a jar? Inquiring minds want to know!
• 1 Art + Literature Connections (with Visual Aids)
  • Compare the text with eye-popping artwork from the New York Public Library’s public domain digital collection.
• 1 Key Characters and Places Worksheet
  • Orient your learners by identifying the key characters and the geographical location of the story.
  • Includes a drag-and-drop map activity on Easel.
• 10 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Either use these questions as a quiz for after reading, independent work, or in a discussion or small group setting.
• 6 Critical Thinking Questions
  • Use these questions for whole-class discussion but I also like to spice things up and get my students moving by having a carousel-style discussion.
• 5 Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards (with student sample)
  • 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. The cards contain terms, geography, and challenging words (as well as contextual entries that fit the story).
• 2 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 ideas your students picked up about the story of Pandora. I also provide two different tickets to offer academic choice for students.
• 1 Essay Writing Activity (with visual starter and prompt)
  • Cap this three-day lesson with a P.O.V. writing activity.
• 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 that delve deeper into this popular myth of origin.
• Answer Keys for all student-facing documents
  • Teachers always ask for answer keys for my products so I made sure I gave you plenty of guidance on what to expect from students in their written and oral responses.
  • Includes a standards alignment chart for planning.

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

• For any myth-related unit!
• On characteristics of myths of origins and creation myths.
• Use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or, pair it with a larger unit on Myth, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robert Graves’s Greek Myths, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, or Parallel Myths.

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