Dionysus | Bacchus God of Wine Greek and Roman Mythology Series Grades 8-11 ELA

Who is Dionysus (Bacchus)? He is the god of wine, fertility, and the Greek theater. He is a transplant into the pantheon, most likely borrowed from South Asia. He is depicted with his symbol, the thyrsus, and surrounded by his female attendants, the maenads, or fauns, half-human-half-goat creatures. This lesson includes a three-day plan, including art and literature connections, a question bank, and a group reading activity. Use the further reading guide, which includes links to supplement this lesson with myth-related books, websites, and more.

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

• Available as a PDF, Google Slides
• 1 Teacher Three-day Lesson Calendar (with Teacher's Notes)
• 1 Key Characters and Places Anchor Chart
  • Orient your learners by identifying the key characters and the geographical location that situates Dionysus in both the West and East.
• Informational Text: Dionysus (Or, Bacchus)
  • Olympian God of Wine and the Personification of Nature in General (2 cards)
  • Dionysia (Or, Bacchanalia)
  • Dionysus and the Panther: Art & Literature Connection
  • Includes a Student-Friendly Reading Protocol.
• 18-Count Question Bank
  • Check for understanding with a quick and adaptable question bank.
  • Includes a Custom Note-taking template to ensure student accountability!
• Frayer Model Vocabulary Cards (with 1 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, challenging words (as well as contextual entries that fit the story).
• 2 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 your students have learned.
• 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 the story.
• Standards Alignment Chart
• 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 — 

• Encourage students to talk about the concept of theater as a cultic practice, ancient Greek and Roman rituals, revelry, human sexuality, the Dionysian and Apollonian, representations of the human figure in art, and more!
• Conduct a comparative reading of Dionysus's ancient origins in the Mediterranean and Asia!
• Compare and contrast characteristics of the gods and goddesses in World Literature and Mythology.
• Use this resource as a stand-alone lesson or pair it with a larger unit on early Greek myths, primordial stories, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robert Graves's Greek Myths, The Bacchae, or Edith Hamilton's Mythology.
• For Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which celebrates the Bacchus parade.

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