Exploring The Origin of Virtue Plato’s Protagoras Lesson Plan Grades 8-12

Engage English Language Arts middle and high schoolers with Plato’s myth of creation recorded in The Protagoras — Socrates invites Protagoras, a Sophist, to discuss whether or not virtue is teachable. Protagoras begins his argument with a myth — the myth of the origin of virtue, a retelling of the Titan brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus. This lesson, part of a unit on Plato’s myths, explores the text of Protagoras (320d-322d).

• This resource is optimized for distance learning. The product includes Google Workspace and PDF files. Access and modify this resource for student-use on Google Classroom and other classroom management sites.

Use this Educational Digital Download for a 90-minute Humanities lesson (for grades 7-12)

Using my tested-in-the-classroom resources, your kids will want to discuss the pros and cons of a virtuous society, the power of technology, the importance of arts education, the power of myth, and more. So I have loaded this resource with activities that will get your students talking, and writing! N.B. — The text of the myth is included in this digital download, as it is a text in the public domain.

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’s Notes and Lesson Calendar
  • With a teacher-tested-stamp of approval, follow my suggestions on how to teach Plato’s Protagoras.
• 1 Google Forms Assessment
• 1 Full-Text Copy of the Myth of Protagoras (The Origin of Virtue)
• 1 Art + Literature Connections (with Visual Aids)
  • Informational Text: Plato’s Origin of Virtue in The Protagoras
  • Art: Epimetheus opening Pandora’s box; Giulio Bonasone (Italian, active Rome and Bologna, 1531–after 1576); 1531–76; Engraving.
• 11 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Either use these questions as a quiz for after reading, independent work, or as a quiz game to engage students.
• 6 Discussion & 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.
• 1 Half-Sheet 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
  • 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 Protagoras’s myth.
• 1 3-Box Notetaking Template (8.5 x 11)
• 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 research that is available. Assign different sources to students and organize presentations where learning can go deeper into this popular myth of origin.
• Standards Alignment Chart
• 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.

I created this resource with middle and high students in mind. It is designed for a Humanities unit and for:

• For lessons on Plato and Ancient Greek Philosophy
• For any myth-related unit!
• On the characteristics of myths of origins and creation myths.

Thank You: Gramma Elliott for the Clipart!

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