Hestia | Vesta of the Hearth Greek and Roman Mythology Series Grades 8-11 ELA

Who is Hestia (Or, Vesta)? She is the daughter of the Titans Kronus and Rhea, one of the siblings of Zeus, and is considered an original Olympian goddess. She is the patron of the home and of the hearth fire. While not as much represented in myth as in her cult — notably in Roman times, the Vestal Virgins — Hestia is a well-known and beloved goddess. 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 and included links to supplement this lesson with myth-related books, websites, and more.

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

• Available as a PDF and Google Workspace (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 ancient Mediterranean world’s key characters and geographical locations.
• Reading Cards: Hestia (Or, Vesta)
  • Hestia (Or, Vesta)
  • Hestia in Art and Culture
  • Hestia Goddess of the Hearth Fire
  • The Vestal Virgins
  • Includes a Student-Friendly Reading Protocol.
• 22-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
  • 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 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.
• 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.
  • Includes a useful standards alignment chart for planning.

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 institution of the home, of the family, and the meaning of the hearth in ancient Greek and Roman culture and daily life.
• 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, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Fasti, or Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.

Know that this educational digital download supplements a unit on Greek Mythology. The lesson also includes links to full-text primary resources online.

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