Zeus & Metis First Consort Lesson Greek Mythology Series for Grades 8-10 ELA

Who is Métis, the Oceanid whom many ancient sources call Zeus’s first consort? After hearing a prophecy that a child of Métis could end his rule, Zeus swallows her —yet their daughter Athena ultimately emerges unharmed.

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

• Durable Google Apps Link for Student-facing Documents (Google Slides)
• 1 Teacher Two-day Lesson Calendar (with Teacher's Notes)
• 1 Key Characters and Places Worksheet
  • Orient your learners by identifying the key characters and the geographical location that situates the myth of Zeus and Metis in ancient Libya and Lake Tritonis.
• 3 Reading Cards on Zeus and Metis
  • Metis: Dictionary Entry
  • The Myth of Metis and Zeus
  • Informational Text on the Virtue of Prudence
• 2 Art & Literature Connections
  • Situate your telling of the myth with examples of art from an Ancient Greek vase and a painting by the Florentine artist Girolamo Macchietti, Allegory of Prudence (before 1592), Collezione Gianfranco Luzzetti Museum, Grosseto — Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
• 12 Comprehension Questions on the Zeus–Métis myth and Athena’s birth
  • Check for understanding with a quick and adaptable question bank
  • Includes a Custom Note-taking template to ensure student accountability!
• 2 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, and challenging words (as well as contextual entries that fit to 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 your students have learned. I also provide two different tickets to offer academic choice for students.
• 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 the story.
• 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

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

• For a comparative mythology reading of Athena's ancient origins in Northern Africa and Libya!
• On characteristics of the gods and goddesses, "the Black Athena", World Literature, gods and goddesses behaving badly, and more!
• 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, or Edith Hamilton's Mythology.

Special thanks to photographer Marie-Lan Nguyen for the cover art — her accurate photographic duplications of Ancient Greek vases and amphoras found in museums are amazing and incredible. Thank you!

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