Zeus His Nature and Deeds Greek Mythology Lesson | Middle & High School ELA

Who is Zeus (Jupiter)? The god Zeus is the king of the Olympians, the brandisher of lightning bolts, and the son of Kronos and Rhea. This lesson provides a suggested three-day pacing calendar packed with reading, writing, discussion, and connections to art and literature.

This Resource Includes the Following Features:

• Access to Print and Digital Versions (PDF, Google Workspace)
• Three-Day Lesson Calendar (with Teacher’s Notes)
• Introductory Zeus Reading Card
  • Orient learners by identifying the critical features of Zeus and his mythography.
• 7 Reading Task Cards — Designed to get students reading, writing, and presenting information in groups!
  • Homeric Hymn 23 (to Cronides)
  • Orphic Hymn 19 (to Zeus)
  • Lithograph depicting Zeus in his chariot as he prepares to hurl a thunderbolt
  • Orphic Hymn 20 (to Zeus Astrapaios)
  • On Three Figurations of Zeus the Thunderer in Art
  • Temple of Zeus (Jupiter) in Olympia, reconstruction, from d’Espouy
  • The Planet Jupiter (Fifth Planet from the Sun)
• Art & Literature Connection
  • Phidias’s Statue of Zeus at the Temple at Olympia in Elis.
• Informational Text: Zeus (Jupiter) — The Olympian Deity
  • Zeus’s Titles
  • Zeus’s Passions
  • Zeus’s Attendants
  • Hebe
  • Ganymede
  • Story of Philemon and Baucis
  • The Affairs of Zeus
  • Zeus Kidnaps Europa
  • The Search for Europa
  • Worship of Zeus
  • Includes a Custom Note-taking template to ensure student accountability!
  • Includes an 18 Reading Comprehension Question Worksheet
    • Reading comprehension questions have a vocabulary in context, analysis, and inference questions.
• 5-Question “What Do You Know about Zeus?” Pre-Assessment (Easel)
• 25-Count Question Bank
  • Check for understanding with a quick and adaptable question bank
  • Bar-Style Trivia Game for Review or Assessment
• 10 Discussion Questions (for Speaking, Listening & Writing)
  • Self and Peer Evaluation Forms
• 4 Google Forms Assessments
  • Basic Zeus Quiz
  • Written Exam
  • Art and Literature Exam
  • Advanced Exam
• 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.
• 4 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 impressive 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 fit the story).
• 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.

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