Love Stinks -or- Eight Brief Tales of Lovers

Here's a good lesson if you teach mythology or if you want to incorporate some myths into your world literature course.

The lesson is a type of "jigsaw" group lesson.  This can easily be adapted to any type of short story.

These myths come from Edith Hamilton's Mythology.  I bet there are class sets somewhere in your school.  If you do not currently have a mythology class, then they are probably collecting dust in your Latin teacher's room.

Your school undoubtedly has a class set of these somewhere.

Break your class in to teams.  Depending on the size of your class, you may have to adjust these numbers, cut out a myth or two, or something like that.

One member of the team will go up and get a note card for each teammate.

Round One
Each team member picks one of these four stories:
  "Pyramus and Thisbe"
  "Orpheus and Eurydice"
  "Cyex and Alycone"
  "Pygmalion and Galatea"
Once they have read the story, each person will write down one question on their card.  The group can (and should) work together to come up with the question.

Then return everyone to their original groups (the above will take approximately 12-15 minutes).  They will teach their story to their group.

Do the same thing with Round Two
  "Baucus and Philemon"
  "Endymion"
  "Daphne"
  "Alpheus and Arethusa"

Once the groups have read and returned to teach their team, collect the cards.

Now pit the teams against each other.  Using the cards as the question base, play some game for team points, bonuses, or whatever incentive you like to use.


'nuff said!