1. The Myth of Athena
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2. The Story Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives Habits of Mind
Tier 1
The Story
Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives
Habits of Mind

3. The Myth of Athena
One day, Metis, wife of Zeus, came to her husband with joyous news: She was going to have a baby. At first, Zeus was ecstatic. He wanted a son or a daughter to whom he could show his power over Greece. However, his enthusiasm for his new son or daughter was short-lived. One of Zeus’ trusted advisors told him he should be wary of a child. His advisor asked Zeus, “What if you have a son and your son overthrows you as you overthrew your father?” Zeus became worried. He decided he could not allow Metis to have her child so he swallowed her whole.

4. After a while, Zeus developed a terrible headache
After a while, Zeus developed a terrible headache. He was unable to determine the cause of his pain, and his trusted advisor had no answers. The pain continued to increase until one morning Zeus’ skull split open! From this chasm, a daughter, Athena emerged. Because Zeus had swallowed Metis whole, he also had absorbed all of her wisdom. The combined wisdom of Zeus and Metis was passed on to Athena who became the goddess of wisdom.
Athena led a very exciting life. In addition to being the goddess of wisdom, Athena also became known as the goddess of war. She helped many of the heroes of the Trojan War achieve victory through her tactical knowledge and the strategies of war.

5. Athena was revered by the Greeks for her wisdom and is credited with many important inventions such as the wagon, the flute, shoemaking, shipbuilding, and the plough. Through the years, Greeks and their successors have said Athena provided mankind with all of the necessary knowledge to build the foundation of a civilization.

6. Students will be able:
Ladder A
A1 Sequencing-To list in order of importance specific events or plot summaries
A2 Cause and Effect-To identify and predict relationships between character behavior and story events, and their effects upon other characters or events.
A3 Consequences and Implications-To predict character actions, story outcomes, and make real-world forecasts.
Ladder D
D1 —Paraphasing - To restate lines read using their own words.
D2 — Summarizing- To provide a summary of text selections.
D3 — Creative Synthesis - To create something new using what they have learned.

7. Habits of Mind
Thinking about Thinking (metacognition)
Posing Questions
Creative, Innovative, Imaginative
Applying past knowledge to new learning
Refer to Jacob’s Ladder Story Table for Ladders A & D Thinking Questions.

8. (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A & D Questions
Tier 2 Rigor
(Discussion)
High Level Strategies with
Ladder A & D Questions

9. Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames)
A1 – List the five most important events of the myth in sequential order. Don’t “give away” the ending though only give word hints to what the ending could be.
A2 – You have been asked to explain why you thought Athena so much wisdom, but a friend is not sure they agree with that. Give 5 points from the text that can support Athena having much wisdom.
D3 – Create your own story that can explain how wisdom is gained and can win wars OR battles which aren’t always physical, don’t forget.

10. (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A & D Questions
Tier 3 Rigor
(Discussion)
High Level Strategies with
Ladder A & D Questions

11. Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames)
A3 – Choose three of the inventions that are credited to Athena. How would life be different if these inventions did not exist? Include what further inventions may not have been available. Have both positive and negative points for the differences. For example telephone – positive – faster communication, negative – less in person and written communication
D2 – How would you summarize the being the goddess of wisdom would be helpful to Athena in her role as goddess of war? Share at least 3 points.
D1 – Explain from a specific viewpoint (Greek peasant, another God, etc.) why Athena was revered by the Greeks.

12. Reflections/Relevance
Tier 4
Reflections/Relevance

13. Choose one of the writing ideas to complete.  Be creative. 
Athena was looked up to as the goddess of wisdom. Think about current days, who is someone to be looked up to for their wisdom? Share information you find about that person to support your choice that they should be looked up to for their wisdom.
Share a personal situation where wisdom was needed. Who was involved, what wisdom was used, who and what was affected, and how could have the situation have had a different outcome?
Be creative with either question you choose to complete.  Here are some suggested project strategies:  Write a podcast script; create a puppet show; develop a PSA; a PowerPoint presentation; write and be an actor in a skit; write a persuasive speech and give before the class.