Modern Day Myths and Creative Constellations

In ancient times people made up stories, called myths, to explain things they didn’t understand. T-P-S: Based on your background knowledge, describe an example of a myth you have heard before.

Many constellations are named for mythological characters, such as gods, goddesses, and heroes. Capricorn: The constellation Capricorn or Capricornus, is supposedly one of the earliest constellations of the Zodiac. Many people think that the Capricorn's name means the "sea goat" or the "goat fish", but in reality when you translate it's name from mythology, it means horned goat. Gemini: In Greek mythology the twins of Gemini weren't really twins, they were half-brothers. The two brothers had the same mom but different dads. Castor and Pullox the twins were very close. When castor was killed, Pullox was so sad, Zeus let him visit Castor in the underworld. Later Zeus put the two next to each other in the heavens.

More famous constellations Leo: The constellation Leo the Lion is said to represent Nemean the lion in Greek mythology. Nemean's skin was resistant to all weapons. The Greek hero Heracles (Hercules), fought Nemean, choked him, and killed him, in his first labor. After killing Nemean Heracles skinned him, and wore the skin for protection when he fought Hydra. Leo is located between Viro, and Cancer. Sagittarius: The constellation sagittarius is the archer. Sagittarius was a centaur, this means he was half human, and half horse. This constellation is one of the oldest known in the sky.

The Story of Callisto and Arcus The Great Bear The Story of Callisto and Arcus T-P-S: Make a prediction of how The Great Bear constellation got it’s name.

Great Bear and Little Bear The ancient way of viewing the Great Bear places the Big Dipper in the rump and the tail of the bear. The tail is unusually long for a bear ... see the Myth! Little Bear is also known as the little dipper and Ursa Minor.

Write your own myth! Directions: Choose a constellation from the list on the next slide Think about the meaning of the name and how it could have gotten it’s name Write a modern day myth using your constellation as the main character. You should include at least two other constellations as supporting characters. Your myth must be a paragraph!

Time to Share! Each teammate will share their myth out loud to their table The team votes on the most descriptive and creative myth I will read the best five out loud to the class

Creative Constellations T-P-S: Explain how constellations were originally named.

Create your own constellation! Supplies: Black construction paper, 10 stars, chalk/white crayon Directions: Hold the stars above the black construction paper and drop them lightly onto the paper 2. Stick the stars onto the paper in the exact place where it fell

Create your own constellation! Directions: Study the placement of the stars to see what ‘picture’ your looks like Create a constellation by drawing white lines to connect the stars.

Create your own constellation! Directions: Add a title to your constellation 6. Then write a creative paragraph explaining why it was given that title

Time to Share! Each teammate will share their paragraph about their constellation out loud to their team The team votes on the most descriptive and creative paragraph I will read the best five out loud to the class