Week at a glance March 1-5, 2010

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), compares and contrasts themes across multiple stories ( 1.4.K7b), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), analyzes the contextual aspects of setting (historical, social, and cultural) and their impact and influence on characters and events in the story (11.2.1.K2), recognizes ways that literature from different cultures presents similar themes differently across genres (11.2.2.K1), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we turn to a two week unit on mythology from Japan and China. We'll start with Japanese/Ainu mythology. As usual with any region's mythology, we'll start with the creation story of the region and discover its major gods and heroes. From Japan, we'll move on to China to discover its rich mythological traditions. Though Western culture was separated from China by thousands of miles and discovery of one another, students will find Chinese mythology and its tales to be as familiar as any Greek or Norse tale.

• Mon: Japanese mythology -"The Creation of the Universe and Japan" and "Amaterasu," pgs 369 - 376.
• Tues: Japanese/Ainu folktales - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Wed: Chinese mythology - "The Creation of the Universe," "Yi the Archer and the Ten Suns," and "The Quest for the Sun," pgs 360 - 369 - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Chinese mythology - Sun Wukong, the Monkey god - read and discuss in class.
  
• Fri: Chinese mythology - Chinese folktales - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.