The purpose of the Project Space Progression is to introduce students to mythical spaces, archetypes, and archetypal myths in literature that are significant in various cultures. This series of lessons and exercises will present students with the opportunity to perform an in-depth analysis of the trickster archetype. Following a brief overview that acquaints students with the primary categories of myths, including the Female Divine, the Male Divine, Creation Myths, and Trickster Myths, students will read the Wasco Indian story, “Coyote Places the Stars,” as the introduction to the trickster archetype in literature. This reading will be followed by an analysis of prevalent trickster traits and an array of trickster characters across cultures. Students will then choose one mythical trickster character to research extensively. The choices are as follows: Anansi the Spider (African), Raven (Tlingit), Prometheus (Greek), Loki (Norse), Brer Rabbit (American), Maui (Polynesian), Queen Medb (Irish), Hermes (Greek), Tengu (Japanese), Iktomi (Dakota tribe). These choices present students with a wide array of cultures and characters they may explore through the research and writing processes. The readings, research assignment, and the task of creating an annotated bibliography will enable students to inform their thinking on how folklore serves as a solid and durable cultural influence. Through these exercises, students will connect their own interests, traits, cultural values, and living spaces and those of their selected trickster character.
Each student will study the background story and historical significance of their mythological character and will be required to locate and reference five scholarly journal articles that outline the space in which the selected trickster lived, the attributes and motives of the character, and the trickster’s cultural values, concerns, and contributions to the society in which they lived. Students will be required to summarize each source and speak to how they plan to use each source in the subsequent writing exercises. Following this research assignment, students will write a 300-word letter to a friend describing what a trickster is, examples of tricksters in literature, and the story of how their chosen trickster became a cultural legend. The next exercise in the series will challenge students to select and analyze a contemporary trickster character from American popular culture. For this third exercise in the Project Space progression, students will study one modern trickster to identify the actions, speech, mannerisms, and attributes that allow this character to be defined as a trickster. Students will produce a blog post situating their chosen modern-day trickster within a specific space or culture. The blog post’s goal is to enable students to explore the characteristics of this modern-day trickster and how his or her actions and reputation impact others within the space they reside. While the concepts and the terminology of the archetype and the trickster may be new to numerous individuals, many students are familiar with fantasy and comic representations of similar characters within their home culture. This progression aims to allow students to appreciate the universality of literary themes, cultural values, character traits, and the global prevalence of oral traditions. For the Project Space culminating writing assignment, students will write a compare and contrast essay in which the classical mythical trickster is compared and contrasted with the contemporary trickster figure of their choice to evaluate each character’s home space and classify and compare the traits of each entity. The carefully scaffolded writing exercises and readings provided in this progression allow students to use literature as a tool to understand how cultural mores and social conventions are captured in folktales and myths and shared over time.
Project Space – Lesson Plan Outline
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Define archetype, archetypal myths, mythical spaces, and trickster archetype
- Analyze and interpret texts in order to ask questions and make connections and observations
- Recognize how gender roles are presented in various folktales
- Perform character analysis to identify character traits, motivations, character arc, and conflicts
- Identify the variance in social conventions and cultural mores between societies
- Analyze the plot, setting, conflict, and literary devices used in texts
- Construct a thesis and organize and develop a substantial, balanced, and convincing defense of it in a voice, tone, language, and format appropriate to the purpose of the writing
- Demonstrate satisfactory competence of Standard English Conventions
- Select and incorporate ideas derived from a variety of sources, such as library electronic and print resources, books, journals, the Internet, and document then responsibly and correctly
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
Primary Text: “Coyote Places the Stars” Link: http://luttonstnicholasprimary.org/classes/workpacks/ks2/july13/HowCoyotePlacedtheStars-KS2ReadingComprehensionWorksheetsAndWritingPrompt-NativeAmericanMyths/How%20Coyote%20Places%20the%20Stars%20-%20reading%20sheet.pdf.
Mythical Trickster Stories – Video Links:
– Anansi the Spider (African) https://youtu.be/hvb5EsITzoM
– Raven (Tlingit) https://youtu.be/cvY9Itj-uAw
– Prometheus (Greek) https://youtu.be/U_u91SjrEOE
– Loki (Norse) https://youtu.be/XowttrRegjQ
– Brer Rabbit (American) https://youtu.be/HHA_79dP3y4
– Maui (Polynesian) https://youtu.be/eBB3RKazIj8
– Queen Medb (Irish) https://youtu.be/lawx8YoLEIY
– Hermes (Greek) https://youtu.be/TlcqiJu6S9o
– Tengu (Japanese) https://youtu.be/ZBxWrK3kQoY
– Iktomi (Dakota Tribe) https://youtu.be/0ktPqlJ9ii4
Annotated Bibliography Samples (See Progression One on this Site)
Trickster Blog Post Samples (See Progression One on this Site)
A Functional Computer
Free WordPress Blog Site (To Be Created)
PROJECT SPACE PROGRESSION
Progression Tasks – Part A:
- Students participate in lesson: Myths, Archetypes, and Mythological Tricksters
- Students read “Coyote Places the Stars”
- Students analyze the primary text to identify the trickster actions and attributes
- Students choose one of ten mythological trickster characters to research
- Students must locate five peer-reviewed journal articles that define, describe, and relate the actions, motivations, characteristics of their chosen trickster character
Writing Exercise #1: Select five scholarly sources relating to your mythological trickster character. Create an annotated bibliography. For each source, you must include bibliographic information for the source, a summary of the source (100 words/entry), an evaluation of the source (100 words/entry), and a description of how you will use the source (100 words/entry). 300 words for each source. Assignment Value: 50 Points
Writing Exercise #2: Using the information gathered from your research, you will write a 300-word letter to a friend describing what a trickster is. You will then describe examples of tricksters in literature, and you will share the story of how your chosen trickster figure became a cultural legend. Assignment Value: 25 Points
Progression Tasks – Part B:
- Students will select and analyze a contemporary trickster character from American Popular culture
- Students will be required to identify the actions, speech, mannerisms, and attributes that allow this modern-day character to be defined as a trickster
- Students will create a free WordPress Blog Site
- Students will review Trickster Blog Samples
Writing Exercise #3: You will produce a 400+ word blog post that situates your chosen modern-day trickster within a specific space or culture. Your blog must describe your figure’s activities, characteristics, and motivations, and you must also explain how this trickster’s actions and reputation impact others within the space they live. Your blog must be separated into three separate paragraphs and needs to contain three images of your trickster. (See sample Trickster Blogs for inspiration & guidance). Assignment Value: 30 Points.
PROJECT SPACE: CULMINATING WRITING ACTIVITY
You will write a five-page essay in which you compare and contrast your classical mythological trickster with your chosen contemporary trickster figure. You are expected to classify the traits of each entity and highlight the similarities and differences between each character. You must also evaluate each character’s home space and describe the ways their actions have impacted their respective communities and cultures over time. Source requirement: three peer-reviewed sources. A works cited page is also required and does not count as part of the five-page minimum page count. Be sure to adhere to MLA guidelines. Upload your essay to Canvas prior to the due date. No late submissions will be accepted without prior approval. Assignment Value: 100 Points.
English Writing Studies 