To practice oral presentation and interpretive skills 4. Students read Edith Hamilton's Mythology as part of their summer reading. Instead of giving a test or writing essays, this activity will help them move from a humorous dramatic monologue into a more serious one that still extends students'creativity. Each student will choose a god, goddess or major hero to portray in class. The students choose the character they are to research.
Females portray female characters and males, males.
They then do research on their characters for one major symbol for a prop such as a jagged piece of lightning for Zeus. For costumes, students may drape sheets to suggest males or females and use safety pins and ribbons to secure the ends of the sheets. Hair, sandal and jewelry styles are available in encyclopedias for both males and females to use as they choose. Students will be assessed on their costume and prop being appropriate to their characters, their posture, voice, appropriate gestures, facial expression, and preparation for the presentation. One of the most interesting characters is Iphigenia in the version where her father Agamemnon sacrifices her in order to receive good weather to sail.