Myths and Legends:King Midas

Monday 1st February 2021

You do not need to submit work to your Monday English teacher today.

Learning Purposes

• Continue to develop understanding of Greek mythology.

• Be able to comment on the moral of the myth.

• Show evidence of moral messages in our writing.

Previous learning:1. What did the Abduction

of Persephone explain about the state of our world?

2. What type of seed didHades give to Persephone?

Future learning:Continue to develop a knowledge of various myths and legends, inferring information from them and writing analytically about them.

Starter

• If you could be granted one wish, what would it be?

• Be prepared to justify your answer fully.

King Midas

• The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This came to be called the golden touch, or the Midas touch.

• Midas was the son of a peasant, Gordias, who had been declared king upon entering the gates of Phrygia. The cart that they arrived on was then dedicated to the gods by Midas, who secured it in place using a Gordian knot – a knot that is supposedly impossible to untie.

• It was prophesised that whoever could remove the knot would become the ruler of Asia. Alexander the Great accepted the challenge, opting to cut through the knot as opposed to untying it with his hands.

Make your own notes off of this slides. It gives you a bit of information about Midas’ background.

Midas touch

• Nowadays, if we say that someone has a ‘Midas touch’, it means that they are incredibly successful at what they do.

• This often relates to the idea of making a lot of money.

• Who could we consider to be a modern day Midas? You could think about well-known rich people and how they have made their money. Write your ideas down.

Reading

• Remember Greek myths will often contain a clear message or moral.

• When we read, try and identify what this moral is.

Comprehension

Answer the following in full sentences.

1. What impression do we get of King Midas at the beginning of the story?

2. Why does Dionysus grant King Midas one wish?

3. How does Dionysus react to King Midas’ wish?

4. Does Dionysus know Midas has made a foolish wish?

5. At what point does King Midas realise that his wish is really a curse?

6. Why does Dionysus undo Midas’ wish?

7. What is the climax (the main point of action) of the story?

8. What does ‘Midas touch’ mean? How is it used today?

Moral of the story

• The moral of this story is ‘Be careful what you wish for!’ and the tale of Midas provides an ideal platform for considering the nature of greed.

Create a mind map different ideas associated with greed. Use the points below to help:

• Is it only associated with food?

• Does greed always create problems?

• Is it human nature to be greedy?

Moral of the story

• Midas thinks only of short-term gain: as a mortal he does not have the ability to look ahead and see the inevitable consequences of his wish.

• Midas, like many people, comes to realise too late that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

• What are some things that we can have ‘too much’ of in today’s society? Add these ideas to your mind map.

Moral of the story

• Think back to what you wished for at the start of the lesson.

• What could be a negative consequence, like Midas’, of your wish?

• Jot your ideas down.

• For example: wishing for world peace could lead to humansdisappearing as there would be no more conflict.

Storyboard

• In your exercise books, or on a piece of paper, create a storyboard forthe myth of King Midas. Add a caption below each image to helpshow which aspect of the story that you are describing.

Creative writing

• Using you syntax and grammar skills from literacy, write an alternative ending to the myth of King Midas.

• Ensure it is satisfying and that the final sentence sums up the message of the story.

• You should consider different types of endings. Dionysus could ignore Midas’ request for help. Maybe Midas himself turns to gold.

• Try to be as descriptive as possible so that you can bring out the characters’ feelings and how or if they have changed.

• Spend five minutes planning how you are going to change the myth.

Creative writing

Use the following to help you structure a good ending:

• Include an absolute phrase in the first sentence

• Use a semi colon in your second sentence.

• Your third sentence must be 17 words long.

• Your fourth sentence must start with a subordinate clause beginning with the word: ‘If’.

• Your fifth sentence must be 3 words long.

• Include an appositive in your sixth sentence.

• Embed a present participle phrase into your seventh sentence.

• Include the adjective ‘anxious’ in your last sentence.

Reflection

• What are your feelings about money?

• How much is enough? Can we ever have too much?

• How important is it to you?

• Are you a spender or a saver? When you buy something, do youcheck prices, use comparison websites, and consider value for money? Or do you buy on impulse, as soon as they see what they want?

• Considering the above points, make some notes on how you view money.

Directed Reading

Reminder: you do not need to submit work to your Monday teacher today.

Spend the rest of the lesson reading a book of your choice.