Genre: M Teacher’S Guide Ra Creates the World Isis and Osiris€¦ · Isis and Osiris The Death and Rebirth of Osiris Teacher’S Guide Level W/60 Unit at a Glance ... and circle

1 Three egypTian MyThs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCB e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Skills and Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies• Make inferences• Make predictions

Genre Study• Recognize genre features• Analyze genre texts• Make text-to-text genre connections

Tier Two Vocabulary• See book’s glossary

Word Study• Descriptive language: Adjectives

and adverbs

Fluency• Read with prosody: phrasing

Writing• Writer’s tools: Interpret figurative

language: personification• Write a myth using writing-process steps

Ra Creates the World

Isis and Osiris

The Death and Rebirth of Osiris

Teacher’S Guide

Level W/60

Unit at a Glance

Day 1 Prepare to Read Day 4 Read “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris”*

Day 2 Read “Ra Creates the World”* Day 5 Reread “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris”*

Day 3 Read “Isis and Osiris”* Days 6–15 Write a myth using the writing-process steps on page 10

*While you are meeting with small groups, other students can:• read independently from your classroom library• reflect on their learning in reading response journals• engage in literacy workstations

Genre: Myths

Y07350_G6Myths2Egyptian_TG_Rev2.indd 1 11/3/10 1:49 PM

2 Three egypTian MyThs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

• Ask students to turn to pages 5–7. Say: Thousands of years ago, Egyptians had a complex religion and mythology based on gods and goddesses. Read these pages to learn about the myths of that ancient culture.

• Have a student read aloud the background information while others follow along.

• Say: Ancient Egyptians gave their gods some human characteristics and some traits drawn from nature. What can you infer, or tell, from this? Allow responses. Prompt students to understand that the Egyptians tried to explain the spiritual forces of their world by relating their gods to themselves and the world around them.

Introduce the Tools for Readers and Writers: Personification• Read aloud “Personification” on page 4. • Say: Many writers use personification to give human

traits to nonliving objects. This technique helps readers relate to the objects. These myths contain examples of personification. Let’s practice identifying personification so we can recognize it in the myths we read.

• Distribute BLM 1 (Personification). Read aloud sentence 1 with students.

• Model Identifying Personification: Can statues weep? No. Weeping is something people do when they are sad. The writer gives the statues a human action and emotion as a way of expressing great sadness about the destruction of war. The statues “show” the emotion that readers feel. Personification helps make the outside world echo the inner feelings of humans.

• Ask students to work with a partner or in small groups to underline the examples of personification and circle what the writer personifies in the next five sentences, complete three sentences with examples of personification, and write three sentences using personification.

• Bring the groups together to share their findings.• Ask the groups to read one or more sentences

they wrote. Use the examples to build students’ understanding of how and why writers use per sonification. Remind students that personification can help readers make connections to and inferences about the characters, plot, and setting of a myth.

• Ask the groups to hand in their sentences. Transfer studentcompleted and studentwritten sentences to chart paper, title the page “Personification,” and post it as an anchor chart in your classroom.

Prepare to ReadBuild Genre Background• Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Who

can explain what the word genre means? Allow responses. Say: The word genre means “a kind of something.” How many of you like to watch reality shows? How many of you prefer sitcoms? Reality shows and sitcoms are genres, or kinds, of television programs. All reality shows share certain characteristics. All sitcoms have some features in common, too. As readers and writers, we focus on genres of literature. As readers, we pay attention to the genre to help us comprehend. Recognizing the genre helps us anticipate what will happen or what we will learn. As writers, we use our knowledge of genre to help us develop and organize our ideas.

• Ask: Who can name some literary genres? Let’s make a list. Allow responses. Post the list on the classroom wall as an anchor chart.

• Draw a concept web on chart paper or the board. Write Myths in the center circle of the web.

• Say: Myths are one example of a literary genre. Think of any myths you know. How would you define what a myth is?

• Turn and Talk. Ask students to turn and talk to a classmate and jot down any features of a myth they can think of. Then bring students together and ask them to share their ideas. Record them on the group web. Reinforce the concept that all myths have certain common features.

Introduce the Book• Distribute a copy of the book to each student. Read

the title aloud. Ask students to tell what they see on the cover and table of contents.

• Ask students to turn to pages 2–3. Say: This week we are going to read myths that will help us learn about this genre. First we’re going to focus on this genre as readers. Then we’re going to study myths from a writer’s perspective. Our goal this week is to really understand this genre.

• Ask a student to read aloud the text on pages 2–3 while others follow along. Invite a different student to read the web on page 3.

• Point to your Myths web on chart paper. Say: Let’s compare our initial ideas about myths with what we just read. What new features of this genre did you learn? Add new information to the class web.

• Post this chart in your classroom during your myths unit. Say: As we read myths this week, we will come back to this anchor chart. We will look for how these features appear in each myth we read.

Day 1

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.ISBN: 978-1-4509-3036-9


©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3Three egypTian MyThs

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Write one or more of the following

questions on chart paper. What is a literary genre, and how can understanding

genres help readers and writers? What did you learn today about the myth genre? How can readers recognize the technique of

personification? Ask partners or small groups to discuss their ideas

and report them back to the whole group as a way to summarize the day’s learning.

Management Tips• Throughout the week, you may wish to use

some of the Reflect and Review questions as prompts for reader response journal entries in addition to Turn and Talk activities.

• Have students create genre folders. Keep blackline masters, notes, smallgroup writing, and checklists in the folders.

• Create anchor charts by writing wholegroup discussion notes and minilessons on chart paper. Hang charts in the room where students can see them.

Before ReadingIntroduce “Ra Creates the World”• Reread the Myths anchor chart or the web on

page 3 to review the features of a myth.• Ask students to turn to page 8. Ask: Based on

the title and illustrations, what do you predict this myth might be about? Allow responses.

• Invite students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (piercing, devoid, fiercely, omniscient). Say: As you read, pay attention to these words. If you don’t know what they mean, try to use clues in the surrounding text to help you define them. We’ll come back to these words after we read.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the myth, focusing on the

genre elements they noted on their anchor chart. They should also look for examples of personification and think about how the author’s use of personification helps them understand or connect with the characters or events.

Read “Ra Creates the World”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask them to read the myth silently, whisperread, or read with a partner.

• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their use of fixup strategies and their understanding of the text.

Management TipAsk students to place selfstick notes in the margins where they notice examples of personification or features of the genre.

After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Make Inferences• Lead a student discussion using the “Analyze

the Characters, Setting, and Plot” and “Focus on Comprehension” questions on page 14. Then, use the following steps to provide explicit modeling of how to make inferences in a myth.

• Explain: The author doesn’t tell us everything directly in a myth. We have to figure out some things on our own using clues in the story and illustrations. When you read a myth, think about the details. What idea or fact can you figure out that the author has not stated? Making inferences as you read can help you get more meaning from the myth.

Day 2

Name Date

THREE EGYPTIAN MYTHS ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCBLM 1

1. From the hill, the crumbling statues wept bitter tears at the destruction of war.

2. The exhausted willows draped their branches on the fence, sighing gently.

3. Towering white clouds jostled one another for position, ready to race.

4. The dry stalks of corn whispered among themselves.

5. Our little tent stood at attention in the wind and anxiously snapped its flaps.

6. The washing machine set the beat, drumming tisk-tisk-tisk beneath the sloshing suds.

Directions: Complete each sentence with an example of personification.

7. The man’s bundle of sticks Possibleanswer:mutteredinadryvoiceasthecartbumpeddowntheroad.

8. The woman’s cape Possibleanswer:flaredproudlyasshetwirledaround.

9. A single giant oak tree Possibleanswer:stoodsentinelinthepasture.

Directions: Write three sentences using examples of personification.

10. Possibleanswer:Thejonquilsdancedinthespringwindandsmiledatthesun.11. Possibleanswer:Mywornsneakersshriveledwithshamenexttotheshinynew

shoes.12. Possible answer: The dusty, warped door complained loudly as we forced it

open.

PersonificationDirections: Read each sentence. Underline the example of personification. Circle what is being personified.



of the mound.” This sentence has the words I’m looking for. This sentence answers the question.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Find It! questions.

Focus on Vocabulary: Descriptive Language• Explain/Model. Read aloud “Descriptive Language:

Adjectives and Adverbs” on page 4. Say: Writers use descriptive language to add details to their writing. For example, on page 8, the author describes the black, lifeless water. The adjectives black and lifeless answer the question “What kind?” about the noun water. The author also says that Ra was glistening brightly. The adverb brightly answers the question “How?” about the verb phrase was glistening. Readers can often figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar adjective or adverb by looking at the word it describes.

• Practice. Ask students to think of adjectives to describe the noun story and adverbs to describe the action created. List the adjectives and adverbs below the word they describe and discuss what they tell about the word, such as what type or size for adjectives and how or when for adverbs. For example, students might describe a story as long or say someone created quickly.

• Say: Let’s find the boldfaced words in this myth. What can you do if you don’t know what these words mean? Allow responses. Say: Besides looking in the glossary or a dictionary, you can look for clues in the text. One strategy is to look for the word that the unknown word describes.

• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the “Focus on Words” activity on page 15 using BLM 3 (Focus on Descriptive Language). Explain that they should read the text around the boldfaced word to find the word that it describes.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Ask groups of students to share their findings. Then challenge individual students to use the words in new contexts. Ask other students to listen carefully and give a thumbsup if they think the word was used correctly.

• Ask students to save their work in their genre studies folders to continue on Days 3 and 4.

Page Word Adjective or Adverb What It Describes

8 piercing adjective voice

10 devoid adjective city

12 fiercely adverb jealous

12 omniscient adjective Ra

Day 2 (cont.)• Distribute copies of BLM 2 (Make Inferences) and/or

draw a chart like the one below.

Clues Inference

Ra radiates light; picture shows him creating circle of brilliant rays of light.

Ra must be a sun god to ancient Egyptians.

Ra creates all things and beings in the world.

Ra is either the only Egyptian god or the most important and powerful of the gods.

Ra’s first eye is jealous of the second eye.

Egyptian gods must have had human emotions.

The first people spring from Ra’s tears of joy at finding his children.

If Egyptians believed they came from Ra, they must have believed that they were godlike in some ways.

It is night when Ra travels to the Underworld. It is day when he returns to Earth.

Ancient Egyptians may have used this concept to explain day and night.

• Model: I can make an inference based on one or two clues. For example, the author says that Ra radiates light. The illustration shows the god atop a pyramid with a brilliant circle of light rays behind him. These clues help me figure out, or infer, that Ra was a sun god to the Egyptian people. In other words, although they drew him as a human shape with a falcon’s head, he represented the power and goodness of the sun.

• Guide Practice. Work with students to locate other story clues and use them to make inferences. Help students understand that inferences must grow logically out of story details.

• Have students keep BLM 2 in their genre studies folders.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Remind students that when they answer questions

on standardized assessments, they must be able to support their answers with facts or clues and evidence directly from the text.

• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small groups of students to practice answering textdependent comprehension questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Find It! questions. The answer to a Find It! question is right in the book. You can find the answer in one place in the text.

• Model. Read the Find It! question. Say: When I read the question, I look for important words that tell me what to look for in the book. What words in this question do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I’m looking for the words Ra, create, and top of the mound. On page 10, I read “So Ra created a magnificent city on top



Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

reread the “Features of a Myth” web on page 3 and decide whether all of these features are present in “Ra Creates the World.” Ask groups to share and support their findings.

Fluency: Read with Prosody: Phrasing• You may wish to have students reread the myth

with a partner, focusing on reading with appropriate phrasing. Model by writing the first sentence of the myth on the board and marking the phrases with slashes: Close your eyes,/then open them,/and tell me what you saw/when your eyes were closed. Read the sentence aloud, explaining how you used sense and structure to figure out how to group the words. Then invite students to choose a section of the myth to read aloud and discuss how they decided where to group words into phrases.

Note Regarding This Teacher’s GuideEach book provides an opportunity for students to focus on an additional comprehension strategy that is typically assessed on state standards. The strategy is introduced on page 4 (the third item in the “Tools for Readers and Writers” section) with textspecific followup questions found on the Reread pages. Some Reread sections also introduce an advanced language arts concept or comprehension strategy, such as protagonist/antagonist, perspective, or subtitles, because students at this level should be able to consider more than one comprehension strategy per text.

Before ReadingIntroduce “Isis and Osiris”• Ask students to turn to page 16. Say: You are

going to read another myth today. Turn to a partner to discuss how you will use your genre knowledge as a reader to help you understand the myth.

• Ask the partners to summarize what they heard.• Say: Let’s look at the title and illustrations of this

myth. What do you predict it might be about? Give students time to share their predictions.

• Ask students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (emphatically, confidently, cunningly, giddily). Ask: What do you notice about these words? Why do you think they appear in boldfaced type? (All of these words are adverbs.)

• Say: As you read, try to figure out what information the boldfaced words add to the words they describe, including what question each one answers. After we read, we will talk about how context clues help you understand the adverbs.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the myth, focusing on

how the characters and plot represent or explain natural events. Encourage students to notice the author’s use of personification.

Read “Isis and Osiris”• Place students in groups based on their reading



After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Make Inferences• Say: Yesterday we made inferences about “Ra

Creates the World.” What inferences can you make in today’s myth? What do the actions of gods and goddesses explain? Record responses on a wholegroup chart like the one below.

• Discuss Making Inferences Across Texts. Lead a discussion using the following questions: How are the traits of gods in “Isis and Osiris” similar to the traits of gods in “Ra Creates the World”? Are any new qualities added to the idea of what it means to be a god? How is the role played by humans different in each myth? Where has the author used personification? How do these examples of personification help you connect to the characters and events?

Day 3



Focus on Vocabulary: Descriptive Language• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the

“Focus on Words” activity on page 21 using BLM 3. Have groups of students share their findings.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Invite pairs of students to generate a new sentence using each adverb to describe the way someone speaks. Suggest that students brainstorm an appropriate situation for each adverb. Encourage partners to act out the meaning of one of the adverbs in a short skit. For example, students in a lunchroom might speak emphatically about foods they love and hate.


16 emphatically adverb declared

17 confidently adverb said

18 cunningly adverb said

18 giddily adverb shouted

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

discuss the following questions and report their ideas to the whole group.

What do you think about this myth’s explanation of changes in the moon? Why?

Have you ever helped someone solve a difficult problem using your wits? What plan did you make? How did it turn out?


with a partner, focusing on reading with appropriate phrasing. Remind them that we do not read word by word; instead, we group words in ways that make sense, sound right, and fit the author’s sentence structure. Demonstrate how you would read the first two paragraphs on page 16. Then ask each pair to choose and copy a paragraph from the myth, mark the phrases, and take turns reading it aloud.

Day 3 (cont.)

Clues Inference

Ra is upset that he dreams Nut’s son will replace him. He puts a curse on Nut so she can’t give birth.

Egyptian gods must have human emotions and flaws.

Khonsu agrees to play Senet with Thoth because he thinks he can win this time.

Egyptian gods must be competitive in nature.

Ra, the all-powerful creator, grows old and has to pass leadership to a successor.

Even the most powerful Egyptian god must not be immortal.

Isis and Osiris are benevolent leaders, much beloved by all the people.

Isis and Osiris must like people and want to do good things for them.

Khonsu does not regain the light he loses to Thoth. His light decreases to nothing and then increases to its fullest each month.

Ancient Egyptians may have used this concept to explain the cycles of the moon.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card to practice

answering textdependent questions.• Say: Today we will learn how to answer Look Closer!

questions. The answer to a Look Closer! question is in the book. You have to look in more than one place, though. You find the different parts of the answer. Then you put the parts together to answer the question.

• Model. Read the Look Closer! question. Say: This question asks me to identify a sequence of events. I know because it asks, “What happened after . . .?” Now I need to look for other important information to find in the book. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I’m looking for the events that occur after Khonsu agreed to play more games. On page 18, I read that Thoth beat Khonsu each time they played. Khonsu had to give up more light. In total, Khonsu lost five days of light. Thoth added the light to the end of the year. The year now had 365 days. This is the sequence of events. I have found the answer in the book. I looked in several sentences to find the answer.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Look Closer! questions.



Before ReadingIntroduce “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris”• Ask students to turn to page 22. Say: This myth is

written in a different format from the other myths we have read. Notice the notes in the margins. First, we will read to understand the myth, focusing on the characters, plot, and setting. Tomorrow, we will reread this myth like a writer and think about how the notes in the margins can help us write our own myths.

• Point out the boldfaced words (intricate, lavish, appreciatively, triumphantly). Say: When you see these words, look for the words they describe to help you understand their meanings. Remember that figuring out what information an adjective or adverb adds to a sentence can help you figure out the descriptive word’s meaning.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the myth, focusing on how

the plot and characters illustrate the religious views of ancient Egyptians. Students should also look for examples of personification and think about how the author’s use of personification helps them understand the myth.

Read “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris”• Place students in groups based on their reading



After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Make Inferences• Lead a wholeclass discussion about the strategy

of making inferences. Ask: What do you do when you make inferences? Allow responses. Make sure students understand that readers “add up” clues that authors give in descriptions, dialogue, or characters’ actions to figure out, or infer, things the author does not state directly.

• Pair students. Give partners time to record inferences from today’s myth on BLM 2.

• Give each pair a possible inference to prove or disprove using clues in the myth. Use these sample statements and create more of your own. The people of Egypt would have gladly helped Set take over the throne.

Set and Osiris are the gods of opposing forces in nature.

Set made the chest very beautiful so Osiris would want it.

Isis longed to rule Egypt herself.

Clues Inference

Set waits until Isis is away to lure Osiris to a feast and kill him.

Set must recognize that Isis is strong enough to stop him or ruin his plans.

Set measures his brother’s body. Then he builds a chest.

The chest must be for Osiris’s body.

The guests at the feast have already seen the chest, but they pretend to be excited.

The guests must be part of the plot to kill Osiris.

The chest with Osiris’s body lands in a tree. Overnight, the tree grows to its full size.

Osiris must still have powers, even though he is dead.

Isis restores Osiris’s body and life. Isis conceives a child.

Isis must have had a second motive for needing to find Osiris: she needed to produce a son who could replace Set on the throne.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with small

groups of students to practice answering textdependent questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Prove It! questions. The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer.

• Model. Read the Prove It! question. Say: This question asks me to find clues to support a prediction. I know because it offers a prediction and then asks, “How do you know this?” Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I need to find clues that link the chest to Set’s plan to murder Osiris. On page 23, I see that Set measured the sleeping Osiris and then began immediately to build the chest. The text says, “But Set knew all along who would become the chest’s final owner.” I have found the evidence to support the prediction.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Prove It! questions.

Focus on Vocabulary: Descriptive Language• Ask students to work with a partner to complete

the “Focus on Words” activity on page 29 using BLM 3. Have groups of students share their findings.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Divide the class into two teams. Assign an adjective and an adverb from the glossary to each team. Have teams generate as many sentences as they can in one minute using their words. Explain that they must have an equal number of sentences using the adverb and the adjective. Evaluate and tally

Day 4



Before ReadingSummarize and Make Connections Across Texts• Engage students in a discussion about the three

myths in this book. Invite a different student to summarize each myth. Encourage other students to add their ideas and details.

• Ask students to turn to the inside back cover of the book. Say: Good readers think about how literary works are related. We know, for example, that all of these myths share certain features. They all have gods and goddesses as characters. They all describe heroic deeds that helped Egyptians explain something in nature or their beliefs. What else do they have in common? Allow responses. Say: Today we will think about the characters, challenges, and endings in all three myths and what we can learn from them.

• Ask students to work individually or in small groups to complete BLM 4 (Make Connections Across Texts). Then bring students together to share and synthesize their ideas.

Directions: Use the chart to compare and contrast the three Egyptian myths.


Isis and Osiris


Main Characters

Ra, Nun, Shu, Tefnut, the eye of Ra

Ra, Nut, Thoth, Khonsu, Osiris, Horus the elder, Set, Isis, Nephthys

Set, Osiris, Isis, king of Byblos

Challenge Facing the Main Character

create the world and children; find lost children

overcome Ra’s curse to give birth to children

find the body of Osiris and make it whole

Other Characters’ Involvement in Challenge

Ra uses some of Nun’s water to create Tefnut; sends his eye to find his lost children.

Thoth wins light from Khonsu; adds days to the year when Nut can give birth.

Set murders Osiris and cuts his body into pieces; the king of Byblos opens the trunk to reveal Osiris’s body.

Ending Ra’s joyful tears upon the return of his children become humans.

Nut bears a child on each of the five new days in the year; Osiris and Isis become good rulers of Egypt.

Isis puts Osiris back together and gives him life for one night. Osiris returns to the Underworld to rule souls who have passed.

Set a Purpose for Rereading• Have students turn to page 22. Say: Until now, we

have been thinking about myths from the perspective of the reader. Learning the features of myths has helped us be critical readers. Now we are going to put on a different hat. We are going to reread “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris” and think like writers. We’ll pay attention to the annotations in the margins. These annotations will help us understand what the author did and why she did it.

all sentences that use the words correctly. The team with the most points wins.


23 intricate adjective designs

23 lavish adjective feast

24 appreciatively adverb “oohed” and “ahhed”

24 triumphantly adverb said

Reflect and Review • Ask and discuss the following questions. What new words have you added to your vocabulary

this week? Which is your favorite? Which character do you most admire? Why? How can you use descriptive language and

personification as a writer?


with a partner, focusing on reading with appropriate phrasing. Ask them to discuss what they learned about Egyptian gods and goddesses. Then have partners take turns reading the first paragraph on page 22 aloud. Remind them to group, or phrase, the words using sense and structure to guide them so that listeners will better understand the meaning of the text.

Day 4 (cont.) Day 5



from conceiving a child. Who could our characters be? What human traits will they show? What superhuman abilities will they possess? Allow responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 3. Say: Before you’re ready to retell a myth, you need to think about its setting and plot. “The Death and Birth of Osiris” takes place in longago Egypt and follows a god’s plot to overthrow his brother. When you write your myth, think about what is important about the setting and plot before you retell it in your own words. Choose one of the cultures, a wellknown myth from that culture, and some of the myth’s characters the class has brainstormed, and work together to tell about the setting and plot in students’ own words.

Build Comprehension: Make Predictions• Explain: Details about the setting, characters,

and events in a plot provide clues we can use to guess, or predict, what will happen next in a story. In “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris,” we read that Set is harsh, violent, and jealous of Osiris and plots to overthrow him. These details lead us to predict that Set will murder Osiris. Later in the story, Set does kill his brother, so our prediction is confirmed. If a prediction is wrong, we revise it and continue reading, watching for more clues about the outcome of the myth.

• Model: When Thoth thinks about Nut’s plea for help and Ra’s curse in “Isis and Osiris,” he first frowns in concentration. Then he stops frowning and seems lost in thought. Finally, he smiles. These clues lead me to predict that Thoth has thought of a plan that will help Nut. I read on and find out that Thoth has a cunning plan to win more days for the year. My prediction is correct.

• Guide Practice. Invite students to work in small groups to find more clues in each story that help readers predict what will happen next. Since they have already read the myths, students might read a myth aloud to a family member or friend. Suggest that they pause at chosen points to ask the listener to predict what will happen and then help the listener confirm or revise his or her predictions.

Reread “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask them to reread the myth silently or whisperread and to pay attention to the annotations.

After ReadingAnalyze the Mentor Text• Read and discuss the mentor annotations with the

whole group.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small

groups of students to practice answering textdependent questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Take It Apart! questions. The answer to a Take It Apart! question is not stated in the book. You must think like the author to figure out the answer.

• Model. Read the first Take It Apart! question. Say: This question asks me to analyze text structure and organization. I know because I must find a specific text structure. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I need to find an example of personification on page 24. The author says, “The walls of the chest embraced Osiris like an old friend.” The author has given the chest the ability to embrace, as if it had arms. I have found the answer by using what I know about text structures.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Take It Apart! questions.

Analyze the Writer’s Craft• Ask students to turn to page 30. Explain: Over the

next few days, you will have the opportunity to write your own myths. First, let’s think about how the author wrote “The Death and Rebirth of Osiris.” When she developed this myth, she followed certain steps. You can follow these same steps to write your own myths.

• Read step 1. Say: The first thing you’ll do is research and decide on a myth you want to retell. The myths in this book all come from the ancient Egyptian culture and feature Egyptian gods and goddesses as heroes. What cultures interest you? What heroes or gods and goddesses of those cultures do you know? Allow responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 2. Say: In the myths we read, gods and goddesses had human traits mixed with superhuman abilities. For example, Ra created the world, yet he feared giving up his kingdom. Because of that fear, he put a curse on his granddaughter to prevent her

Day 5 (cont.)


10Three egypTian MyThs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Write a Myth• Use the suggested daily schedule to guide

students through the writingprocess steps. Allow approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. As students work independently, circulate around the room and monitor student progress. Confer with individual students to discuss their ideas and help them move forward. Use the explicit minilessons, conferencing strategies, and assessment rubrics in Using Genre Models to Teach Writing for additional support.

• Before students begin planning their myths, pass out copies of BLM 5 (Myth Checklist). Review the characteristics and conventions of writing that will be assessed. Tell students that they will use this checklist when they complete their drafts.

• This daily plan incorporates the generally accepted six traits of writing as they pertain to myths.

Days 6–7: Plan • Ask students to use BLM 6 (Myth Planning Guide) to

brainstorm the culture, characters, setting, and plot for their retelling of the myth.

• Encourage students to refer to the “Features of a Myth” web on page 3 and to the steps in “The Writer’s Craft” on pages 30–31 of the book.

• Confer with individual students and focus on their ideas. Did students begin their myths with a problem or purpose in mind? Did they support the problem or purpose through the characters and plot?

Days 8–9: Draft • Tell students that they will be using their completed

Myth Planning Guides to begin drafting their myths. • Say: Remember, when writers draft their ideas,

they focus on getting them on paper. They can cross things out and make mistakes in spelling. What’s important is to focus on developing your characters, setting, and plot. You will have an opportunity to make corrections and improvements later.

• Confer with students as they complete their drafts. Use the Myth Checklist to draw students’ attention to characteristics of the myth genre that they may have overlooked. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer. Did students introduce the characters and establish the setting at the beginning of the myth? Did they use character actions and events to show a resolution to the problem? Does the myth have a strong voice? Will the voice keep readers interested?

• Pair students for peer conferencing.

Days 10–11: Edit and Revise • Based on your observations of students’ writing,

select appropriate minilessons from Using Genre Models to Teach Writing.

• Remind students to use the Myth Checklist as they edit and revise their myths independently.

• Confer with students focusing on sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions. Did students include both long and short sentences? Do the sentences read smoothly? Have students used interesting words and phrases? Did they use personification? Did they use appropriate spelling, punctuation, and grammar?

• You may want students to continue their editing and revision at home.

Days 12–13: Create Final Draft and Illustrations • Ask students to rewrite or type a final draft of

their myths.• Invite students to illustrate their final drafts with

one or more drawings that depict specific characters or events in their myths.

• Confer with students about their publishing plans and deadlines.

Days 14–15: Publish and Share• Explain: Authors work long and hard to develop

their works. You have worked very hard. And one of the great joys of writing is when you can share it with others. Authors do this in many ways. They publish their books so that people can buy them. They make their work available on the Internet. They hold readings. We can share our writing, too.

• Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing students’ work:

Make a class display of students’ completed myths. Hold a class reading in which students can read their

myths to one another and/or to parents. Create a binder of all the myths and loan it to the

library so that other students can read them. Create a binder of all the myths for your classroom

library.

Days 6–15

Name Date


Title:

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No 1. My myth has a strong lead. 2. My myth is told in first or third person. 3. My myth takes place before time began. 4. My myth includes gods, goddesses, heroes, and fantastic

creatures with supernatural powers or abilities. 5. My myth includes humans, or humanlike characters, who

experience human emotions. 6. At least one character performs a heroic feat or goes on

a quest. 7. I tell the problem at the beginning of the myth. 8. I have 3 to 5 main events in my myth. 9. My myth has a solution to the problem. 10. I used metaphors in my myth.

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No I looked for and corrected . . .

• run-on sentences • sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • correct verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling • indented paragraphs

Myth Checklist

Name Date


Myth Planning GuideDirections: Use the steps below to plan your own myth.

1. Research myths and decide on one to retell.

2. Identify and develop characters.

Characters Traits, Special Skills, Effect on PlotCharacter 1:

Character 2:

Character 3:

3. “Rethink” setting and plot.

Setting

Problem

Events

Solution


Name Date

Three egypTian MyThs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCBLM 1

PersonificationDirections: Read each sentence. Underline the example of personification. Circle what is being personified.

1. From the hill, the crumbling statues wept bitter tears at the destruction of war.

2. The exhausted willows draped their branches on the fence, sighing gently.

3. Towering white clouds jostled one another for position, ready to race.

4. The dry stalks of corn whispered among themselves.

5. Our little tent stood at attention in the wind and anxiously snapped its flaps.

6. The washing machine set the beat, drumming tisk-tisk-tisk beneath the sloshing suds.

Directions: Complete each sentence with an example of personification.

7. The man’s bundle of sticks 8. The woman’s cape 9. A single giant oak tree

Directions: Write three sentences using examples of personification.

10. 11. 12.


Name Date


Make InferencesDirections: Use the chart below to make inferences about the myths.

Clues InferenceRa Creates the World

Isis and Osiris



Name Date


Focus on Descriptive LanguageDirections: Reread each myth. Record whether each descriptive word below is an adjective or adverb and tell what it describes.


8 piercing

10 devoid

12 fiercely

12 omniscient


16 emphatically

17 confidently

18 cunningly

18 giddily


23 intricate

23 lavish

24 appreciatively

24 triumphantly


Name Date


Make Connections Across TextsDirections: Use the chart to compare and contrast the three Egyptian myths.


Isis and Osiris


Main Characters

Challenge Facing the Main Character

Other Characters’ Involvement in Challenge

Ending


Name Date


Title:

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No 1. My myth has a strong lead. 2. My myth is told in first or third person. 3. My myth takes place before time began. 4. My myth includes gods, goddesses, heroes, and fantastic

creatures with supernatural powers or abilities. 5. My myth includes humans, or humanlike characters, who

experience human emotions. 6. At least one character performs a heroic feat or goes on

a quest. 7. I tell the problem at the beginning of the myth. 8. I have 3 to 5 main events in my myth. 9. My myth has a solution to the problem. 10. I used metaphors in my myth.

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No I looked for and corrected . . .

• run-on sentences • sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • correct verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling • indented paragraphs

Myth Checklist


Name Date


Myth Planning GuideDirections: Use the steps below to plan your own myth.

1. Research myths and decide on one to retell.

2. Identify and develop characters.

Characters Traits, Special Skills, Effect on PlotCharacter 1:

Character 2:

Character 3:

3. “Rethink” setting and plot.

Setting

Problem

Events

Solution


Documents

Genre: M Teacher’S Guide Ra Creates the World Isis and Osiris€¦ · Isis and Osiris The Death and Rebirth of Osiris Teacher’S Guide Level W/60 Unit at a Glance ... and circle