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will explain to students that myths are fictional stories that explain something. To explain means to describe the reason why something is the way it is. I will add “Explaining Stories” to my Characteristics of Myths Chart (Example Chart is provided in Unit Teacher and Student Materials). Since fiction means the story is not real, we know that myths are make-believe explanations about why things are the way they are. Myths are also old stories—some date back thousands of years ago. The reason people told myths is to explain how something came to be, when they did not have proof or evidence to figure out the real reason. A good reader will figure out what the myth is trying to explain as they read. I will model identifying what the myth is trying to explain in The Golden Flower. I will do this by identifying what changes in the myth. I will note something before a change and after. For example, in the first half of the book, I will note that there were no plants or flowers, but then, an entire forest grew at the mountain top. I will conclude that one thing that the myth is trying to explain is why there are plants and flowers, or how the forest grew in Puerto Rico.

Ask: "How did I identify what the myth is trying to explain?" Students should respond that you identified what the myth was trying to explain by thinking about what changes in the myth.

will continue to read the myth and work together to discuss what else the myth is explaining. For example, in the beginning, all of the land is a desert. Later, there are seas and fish. The myth is explains why there are oceans and seas.

will use identify something that this myth is trying to explain by drawing something that changed in the story. You will draw what it looked like in the beginning of the story and then later in the story. You will use your drawing to explain how you know this story is a myth. Your teacher will add the title and your examples to the chart. (Independent Practice Worksheet is provided.)