4th Grade: Week 2 of our digital lesson

Time to turn these names into creatures! We'll be adding to our designs this week to turn them into a being of sorts and exploring some mythical creatures to help us get started. Let's delve into a bit of the history of mythology before we begin!

Myths were often used in ancient culture to explain a practice (custom), belief, or teach a moral (the difference between right and wrong). These stories reflect a culture's values with frequent themes such as the forces of good vs evil, the quest of a hero, or explaining the origination of some aspect of the world. Typically they involve supernatural beings, either a human or creature, with exceptional powers or abilities.

The creatures in myths, also called legendary or fabulous creatures, often symbolized vices (bad habits) or virtues (positive personality traits), held knowledge unknown to humans, or guarded something of great value. Let's take a look at some of these mythical beasts, that have excited imaginations throughout the world and through history, in hopes that they will inspire us as we begin our own work.

Mythical Creatures

Below are some imagined drawings of what some of these famous monsters may have looked like if they had existed. We are going to focus on hybrids, creatures composed of a mix of different species, to help us imagine taking ideas from different animals and combining them as we create our own beasts. What will inspire you as we begin?

What other hybrid mystical creatures do you know?

If you'd like to print these images, you'll find them in the 4th grade folder found in Files.

Adding to our Name Design

We want to keep our piece symmetrical as we work, so pick one half to work on. I would fold your paper in half again so you don't get confused and make sure you use a pencil as you start!! Using our fabulous creatures as inspiration, start adding lines and features to your name. You can't change anything about your name, use it as a jumping off point and embellish (add details)! Make sure you add eyes to your mythical creature, although how many is up to you! One like a cyclops, two, or more?

Think about the role your creature might have in a myth. What powers or abilities would it need? How does that affect how it looks? This can help you figure out what to add!

When you are happy with your creation fold it in half again so your drawing is on the outside and trace on the other side to complete your symmetrical design. Open it back up and see if you want to add anything. Feel free to fold it back up and add more, then trace again! Watch the video below to see my name transform into a fabulous creature!

We'll be adding color next week but check out these awesome examples!

When you have finished creating your creature find the assignment in seesaw and share an image of your project. This will be a checkpoint grade so I can see your progress.

We still have a little more to do with these next week so keep them safe!