Icarus: A Mythic Warning

Overview

In this third lesson of the four-lesson unit Ancient Greece: Myths and City-States, students explore the myth of Icarus as a story that communicates values and perspectives. Through listening, sequencing, drama, discussion and writing, they retell the main events and interpret the warning about listening, pride and consequences.

Learning intentions

• WALT retell the myth of Icarus in the correct sequence.
• WALT describe Icarus and Daedalus using details from the story.
• WALT identify and discuss a possible warning or theme.
• WALT support an interpretation with evidence from the text.

Success criteria

• I can sequence the main events of the myth.
• I can describe Icarus and Daedalus, including their feelings and actions.
• I can explain a warning or message in the story.
• I can use a detail from the myth to support my thinking.
• I can retell the story in writing or pictures.

Curriculum links

• History — stories from or about the distant past: retelling stories students have learnt.
• Social Sciences — using sources to learn about people, places and events, and communicating ideas.
• Social Sciences — understanding how people interact and how stories can communicate values and perspectives.
• Te Mātaiaho capabilities: thinking, using language, symbols and texts, managing self, and relating to others.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and recall. Teacher opens with the opening question and myth image and asks, “Is it possible to be brave and careless at the same time?” Students think silently, share with a partner, and connect the question to myths already studied in the unit.

2. 5–15 min · Read-aloud and vocabulary. Teacher introduces the words myth, inventor, escape, wings, wax, warning, pride, consequence using the vocabulary and story setting slides, then reads an age-appropriate version of the myth aloud, pausing to clarify vocabulary and ask, “What has changed?” and “What might go wrong?” Students listen, identify the characters and setting, and briefly turn-and-talk about Daedalus’s advice.

3. 15–23 min · Sequence the story. Teacher gives groups of four or five mixed-up event cards and displays the event-sequencing instructions. Students negotiate the order, using clues from the read-aloud, then justify one placement to another group. Suggested events include Daedalus and Icarus being trapped, Daedalus making the wings, the warning about the sun and sea, the flight beginning, Icarus flying higher, the wax melting, and the ending.

4. 23–31 min · Freeze-frames and character feelings. Teacher assigns groups one key moment and uses the freeze-frame prompts to model stillness, facial expression and body shape. Students create a freeze-frame, while the class guesses the moment and names what Icarus or Daedalus might be thinking and feeling. Record useful evidence words on the board, such as excited, worried, proud, determined, frightened.

5. 31–40 min · Interpret the warning. Teacher distributes the Icarus story mountain and evidence worksheet and revisits the theme discussion prompts. Students complete the story mountain, character feelings chart and event sequence, then respond to: “Was Icarus brave, careless, or both? What detail from the story supports your view?” Pairs use think-pair-share before two or three students contribute to a class discussion. Emphasise that different interpretations are acceptable when supported by details from the text.

6. 40–45 min · Retell and exit check. Teacher asks students to complete the final worksheet section with a short written or drawn retelling, including the warning or message. Students independently retell at least four key events and share one sentence or image with a partner; invite a few volunteers to read or explain their response.

Resources

• the Ancient Greece myth teaching slide deck
• the Icarus story mountain and evidence worksheet
• Teacher-read adapted version of the myth of Icarus
• Mixed-up event-sequencing cards, one set per group
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils, colouring pencils and classroom display space
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk and sequencing to check whether students identify chronology and can explain their choices.
• Use freeze-frames and questioning to assess understanding of character actions, feelings and motivations.
• Collect the worksheet and final retelling. Check for accurate sequencing, a description of at least one character, and an interpretation supported by a story detail.

Differentiation

• Provide a picture-supported event sequence, a reduced number of cards and oral rehearsal before writing for students needing support.
• Offer sentence starters: “I think Icarus was ___ because ___”; “Daedalus felt ___ when ___”; and “The warning is ___.”
• Allow students to draw and orally explain their retelling, dictate to an adult, or use a scribe or speech-to-text tool where appropriate.
• Pre-teach vocabulary and pair English language learners with supportive peers; accept home-language discussion before students share an idea in English.
• Extend confident writers by asking them to compare Icarus’s choices with Daedalus’s advice and explain whether the ending was avoidable.