We've been rolling along through February and it's hard to believe March is right around the corner! There has been a major trend in state standards to provide for the study of ancient cultures as early as the elementary school years: the Greek and Roman traditions in the west, and the Chinese and Egyptian traditions from the east. Ten years ago a teacher might have tried to go it alone with a copy of d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Mythology and a few creative assignments to apply the content. But no more! There's a wealth of information online that is ready for classroom use as you study ancient mythologies this year. I hope you'll find something you like! Thanks as always to Jerry B. for his suggestions.

• Ancient World Web - http://www.julen.net/ancient/
  teaching mythology again and wondering if there's a useful way to help students make those connections across the curriculum? Here you go! The AWW offers a slew of great WWW resources on every aspect of ancient culture, including some 90 links dealing directly with Mythology and Religion. And these just aren't more gratuitous links to traditional tales. These resources will help your students dig deeper into the contexts for the mythology they are studying. A must see!
• Bulfinch's Mythology - http://www.bulfinch.org/
  here is an online treatment of Thomas Bulfinch's classic guide to Mythology, covering god and heroes of ancient mythology, King Arthur, and the Middle Ages. Tales here are presented to be entertaining; an enticement to want to learn more. Largely text based for easy loading and printing, this site is ideal for advanced middle schoolers and beyond who want to immerse themselves in quality classic literature.
• Encyclopedia Mythica - http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/
  Subtitled "an encyclopedia of mythology, folklore and legend (and more recently folk tales), this site offers more than 5700 definitions and articles on characters from mythology around the world. The image gallery, pronunciation guide and genealogy tables make this a pretty comprehensive tool for students learning about world mythologies.
• The Hero's Journey - http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/
  The Maricopa Community Colleges in Tempe Arizona present this wonderful simulation exploring the format of classical mythology and the opportunity for students to write their own original myths! Based upon Joseph Campbell's research of mythology from around the world, this site allows students to uncover and appreciate the common themes and designs of myths from around the world.
• Legends - http://www.legends.dm.net/
  Here is a wonderfully designed website that takes a closer look at the genre of legends over the last millennium, from Beowulf and Arthur through Pirates and Sea Kings. The treatment each topic is given is succinct and nicely done. The accompanying links are extremely well selected and useful. For example, if you select Fairy Tales there are several links to actual online collections free for the taking. Fully searchable too.
• Malaspina Great Books Interdisciplinary Matrix - http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/matrix.htm
  Here is a great cross-referenced search tool for hundreds of book titles from antiquity through modern times, covering history, art, science, literature, drama and more. Studying Egyptian mythology and want to make some historical connections for your students? Just come to Malaspina and have instant access to all kinds of fabulous online texts from the culture and time period you desire!
• Myths, Folktales and Fairy Tales - http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/index.htm
  Scholastic offers this kid-centered site about myths, making use of interactive timelines, maps and writer's workshops to make classic genres come alive for kids. While the live interviews with contemporary authors are past, the transcripts are archived here for your continued use. The Fairy Tales section is suggested for primary grades, Folk Tales for upper elementary, and Myths for middle school, but there is no doubt you can adapt any of these sections to your classroom regardless of your grade level.
• Mything Links - http://www.mythinglinks.org/
  Kathleen Jenks created this page for her graduate students, but it's such a wealth of information and materials that can be adapted for high school students, it deserves mention here. Constantly being updates with respect for all cultures, the best feature of this page is the way it divides up myths by world political geography - and I mean current world political geography. Even elementary and middle school teachers could make use of this site and adapt the materials so that they're used appropriately with their students.
• Mythweb - http://www.mythweb.com/
  Addressing Greek mythology specifically, Mythweb offers a look at gods and heroes with links to stories that relate their characters and adventures to students of all ages. The encyclopedia function is a comprehensive alphabetized site map of all kinds of related entries, and the Teachers link contains a rationale for using mythology in the curriculum and contests where teachers share ideas for prizes.
• Pegasus' Paradise - http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4553/
  Here's a ThinkQuest Junior entry designed by elementary kids for elementary kids to be a quick reference for Greek Mythology's animals, heroes, villains and gods. There's also a game where students try to match the Greek gods to the their Roman names. Requires QuickTime to be installed to make full use of sound on the site.
• Tales of Wonder - http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/darsie/tales/index.html
  Richard Darsie presents this multicultural examination of myths and legends from more than a dozen different areas of the globe including unique collections from Siberia and native Americans. Each section contains typically a half-dozen or more tales from a region, and since all the stories are local links you don't have to worry about hitting dead links with your class. This is a great elementary site.
• Windows to the Universe - http://www.windows.ucar.edu/
  Started by the University of Michigan and funded by NASA, here's an enthralling website that combines mythology and astronomy to give a very intensive course of study for your students. Once you enter the site, click on the Myths link to appreciate the wealth of information on each planet and its place in world mythology. There's also a treasure trove of information on stars and constellations, as well as great sections on the family trees of different mythologies and a look at mythologies from around the world. And if that isn't enough, the Myth hangman is a fun JAVA-based game and the Myth web section offers lots of high quality links. You owe it to yourself to see this site!
  

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