Grade 2 - Greek Myths

74 Greek Myths: Supplemental Guide 4A | Arachne the Weaver

Character Name

Description of

Character Role in Story

Arachne (uh-RAK-nee) human Weaver

challenged Athena to a weaving

contest

transformed into the fi rst spider

Athena (uh-THEEN-uh) god goddess of handicraft

(also commonly known as the

goddess of wisdom and war)

 Show image 4A-1: Arachne weaving

Ask students what it looks like Arachne is doing in this image. Tell

students that Arachne is a weaver. Have students guess what a

weaver does. (A weaver makes cloth.) Point to the loom and tell

students that Arachne uses a loom to make cloth.

Ask students to point to Greek Gods Poster 7 (Athena). Tell

students this myth tells the story of an encounter between

Arachne—a mortal woman—and the goddess Athena.

Have students share the characteristics of Greek myths. (They are

fi ctional stories that try to explain events or things in nature, teach

moral lessons, and entertain listeners.) Tell students that today’s

myth is a story that was told to explain how one animal in nature

was fi rst created.

Vocabulary Preview 5 minutes

Arachnids

1. Today you will learn that we call all the members of the spider
   family arachnids.


2. Say the word arachnids with me three times.


3. Arachnids are animals that have eight legs and no antennae or
   wings.


4. [Show an image of each type of arachnid as you name them.]
   Types of arachnids include spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks,
   and daddy-longlegs.


5. For each type of arachnid, let’s count the number of legs and
   see whether it has antennae or wings.