Greek mythological gods and goddesses were at work in Michelle Bavery's eighth grade class at Carthage Middle School.

“We've been studying Greek mythology and have focused on the Olympians in the past weeks,” Bavery said. “The students' project this week was to pick a Greek god or goddess that we've studied and create a throne that would be fitting to them, based on the stories they've read.

“After the student presented their throne, the audience guessed which god or goddess the throne represented.”

While some students chose to draw their thrones on paper, some created elaborate thrones, adorned with anything from blades of grass to crystals. One group of students chose Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and brought in a basket of fruit, filled with bananas, apples and grapes, to share with the audience.

“We've been reading plays rather than reading out of the book,” Bavery said. “The students seem to like that better.”

Bavery's students are going to study mythology through October and have more interactive projects to learn with.

“So far they have mainly been learning about how the Greeks believed the world began and the Olympians, such as Zeus and Hera; Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, etc.,” said Bavery.

“In the next few weeks, they will continue learning about Greek mythology by reading many more myths in play version, and then by creating games to be played by their classmates. This is a unit that has really grown over the last few years because of the students' interest in the topic and activities.”