"Myths And Their Transformations,"
	The Mythological Context of Rudolfo Anaya's The Legend of La Llorona - Mark Bartholio, Valley High School
	This unit is designed to give the high school language arts or social studies teacher useful background information on Aztec mythology and pre-Columbian and colonial Mexican history necessary for understanding the complexity of references and allusions to the mythic and historical figures and places in Anaya's The Legend of La Llorona (LOL). It also attempts to explain the ways in which Anaya uses these myths, and those he constructs using elements from traditional myths, for political purposes, i.e., for understanding and justifying social change. Although it could be said that Anaya in LOL is addressing issues relevant to Mexican and Chicano social history, the general themes of the work are universal and address the concerns of any community suffering the challenges of social oppression. Included are lesson plans for a project involving library research and a classroom presentation on mythological and historical figures relevant to the story. There are also lessons for writing assignments. An ample glossary and bibliography are included, as well as a reading list that recommends selected works accessible to the high school student. The unit can take anywhere from two to five weeks to complete, depending upon the individual teacher (this depends, for example, on whether a teacher requires outside reading or in-class reading and on how in-depth the library research is).