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Lesson 1

We will learn about this unit’s anchor text and the Central Question that will drive our study of it. We will discuss the Culminating Task and discuss what we need to do to succeed on this task. We will then read Book 1 of The Odyssey.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I make connections to the ideas in two different translations of The Odyssey?

  • Can I analyze how Homer develops complex yet believable characters in an epic poem?

  • Can I read and respond to world literature by reading The Odyssey?

  • Can I analyze the structure, prosody, and graphic elements, such as line length and word position, in the beginning of the epic poem The Odyssey?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Publishing Group, 1996

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will generate a list of what we already know about The Odyssey.

Respond to the following question in your Learning Log:

  1. What do you already know about The Odyssey and the character of Odysseus?

Share your knowledge with the class.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will discuss the unit’s Central Question and individually make a personal connection to it by completing a quick-write in our Learning Log.

Step 1

Review the Central Question of the unit:

What does it mean to be powerful?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

  1. What is the Central Question asking?

  2. What might you already know in relation to the Central Question?

  3. What about the question piques your curiosity?

  4. How do you think this question relates to the texts or topic of the unit?

  5. If you were to provide an answer to the Central Question today, what would it be?

Step 2

In your Learning Log, write a response to Question 5. You will return to this initial response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read and analyze the Culminating Task checklist. We will identify specific knowledge we are expected to gain throughout the unit and specific skills we will need to succeed on the Culminating Task.

Read and take notes on the Culminating Task Checklist and the Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Determine what skills and knowledge you need to succeed on the Culminating Task. In a small group, discuss and respond to the questions on Part 1 of your Culminating Task Progress Tracker:

  1. What is the focus of the Culminating Task?

  2. What does the task ask you to do?

  3. What questions do you have about the Culminating Task?

  4. What do you need to understand to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  5. What skills do you need to build in the unit to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  6. What habits do you need to practice in the unit to succeed on the Culminating Task?

As a group, use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to determine what you need to do to succeed on the Culminating Task. For each skill identified, assess how prepared you are.

Activity 4: Read

We will review the Unit Text List to familiarize ourselves with the texts we will analyze and discuss throughout the unit.

Step 1

Access and review the Unit Text List. Note the information that is included about each text. These texts are also listed in the activities in which they appear, under the Materials and Texts tabs. Each text has an icon by it; these indicate where the text is located, which corresponds to the Location column in the Unit Text List.

Text locations:

  • Tradebook: These texts are full-length novels or nonfiction books you will most likely have copies of.

  • Digital Access: You can find these texts online. Use the information provided in the Unit Text List or on the Texts tab for the activity to conduct a web search for the resource. Digital Access resources include online articles, videos, podcasts, and other web sources.

  • PDF Texts: These are formatted PDFs of texts that are available for download on the Materials tab.

  • CD/DVD: This material is available on a CD or DVD. These materials might also be available through online content providers.

Step 2

Review the Independent Reading Text Options. Here, you will find suggested options for independent reading related to the unit.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

We will read and discuss the beginning of an alternative translation of The Odyssey. Then, we will compare it to the translation by Robert Fagles.

Step 1

The Odyssey has been translated into about sixty English versions over the years. The Odyssey is a poem, but it is an epic poem, meaning that it is a narrative describing extraordinary feats or adventure. Epic poems are usually about a hero of some kind. In 1725, poet Alexander Pope published his version of The Odyssey. It begins as follows:

The man for wisdom’s various arts renown’d

Long exercised in woes, O Muse! resound;

Who, when his arms had wrought the destined fall

Of sacred Troy, and razed her heaven-built wall,

Wandering from clime to clime, observant stray’d,

Their manners noted, and their states survey’d,

On stormy seas unnumber’d toils he bore,

Safe with his friends to gain his natal shore:

Vain toils! their impious folly dared to prey

On herds devoted to the god of day;

The god vindictive doom’d them never more

(Ah, men unbless’d!) to touch that natal shore.

Oh, snatch some portion of these acts from fate,

Celestial Muse! and to our world relate.

(Pope, The Odyssey, 1.1-14)

As a class, discuss the meaning of the verse. What is happening in this excerpt of the poem?

Step 2

Now, open your copy of The Odyssey by Robert Fagles and read the first 12 lines of Book 1 of the poem on page 77. Discuss the following questions:

  1. What is happening in this excerpt of the poem?

  2. How are the two translations of the poem similar? How are they different?

  3. What mental images are created when you read the Pope translation? How do they compare with the Fagles version? Which version allows you to “see” the text more vividly in your mind? Why?

  4. How does punctuation, such as parentheses, exclamation marks, colons, and dashes impact the delivery of each translation?

  5. Prosody is the rhythm and intonation of language. How would you describe the prosody of each translation? Which do you like better? Why?

Step 3

Record the words listed in the Vocabulary List in your Vocabulary Journal. Work with a partner to determine their meaning.

As you read the text, continue to record new or interesting words you encounter in the Fagles translation in your Vocabulary Journal. Your Vocabulary Journal provides one location where you can keep track of the new words you encounter in this unit, along with their definitions. The journal will help you build your vocabulary.

Step 4

The Odyssey is divided into 24 sections, called "Books." At the beginning of each book, line numbering begins again, starting with 1. Cite evidence from the poem first by book number and then by line numbers, as in the following example:

“My child,” Zeus who marshals the thunderheads replied,

“What nonsense you let slip through your teeth. Now,

how on earth could I forget Odysseus?" (1.76-78)

It is important to keep accurate line citations so that you can easily track textual evidence to support your claims in the Section Diagnostics and Culminating Task.

Activity 6: Read – Discuss

We will read lines 1–112 of Book 1 of The Odyssey and will learn about annotating text and how to use the character Note-Taking Tool.

Step 1

As you read The Odyssey, you will often be asked to annotate. There are many different ways to annotate a text, and it involves a note-taking and note-making process.

Read the Annotating andNote-Taking Reference Guide for information on annotating texts. Consider the following questions:

  1. What strategies do you already use? Which ones do you want to try as you read The Odyssey?

  2. What questions do you have about annotating?

Use the following questions to guide your comprehension as you read the beginning of The Odyssey:

  1. Based on their conversation, how would you describe the relationship between Zeus and Athena? Cite textual evidence from the scene to justify your descriptions.

  2. How would you describe the relationship between Athena and Poseidon? Cite textual evidence from the scene to justify your descriptions.

Read and annotate Lines 1-112 of Book 1.

Step 2

Capture your first impressions of Athena with a Character Note-Taking Tool.

The Character Note-Taking Tool helps you keep track of and analyze a character’s presentation, development, and change throughout a narrative, as well as the ways in which the author chooses to present the character. The tool prompts you to note and write down key details about the character, with page citations, so you can return later and find them. You then make notes by analyzing what the detail indicates about the character and how it is presented within the narrative.

  1. In the heading section at the top of the tool, write down basic information, including the name of the character you are analyzing (e.g., Athena), their role in the narrative (e.g., main character or protagonist, foil, etc.), and key parts of the text where you learn more about the character (e.g., a specific scene, event, or chapter). You might have to add to this list as the narrative progresses.

  2. The Character Note-Taking Tool is organized in rows, each one used for writing down and analyzing a separate detail about a character. When you are making an entry, first note the page or line number in the Page Citation column, in case you have to return to find a quote or to clarify what you read.

  3. In the Details column, note details that reveal something about the character. They might be related to a description, something the character does, or something a character says. If you are writing down a quotation, you might not need to include the entire quotation, but you should include the first and final few words.

    1. For example, in Athena’s first speech starting at 1.53, you might note that she begins by enthusiastically agreeing with Zeus about Orestes, but she quickly switches topics to plead for Odysseus. Because the speech is over 20 lines long, in the Details column, you can write "1.53-76" in the citation column, and "conversation with Zeus" in the Details column so that you can easily find it later.

  4. As you read and note details, consider what you are learning about the character and how the author reveals the detail. The Type of Detail column allows you to indicate a code about how you get the detail.

    1. For example, Athena’s eyes are mentioned twice in the first 112 lines of Book 1: she is "sparkling-eyed" (1.53); and they are described as "flashing bright" (1.96). This is a physical detail, but the details might be suggesting something about her intellect or contentment.

  5. Use the Analysis column to make notes about the characterization details you have identified to analyze what they tell you about the character. Does the detail reveal a conflict with another character or within the character? A motivation or ulterior motive? Something the character wants or needs? A backstory that explains current behavior? You might do the analysis and make notes while noting the key details, or you might go back later and make notes that communicate your interpretations after reading. You can also use this column for reader responses to make predictions, write down your new thinking about the character, or identify shifting understandings or ideas about the character or the character’s interactions with others.

Record an entry for Athena on a Character Note-Taking Tool.

Step 3

As a class, discuss the following questions:

  1. What does the conversation between Zeus and Athena tell us about their relationship?

  2. What does the conversation tell us about Athena’s relationship with Odysseus?

  3. How is Athena using her power?

Make revisions to or add a new entry to your Character Note-Taking Tool for Athena based on your discussion.

Step 4

You will keep a separate copy of the tool for each important character in the poem and then keep a running record of notes whenever that character appears and you learn something about them.

Go ahead and set up separate Character Note-Taking Tools for the following characters:

  • Telemachus

  • Odysseus

  • Penelope

  • Zeus

Activity 7: Read

For homework, we will read the rest of Book 1 of The Odyssey and answer a set of guiding questions.

For homework, read and annotate the rest of Book 1. As you read, use the questions below to guide your analysis. You will discuss the character of Telemachus in the next lesson.

  1. How does Telemachus view his role in the family? What evidence do you have from the text to support your response?

  2. How do the suitors view his role? What evidence do you have from the text to support your response?

Consult the Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide for information on annotating texts.

Record unfamiliar or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal.