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Lesson 3

We will develop a common definition of power, discuss the struggle between Telemachus and Antinous, and add words to our Vocabulary Journal. We will watch a video on xenia and consider its purpose in ancient Greece.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I determine the meaning of foreign words or phrases, such as xenia?

  • Can I use text evidence and original commentary to support a comprehensive response about The Odyssey?

  • Can I analyze how themes are developed through characterization and plot in The Odyssey?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Publishing Group, 1996
  • Digital Access
    • “What Is Xenia?,” Greek Comix, YouTube

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will develop a definition of power as it is used in The Odyssey.

Step 1

In your group, take two minutes to brainstorm words or phrases you think of when you hear the word power.

Step 2

Using the group’s list of words and phrases, come up with a definition of power to share with the class.

Step 3

As a class, share your definition and consider the other groups’ definitions. Now, coconstruct a definition for the word power. This definition will not be final; you and your classmates will reconsider it throughout the unit and modify it based on new understanding about this evolving thematic idea.

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will discuss Antinous’s and Telemachus’s claims in Book 1.

Step 1

Now that we have begun to define the concept of power, we will unpack the power dynamic between Telemachus and Antinous, focusing on lines 1-142 in Book 2.

Use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to answer the following question:

  1. Who makes a better case, Telemachus or Antinous, in their words and actions regarding the suitors’ behavior and Penelope’s future?

The Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool supports and guides a process for developing a claim from textual evidence; it can also help you explain how an existing claim is derived from, and supported by, evidence. Using the tool begins with a guiding question that calls for you to reach a conclusion and communicate a claim, which might be factual, analytical, comparative, or evaluative in nature. The tool helps you select the key details related to the question, explain how the details connect to your question and to other details, and through that analysis, move to a conclusion. The conclusion that you draw is the basis for your claim, which you try to communicate as clearly and directly as you can.

Step 2

Use the tool in the following way:

  1. Write down the guiding question in the space provided at the top. You might be assigned the guiding question by your teacher, it might come from a question set, or you might think of your own question. This question can help you focus your reading, or it might give your reading a specific purpose. It is likely to be a question that asks you to draw a conclusion that is factual, analytical, comparative, or evaluative in nature. For this activity, write the following guiding question at the top of the tool: Who makes a better case, Telemachus or Antinous, in their words and actions regarding the suitors’ behavior and Penelope’s future?

  2. As you reread the text, pay attention to details that relate to the guiding question. Depending on how long the section of text is, you might find several examples. You can use the Attend to Details row to write down the details that most strongly relate to the guiding question. This helps you narrow down the most supportable or most relevant details that connect to the question. Do not forget to include page numbers. You might have to come back later to get exact quotes or more clarity.

  3. In the Analyze the Details row, show your thinking. Doing so can help you ensure there is a clear connection among the details you identified, your analysis, and the guiding question.

  4. In the third row, Explain Connections, show your thinking about how the details connect to each other. Do the facts and information, taken together, lead to a conclusion? Are they details from a narrative that help you analyze a character? Are they indicators of an author’s perspective that you intend to support or refute?

  5. In the final row, form and express a claim. Look back over the tool and consider the guiding question, the details, and how they connect to each other. The conclusion you have drawn based on your analysis of the details in the previous rows should become your claim. Communicate that claim in a clear, direct sentence.

Step 3

Once you have generated an evidence-based claim (or examined an existing claim), you can use the tool to explain its derivation and support to others. To do this, begin at the bottom of the tool and work upward: present the claim, explain the analysis and evidence that led to it, and cite the key details that support it.

To review and revise your claim, read it and ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Is the claim clearly stated?

  2. Does the claim communicate your opinion or conclusion about your character?

  3. Is the claim based on evidence that you gathered from the text?

  4. Is the claim supported by evidence?

If you answered "no" to any of the questions, think about how you might revise your claim.

You will be able to use the information you generated on this tool to assist you with your response to the Section 1 Diagnostic.

Activity 3: Read – Write – Discuss

We will interact with the words we recorded for homework to cement our understanding of their meaning.

Step 1

With a partner, compare the entries you recorded for homework in your Vocabulary Journals. Choose four words to examine together. These might be words you both identified or words from each person’s journal.

Next, work together to define the four words. Proceed in the following order:

  1. Write the definition of any words that one partner knows the meaning of but the other partner does not in the Definition column.

  2. Look at each word. Does it contain any similarity to words you do know? For example, you might be able to infer the meaning of the word presumption if you know what presume or assume means. Note your ideas in the Definition column.

  3. Look at each word in the text—in context—and see whether the text provides clues. You might not know the meaning of the word lavished by itself, but the sentence "And Athena lavished a marvelous splendor on the prince" (2.12) provides a clue by its context.

Step 2

Come together as a class and share some of the words you and your partner have worked on. Work with other partner groups to see whether you can define them without a dictionary, using context clues or morphology. For the words whose meanings you cannot work out, look them up. Write down any new definitions in your Vocabulary Journal.

Activity 4: Discuss – View

We will watch a video about xenia and discuss its purpose in ancient Greece.

Step 1

Watch the video "What Is Xenia?" and take notes.

Use the following question to guide your viewing:

  1. What are the responsibilities of xenia as both a guest and a host?

Step 2

Take a few minutes to write down the responsibilities of the guest and of the host practicing xenia. Then, share your ideas with your group, adding to your notes as others present ideas you did not capture. Next, as a group, consider the following question:

  1. What is the purpose of xenia?

When everyone has cited their evidence from the video, discuss possible reasons why the principle of xenia developed in ancient Greece.

Add the term xenia to your Vocabulary Journal.

Step 3

Take another look at the claim you developed for Antinous or Telemachus. Based on your newly acquired knowledge of xenia, how would you revise your claim?

Revise your response in the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool you started in Activity 2.

Activity 5: Read

For homework, we will read portions of Book 3 and 4 of The Odyssey.

For homework, read 3.1-83 and 4.1-84 of The Odyssey. Taking into account all of the rules of xenia you learned about in the video "What Is Xenia?" (for both host and guest), write down every example of xenia you find in your Learning Log. Be sure to use correct citations so you have them for future reference. As you gather your examples, consider the following guiding question:

  1. How does the treatment of the kings by Telemachus—and the treatment of Telemachus by the kings—compare with the behavior of Telemachus toward the suitors (and their behavior toward him) in Books 1 and 2?

As you read, continue to add new or interesting words to your Vocabulary Journal. Continue to add to Telemachus’s Character Note-Taking Tool, noting any interesting details.