Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

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

• • “Ancient Greek Wisdom for Today’s Leadership Crisis,” Emily Anhalt, The Conversation, October 15, 2017
  • “Odysseus the Foreigner,” Joshua R. Hall, Ancient World Magazine, June 22, 2018

Materials

Tools

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

• The Odyssey: Vocabulary List

Question Sets

• The Odyssey: Section 2 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• The Odyssey: Section 2 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will work in small groups to review the guiding questions from Books 8 and 9 of The Odyssey.

Step 1

In small groups, discuss the guiding questions from the previous lesson’s homework. Listen for similarities and differences and add them to your Learning Log during your discussion.

1. How do the Phaecians show xenia to Odysseus?

2. How would you characterize Odysseus’s actions during the scene with the Lotus Eaters?

3. How does Odysseus use trickery against Polyphemus? Cite multiple examples.

4. How would you describe Odysseus's actions in Book 9? Why?

5. How is imagery used in Book 9 to create a vivid picture of the lands Odysseus and his men visit?

Step 2

Take a few moments to record any additional notes in your Character Note-Taking Tool for Odysseusbased on new takeaways from the discussion.

Activity 2: View – Write – Discuss

We will read an article and discuss the differences in odysseus’s reception with the phaeacians and polyphemus in order to analyze the perception of foreigners.

Step 1

Read "Odysseus the Foreigner" by Joshua R. Hall. Use the following questions to guide your reading:

1. According to the article, how are Odysseus’s behavior and actions described? Use details from the article and the poem to support your thinking.

2. Hall asserts that these two episodes show two perceptions of foreigners: one as "resources to be consumed and abused" and the other as "protected and...friends." Make a list of scenes in The Odyssey that exemplify both of these perceptions. Which perception of a foreigner is more prominent and what messages or ideas does that treatment convey to the reader?

Step 2

In small groups, discuss those same guiding questions:

1. According to the article, how are Odysseus’s behavior and actions described? Use details from the article and the poem to support your thinking.

2. Hall asserts that these two episodes show two perceptions of foreigners: one as "resources to be consumed and abused" and the other as "protected and...friends." Make a list of scenes in The Odyssey that exemplify both of these perceptions. Which perception of a foreigner is more prominent and what messages or ideas does that treatment convey to the reader?

Step 3

Choose one of the pieces of artwork in the article to analyze. Take a few minutes to study the painting. Discuss the following questions in your small groups and take notes in your Learning Log to capture your thinking. Answer the following questions:

1. What do you see in the painting? What story does that tell?

2. What do you think is the most important part of the painting? Why?

3. How do the details in the painting converge or diverge from the events in the poem? How do the differences change the interpretation? Why do you think it matters?

4. Did the artist do an effective job depicting the scene? Explain your thinking.

Step 4

Share your group’s thinking with your classmates in a whole-class discussion.

Activity 3: Discuss – Read

We will read an article that helps us understand Odysseus’s qualities as a leader.

Step 1

Answer the following question with a quick-write in your Learning Log:

1. What makes a good leader?

Share your ideas with the class.

Step 2

Read the article "Ancient Greek Wisdom for Today’s Leadership Crisis" by Emily Anhalt.

Use the following questions to guide your reading:

1. What does Anhalt say are the key elements of good leadership? What evidence does she use to support these elements?

2. According to Anhalt, what does The Odyssey suggest about leadership?

Step 3

With a partner, discuss the following questions:

1. What does Anhalt say are the key elements of good leadership? What evidence does she use to support these elements?

2. Revisit your quick-write, which outlines the characteristics of a good leader. How do they compare to Anhalt’s ideas?

3. According to Anhalt, what does The Odyssey suggest about leadership?

When you are finished discussing these questions with your partner, engage in a whole-class discussion regarding the following question:

1. Is Odysseus a good leader? Why or why not?

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will study mentor sentences and examine the author’s use of parallel structure and dashes.

Step 1

Read the following mentor sentences from "Ancient Greek Wisdom for Today’s Leadership Crisis."

They are slaughtering and eating all of his cattle, drinking up all of his wine and mistreating his servants and family.

Neither she, nor her son, nor anyone in the community can rein in these gluttonous, unrestrained, destructive young men – least of all the young men themselves.

These sentences use parallel structure. Parallel structure is a repetition of structure, and it affects how an audience understands what they are reading. Some people believe if a sentence is logical and patterned, the person writing it might also be logical and therefore trustworthy. Parallel structure also shows that the items in the series have equal importance.

Underline or highlight the phrases in the sentence that demonstrate parallel structure.

Step 2

Read the following mentor sentences.

This produces order, harmony and happiness for everyone—powerful and weak alike.

Neither she, nor her son, nor anyone in the community can rein in these gluttonous, unrestrained, destructive young men—least of all the young men themselves.

You might notice that both of these mentor sentences contain em dashes. The use of the em dash is common when a writer is trying to separate a group of words in a sentence. Em dashes can replace parentheses at the end of a sentence, can replace a colon to amplify what follows, or can replace censored or removed letters in a word.

Turn to a partner and discuss the use of the em dash. What information comes before it? What information comes after?

Step 3

Scan your quick-write on whether Odysseus is a good leader and look for places where you can add parallel structure. Also, look for places where you can add em dashes.

Revise your quick-write to add these features. Turn to a partner and talk about how these revisions impacted your writing.

Step 4

Add one of the mentor sentences using parallel structure and one of the sentences using the dash to your Mentor Sentence Journal. You can use these sentences to build a writer’s toolbox, wherein you have a number of techniques at your disposal to use when writing.

Activity 5: Read

For homework, we will complete a written response about Leadership in The Odyssey.

Look at the list of characters below. In your Learning Log, brainstorm a list of the ways in which each displays power and under what conditions these characters display that power. While considering this idea, recall the information from this lesson’s reading about the way in which leadership also reflects power.

• Athena

• Odysseus

• Poseidon

• Calypso

Then, write a response to the following questions:

1. How do various characters in The Odyssey show leadership?

2. Of these characters, who is the best leader and why? Use evidence from the poem and Emily Anhalt’s article to support your thinking.