Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Hero,” from the introduction to The Odyssey (pp. 37–41), Bernard Knox, Penguin Publishing Group, 1996

• • “What Makes a Homeric Hero?,” Greek Comix, YouTube

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

Materials

Tools

• The Odyssey: Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Summarizing Text Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Question Sets

• The Odyssey: Section 3 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• The Odyssey: Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• The Odyssey: Section 3 Question Set

• Summarizing Text Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Review – Discuss – Write

We will read and discuss the section 3 diagnostic and identify the specific knowledge and skills we need to succeed.

Read and annotate the Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist. Determine what skills and knowledge you need to succeed. In a small group, discuss and respond to the following questions:

1. What is the focus of the Section 3 Diagnostic? What does the task ask you to do?

2. What questions do you have about the Section 3 Diagnostic?

3. What do you need to understand and think about to succeed on the Section 3 Diagnostic?

4. What skills do you need to build in this section to succeed when you complete the Section 3 Diagnostic?

Access your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. For the knowledge and skills you identified, assess how prepared you are.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will review the homework assignment and discuss the qualities that make a hero.

Step 1

In your group, discuss the guiding question from your homework reading:

1. According to "Hero,” from the introduction to The Odyssey, what specific qualities does Odysseus possess that make him a hero by ancient Greek standards?

As a class, list the heroic qualities Knox mentions in the homework reading.

Step 2

In the first lesson of the unit, you did a quick-write response to the Central Question:

What does it mean to be powerful?

Reread your initial response to the prompt and do another quick-write, responding to the following questions:

1. Based on everything you have studied so far in the unit, how would you answer the question now?

2. Which texts, videos, or parts from The Odyssey have caused you to change your thinking?

Activity 3: View – Discuss

We will watch a video on Homeric heroes and discuss how heroic qualities are related to power. Then, we will compare the ideals of the Homeric hero and the modern hero.

Step 1

Watch the video "What Makes a Homeric Hero?" Consider the following guiding question:

1. How do the qualities of a Homeric hero relate to individual power?

Write your initial thoughts and observations in your Learning Log.

Step 2

As a class, brainstorm the qualities that make a modern hero.

Step 3

Now, do a quick-write in your Learning Log. Answer the following question:

1. In general, how has the definition of a hero changed from Homer’s time to modern time?

Share your response.

Activity 4: Listen – Read – Discuss

We will listen to a summary of Book 11 of The Odyssey and read an excerpt. We will then consider the heroism of Achilles.

Step 1

Listen to a summary of Book 11. Then, read Lines 530-626, considering the following guiding question:

1. How does Achilles view the power he enjoys in Hades?

Share your observations with the group.

Step 2

Consider Knox’s description of Achilles’s feats in battle, starting on page 39. Based on that information and on Achilles’s conversation with Odysseus, do you consider Achilles a hero? By which definition?

Write your response in your Learning Log.

Step 3

Consider the group definition of power. Is the definition still accurate? As a class, determine whether the definition should be modified, and if so, how.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read 12.1–179 of The Odyssey and write a summary.

For homework, read Lines 1-179 from Book 12 and use the Summarizing Text Tool to describe what happens.

The Summarizing Text Tool guides a reading and thinking process to help you make an effective summary of a text you are reading. Summaries should be short, concise, and include just enough information to help you remember or explain the main points of a text when you come back to it later. This tool allows you to list key details you might include in a summary, then select from your list as you write a summary of the text, drawing on the key details you identified.

Using the Tool

The heading of the tool provides a space to write down the theme or central idea of the text. You might fill this in last, or you might need to change it once you have completed more of the tool. There is a space to write a revised theme or central idea at the bottom of the page.

Use the central rows of the tool to note key details that stand out to you and that you might mention in your summary. There are spaces to write down key details or ideas as you come across them and also spaces to write down answers to questions about who is involved, what events occur, or what ideas are discussed—often important things to include in a summary. Keep in mind that you might not fill in all of the spaces. You might consider when, why, and how questions as well.

Use the final section, Summarize the Text, to combine and synthesize the most important details you have gathered into a sentence or two that condenses or outlines what the text is about.

Once you have completed this step, look back at the original theme or central idea you wrote at the top of the page and use the Central Idea or Theme section to make any changes based on how your thinking has developed through the process of summarizing the text.