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Lesson 1

We will prepare to write our responses to the Culminating Task by breaking down the prompt and organizing the information and tools we have gathered and used throughout the unit. We will also review our previous activities and begin gathering evidence, as we move toward developing a thesis statement in the following lesson.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use text evidence and original commentary to support a comprehensive claim about the idea of power in The Odyssey

  • Can I analyze Homer’s message within The Odyssey?

  • Can I plan my Culminating Task writing to be appropriate for various purposes and audiences by generating ideas through a range of strategies such as brainstorming and discussing?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Publishing Group, 1996
  • Unit Reader
    • “A Translator’s Reckoning with the Women of the Odyssey,” Emily Wilson, The New Yorker, December 8, 2017
    • “Odysseus the Foreigner,” Joshua R. Hall, Ancient World Magazine, June 22, 2018
  • Digital Access
    • “What Is Xenia?,” Greek Comix, YouTube
    • “What Role Do the Gods Play in The Iliad and The Odyssey?,” Barry Powell, YouTube, Oxford University Press, June 30, 2014

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will discuss the Culminating Task to ensure that we understand what we are being asked to do.

Consider the Central Question:

  1. What does it mean to be powerful?

With a partner, discuss how we defined power and review the important moments you have studied and discussed regarding this concept throughout the unit. In your discussion, be sure to consider what it means to be powerful, drawing both from The Odyssey as well as the supplemental texts.

Share insights from your discussion of the question with the class.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss

We will review and discuss our responses to previous activities in the unit.

Review and be prepared to discuss your notes in your Learning Log, considering your responses to the activities in previous lessons, the guiding questions you used for each preceding Section Diagnostic, and the texts to which they applied. In those lessons, you examined power in the following ways:

  • Xenia: How do the Greek rules of hospitality impact who has power, when, and under what conditions?

  • Roles: What is the relationship among mortals, gods, and monsters? Who emerges as powerful and under what conditions?

  • Gender: How does gender impact power, especially for Penelope?

Find and review your Character Note-Taking Tools and the Learning Log you have worked with throughout this unit. Begin to think about which key idea around power you want to focus on as you develop your response to the broad Culminating Task question regarding how Homer depicts the idea of power in The Odyssey.

Activity 3: Write

We will review some strategies for prewriting, developing a central claim, and organizing evidence as the initial process of composing an expository essay.

Step 1

Brainstorm to determine your focus for writing. Using an effective process, begin to organize your ideas for writing a response to the Culminating Task prompt. This might involve clustering around a central idea, making a list of ideas and evidence, developing an outline, or using an organizational tool.

As this is an expository prompt, you should begin by developing a claim in response to the question, which will become the central idea for your essay. Follow these steps as you form your central claim:

  • Determine which idea you want to focus on, and review the tools and notes you have developed for this idea.

  • Think about the events in the poem that prominently deal with your chosen focus.

  • Analyze the events, thinking about what similarities and differences exist. Given the similarities, what message might Homer be trying to communicate? Write down at least two.

  • Look over your tools and list of events in light of the two claims you jotted down. Decide which claim has stronger evidence to support it.

  • Having done this thinking, adjust your claim. Make sure that the claim states the conclusion you have reached based on the review of your work throughout the unit and brainstorming activity.

You might use a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to support your thinking, drawing key details from the texts you have read, along with your notes and tools.

Step 2

Next, you will begin to identify evidence that supports your claim. This evidence can come from The Odyssey, as well as corresponding texts, or from the tools you have completed throughout the unit.

As you think about organizing and developing your ideas into an essay, keep in mind the expectations of the task:

  • Present and develop a central claim about how Homer depicts the idea of power.

  • Present and develop supporting claims.

  • Provide context about your claims to think about how these work within the poem as a whole.

  • Explain how evidence from the texts develops and supports your claim.

  • Explain connections or comparisons among the texts and how, together, they establish a big idea about power.

  • Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary that demonstrates your knowledge of the topic.

  • Establish and maintain a formal style and objective point of view.

To begin organizing your thoughts, you might use whatever organizational tools you find are most effective for you. The Organization Reference Guide has some good information, and the Organizing Evidence Tool can be a helpful resource to use as you determine evidence you will use to support your central claim.