Lesson Three: The Voyage Home

1. Focus and Review

• Journal Time based on yesterday's question of the day.
• Discussion of journals in class.
  

2. Objectives

• Standard Course of Study Goal English I:
  
• 3.02  Express an informed opinion that states clearly a personal view. (Journal Entry)
• 5.01  Read and analyze literary works by using effective reading strategies like preparation.  Explain how the author creates character, setting, motif, and other elements.  Explain and interpret archetypal characters.
     
• Standard Course of Study Computer Competency Goal for 9th Grade students:
  
• 5.02  Produce media in various formats such as multimedia.  (Three students can work on computer web project while class participates in lesson.)
• 5.06  Apply fair use copyright guidelines (Copyright Law, P.L. 94-553) in all projects.
• This lesson is an analysis lesson because we are looking and taking components we know about greek life and culture and collecting data in notes and in art with our descriptive visual we are making of the characters in the Odyssey.
• Materials needed are student Journals, Textbook Elements of Literature, Overhead, Overhead pens, Clean Overhead Sheets, student notebooks, white paper, colored pencils, markers and classroom computer with sign up sheet.
  

3. Guided Practice

• Read pages 878-886 as a group.  The Odyssey an introduction in the textbook.

4. Teacher Input

• During reading above, teacher pauses class to stop and take notes under each of the headings in the text book.  This can be done on the chalkboard if no overhead is available.
• Epics and Values
• The War Story Background Violence and Brutality
• Odysseus:  A hero in trouble
• The Wooden Horse Trick
• The Ancient World and Ours
• A search for their place in life
• Relationship with the Gods
• Who was Homer?
• How were the epics told?
• A live performance
• People and places
  

5. Independent Practice

• Each student is assigned a character that they can draw or use word to describe this character.  They are building a visual map of the character.  This can be later scanned into their web page or it can be used on the bulletin board.
  
• Differentiated learning is available because the computer will have three students working in thirty minute time slots on the computer.  This will enable the whole class to use the classroom computer as students rotate on a class list.

6. Closure

• Go over objectives of the day. 
• Today we read and learned background information on the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer.
• Today we worked on our note taking skills.
• Today we used a creative way to explore characterization.
• Today we used differentiated learning by having some students work independently on their web sites.
• Informal Question and Answer time with Students
  
• Question of the Day and your journal question for tomorrow is:
• Comparison:  Compare Greek life to Modern life?  What are the similarities and the differences between the two?
     

Bibliography:   I am using this textbook in my unit plan.