Lesson Nine: The Voyage Home

1. Focus and Review

• Journal Time based on yesterday's question of the day.
• Email exercise using SUP board.
  

2. Objectives

• Standard Course of Study Goal English I:

• 1.02 Respond reflectively (individually and in groups) to a variety of expressive texts            (e.g., memoirs, vignettes, narratives, diaries, monologues, personal responses) in a way            that offers an audience:
• The learner will show a personal reaction to the text with a sense of how that comes from careful consideration of the text. (Journals)
• The learner will show an awareness of how personal and cultural influences affect the response. (Literary devices and Important elements lecture and discussion)

• 5.01 Read and analyze various literary works by:
• producing creative responses that follow the conventions of a specific genre and using appropriate literary devices for that genre. (Literary Devices and important elements lecture and discussion.

• 5.02  Demonstrating increasing comprehension and ability to respond personally to texts by selecting and exploring a wide range of genres in this case the epic poem. (reading)
  

• 2.02 Explain commonly used terms and concepts that:
• The student will be able to clearly state the subject to be defined and be able to classify terms and identify distinguishing characteristics in an organized manner with efficient details. (Cause and Effect chart)
  

• Standard Course of Study Computer Competency Goal for 9th Grade students:

• 4.01  Identify information needs and formulate questions about those needs.

• 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 comparison lesson because we are comparing the cause and effect and we are finding how they are related.  Did the action cause the effect or was it something else that caused it.  We are using brainstorming to come up with main causes and effects and then the chart will be made in groups. 
• Materials needed are student Journals, Textbook Elements of Literature, Overhead, overhead pens, Clean Overhead Sheets, overhead with overhead pictures, student notebooks, white paper, colored pencils, markers, and classroom computer with sign up sheet.

3. Teacher Input

• Notes from the teacher, update the students on what we should have so far in our notes on the epic.  It is also a way for the teacher to bring up the important literary terms and make connections it is helpful to have a visual of the epic to go along with notes.  In this way students have the information needed in note form for test time.  This is a good discussion time and can be used to evaluate student knowledge.
  

4. Guided Practice

• Read 922-924 The Cattle of the Sun God.
• Brainstorming exercise, students and teacher come up with main events of the epic.
  

5. Independent Practice

• Group work- students work together as a group to create a sheet outlining the cause and effect relationships in the epic from the main events posed on the board.  Each student is responsible for creating their own sheet at home, but can use the group time to gather thoughts.
  

6. Closure

• Go over objectives of the day. 
• Today we have practiced email and question writing skills by updating our question board with our class questions.
  
• Today we read and worked on understanding, The Odyssey by Homer.
• Today we will show mastery by listing the main events on the board.
• Today we gained skills in working in groups as we worked collaboratively to make a cause and effect chart.
• 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:
• Inference:  Predict what the ending of the Odyssey would have looked like if the men had not eaten the cattle that belonged to the sun God?
  

Bibliography:   I am using this textbook in my unit plan.  Some ideas used in my lesson plans sprung from notes in the teachers edition. I used the web site listed below in designing my email exercise.