English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #1: 

Prometheus and Pandora (55-62)

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

COUCH--bed

REED—tall blade of grass

HAUNCH—back of the leg; thigh

SEAR—to burn

FORGE—workshop where metal is heated

KEEL—bottom of a boat

CAUCASUS—mountain range between Europe and Asia

HERACLES—the Greek name for Hercules

 

 

“Prometheus”

QUESTIONS:

1. Explain Prometheus’s thinking for wanting to give fire to mankind?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
2. Explain why Zeus does not think that giving fire to man is a good idea.  What are Zeus’s reasons for wanting humans to stay the way they are?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
3. How does Prometheus give fire to mankind?                                                                                                                                                                                                                               What is man’s first response?                                                                                                                                                                             Why does man eventually accept the gift of fire?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
4. On page 57, what advice does Prometheus give about the use of fire?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
5. On page 58, why does Zeus decide not to destroy mankind?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
6. How does he punish Prometheus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of the punishment: 

 

SUMMARIZE:

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

2.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

“Pandora”

QUESTIONS

1.     Why is Pandora created?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               And how is she created?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

2.     Pan-dora means “all-gifted.”  What are the gifts that she was given from the various gods?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

3.     Describe what she does with the box that Hermes tells her not to open and why she eventually opens it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

4.     What happens when the box eventually opens?  What remains in the box and why is this important to the story?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of the box opening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

2.     SUMMARY.  (A) Summarize the reading passage by writing down its five most central events in chronological order—OR (B) answer the reading questions on the opposite side.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

CONNECT:  Something in the reading can be connected to your own personal experience.  Strong readers find connections easily or try to find them when they don’t come easily.  There is also some personal connection that can be made to what is read.  Complete the following statement:  I can connect/identify to this reading because

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

INFER.  What inference can you make from the reading?  What can you guess may have happened to any of the characters before the story began?  Or what may happen to any of the characters after the story ends?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #2: 

Phaethon (63-73)

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

swoon

cloak

appalling

reins—straps by which a horse is controlled

trundle

feeble--weak

 

 

QUESTION:

1.     Read on page 64 how day and night related to the sun god Apollo and then explain Apollo’s job.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

2.     What lie does Phaethon tell his friend Epaphus in order to impress him?                                                                                                                                                                                             How does Phaethon say he will prove himself to Epaphus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

3.     Why, on page 66, is Phaethon “swooning in a great meadow by the edge of a wood”?                                                                                                                                                                    

4.     How does the legend of flying carpets come from this story?                                                                                                                                                                                                           

5.     What is the importance of swearing by the River Styx?  What does Apollo swear to do for Phaethon?  (What, of course, is Phaethon’s wish?)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

6.     After Phaethon refuses to reconsider, what, on page 70, is Apollo’s advice to Phaethon?                                                                                                                                                                  

7.     Describe what happens on pages 71 and 72 when Phaethon tries to come a little closer to his village.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

8.     How does Zeus respond when he hears the disturbance?                                                                                                                                                                                                                  What happens to Phaethon?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     To the horses?                                                                                                                              

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of Phaethon’s final ride.  Include Zeus, if you like:

 

9.     Describe what happens to Phaethon’s sisters, the Heliads.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

10.   How are volcanoes explained by this story?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

3.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

CONNECT:  Something in the reading can be connected to your own personal experience.  Strong readers find connections easily or try to find them when they don’t come easily.  There is also some personal connection that can be made to what is read.  Complete the following statement:  I can connect/identify to this reading because

 

`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

INFER.  What inference can you make from the reading?  What can you guess may have happened to any of the characters before the story began?  Or what may happen to any of the characters after the story ends?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

 

 

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #3: Orpheus (74-83)

 

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

THRACIAN—relating to Thrace, one of the kingdoms in the ancient Greek region

WRENCH—pull something away forcefully

DISHEVELED

TARTARUS—the underworld

THE RIVER STYX—the river across which the dead must travel before settling in

SHADES—referring to shadowing dead people

SLAVER

LAVE—satisfy

ASSUAGE

DECREE

NULLIFY

PRECEDENT

ILLUMINE

DOUR

ELOQUENCE—the ability to speak persuasively and stylishly

ADVOCATE

LENIENCY—not severe in punishment

REVOKE—to take away

STERN—strict

CHASM—deep crack or whole in the ground

IMPLACABLE—impossible to weaken

THWART—to stop

FANCY—a desire for something

RELENT—to give in

CUDGEL—to beat someone with a heavy stick

 

 

1.              Who were Orpheus’s parents?                                                                                              What did Orpheus learn from each of them to help him to become great “such as the world had never known”?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

2.              Give at least two examples given on page 75 that show Orpheus’s great skill.

1.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
2.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

3.              What does Eurydice accept about Orpheus in becoming his wife?                                                                                                                                                                                                           Why does she appear to want to marry him?                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

CONNECTION:  Name a popular celebrity who has Orpheus-like charisma and musical skill:                                                                                                                                                                              

4.              How long were they married?                                                                                              Why was Orpheus’s lyre silent during this time?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     What rumors were spread about the couple?                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

5.              How does Eurydice die?                                                                                                                 

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of this scene: 

 

6.              How does Orpheus get across the river Styx, even though he is not dead?                                                                                                                                                                                            

7.              What are the punishments of Sisyphus and Tantalus, whom Orpheus sees on his way to meet Hades?

1. Sisyphus:                                                                                                                    
2. Tantalus:                                                                                                                     

8.   How does Orpheus reason with Hades on page 80 that, actually, releasing Eurydice would be a good idea?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

9.              On page 81, Hades gives in to Orpheus’s request.  But what is the condition that Hades makes about Eurydice’s return?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

10.            How does the story end?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

4.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

 

CONNECT:  Briefly relate a situation in which you came so close to getting something but just missed.  Or maybe there’s another connection you can make to the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

INFER what might have been said between Orpheus and Euryidice just at the final moments of their story:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #4:  Narcissus and Echo (84-90)

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

·       nymph—a minor goddess living areas of nature, like woods, mountains, and rivers; regarded as beautiful

·       dryad / naiad —a spiritual being believed to live in trees, forests, and rivers

·       Eros—Cupid, the god of love

·       fickle—unpredictable, likely to change one’s mind

·       glade—open grassy area in the woods

·       meddle—to interfere

• vexation—a bother; something annoying

 

 

QUESTIONS

1.              Why does Aphrodite want to reward Echo for her juicy stories?                                                                                                                                                                                     How does she plan to reward her?                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

2.              What does Echo see that she lies about to Hera?                                                                                                                                                                                                           

3.              How is she rewarded by Zeus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       And then, when Hera figures things out, how is Echo punished by Hera?                                                                                                                                                                     

4.              Why does handsome Narcissus get angry with Echo when he meets her?                                                                                                                                                                        Explain briefly their meeting:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

5.              What wish of Echo’s does Aphrodite grant?                                                                                                                                                                                                                    What punishment does Aphrodite give to Narcissus?                                                                                                                                                                                              

VISUALIZE.  Draw a picture of the punishment of Narcissus:

 

6.              What happens to Narcissus on the riverbank as the story ends?                                                                                                                                                                                    

Bonus:  Why does the handsome Narcissus only speak to his mother?                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of            , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

5.              SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

 

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                            

3.                                                                                                                                            

 

CONNECT:  Something in the reading can be connected to your own personal experience.  Strong readers find connections easily or try to find them when they don’t come easily.  There is also some personal connection that can be made to what is read. What about a time that you liked someone who didn’t like you back?  Or a time when you experienced the power of gossip? 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

INFER.  What inference can you make from the reading?  What can you guess may have happened to any of the characters before the story began?  Or what may happen to any of the characters after the story ends? 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #5: 

Daedalus (and Icarus) (134-144)

 

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

subtle—not obvious

aspiration—goal, ambition

caprice—sudden change of mind

decree

partridge—medium-sized bird, like a pigeon

affront—an insult

beguiling—attracting someone’s interest

novelty—new ideas or things

parasol—umbrella used for shade from the sun

guise—a false outward appearance; disguise

derisive—making fun of

pinions—shoulder blades

stupefied—amazed

 

 

DIRECTIONS:  Answer the following questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, using proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

 

1. Explain (1) why Daedalus becomes angry with his nephew Talos                                                                                                                                                                                                             and (2) why Athene becomes angry with Daedalus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
2. Daedulus goes to Knossos, the capital city of Crete, which is an island nation near Greece.  What job does King Minos give to Daedalus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
3. How does Queen Pasiphae make Aphrodite angry?                                                                                                                                                                                                                    What is the punishment?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
4. Who/what is the Minotaur?                                                                                                      

VISUALIZE.  Draw your own picture of the minotaur:

 

5. Why is Daedalus asked to create a labyrinth, a great maze?                                                                                                                                                                                                         And why is he also imprisoned in it?                                                                                        
6. How do Daedalus and Icarus plan to escape from the labyrinth?                                                                                                                                                                                                            
7. What advice does Daedalus give to Icarus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             And how does the story end?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

6.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

 

CONNECT:  Recall a time when you didn’t listen to a parent or guardian’s advice—and you wish you had.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

INFER.  Choose either Daedalus or Icarus and write down their imaginary thoughts during the final scene of the story.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Mythology Unit Reading #6: 

Theseus (Pt. 1) (145-155)

 

Pre-reading Vocabulary:

HILT—the handle of a sword

SCABBARD—the sheath, or container, for the sword

BRIGAND—bandit or robber

CUDGEL—a heavy stick used as a weapon

IMPARTIAL—not taking sides

GRAPPLING HOOKS—hooks for grabbing

 

DIRECTIONS:  Answer the following questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, using proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

 

1.     Why have Theseus and his mother been forced to live so poorly?                                                                                                                                                                                                   

A Voice From the Sea

2.     Explain the riddle of the gull on page 147.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               How does this riddle help Theseus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

3.     Who is Theseus’s real father?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            How come even his mother doesn’t know?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

4.     What feat does Theseus accomplish easily that stronger men aren’t able to do?                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of Theseus’s famous accomplishment:

 

The Road

5.     Describe what happens to Theseus when he meets Corynetes, the cudgeler.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

6.     Describe Theseus’s meeting with Sciron.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

7.     Describe the adventure with Scion’s brother, Pityocamptes (pine bender).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

8.     Finally, what happens with Procrustus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of any one of the four challengers whom Theseus faced on the road to Athens.

 

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

7.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

CONNECT:  Something in the reading can be connected to your own personal experience.  Strong readers find connections easily or try to find them when they don’t come easily.  There is also some personal connection that can be made to what is read.  Complete the following statement:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

INFER.  What inference can you make from the reading?  What lessons are there to learn from this part of the Theseus story?  What is there to learn about conquering obstacles?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

 

 

English 221-224 Ninth-Grade English                  Name:                                                              

website:   http://www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan     email:  [email protected]  

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

 

QUESTION—VISUALIZE—SUMMARIZE—CONNECT—INFER—REPAIR

 

Pre-Reading Vocabulary

LAMENATATION—great sadness and crying

LITHE—able to move gracefully

TRIREME—Greek warship

SCUTTLE—to sink a ship by making holes in its bottom

INSOLENT—disrespectful

PARRY (PARRIED)—to deflect

 

DIRECTIONS:  Answer the following questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, using proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

 

Athens

1.     Theseus wants to fight.  Why won’t his father let him fight with his cousins to regain power in the country?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

2.     Explain the “tribute” that Athens gives to Crete every year as it is described on page 156.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

3.     What is the agreement Theseus makes with his father if he comes home from Crete victorious?                                                                                                                                                                   

Crete

4.     What is the advice Theseus gives to the youths on the boat with him?                                                                                                                                                                                             

5.     What suggestion does Theseus make to King Minos?                                                                                                                                                                                                                         What is his reasoning?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

6.     How does Minos prove that his father is Zeus?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  And how does Theseus prove who his father is?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

7.     What is Ariadne’s plan (on page 165) for helping Theseus fight the Minotaur?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          What is Theseus’s response?                                                                                              

8.     Describe the fight between Theseus and the Minotaur.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

VISUALIZE:  Draw a picture of Theseus fighting the Minotaur.

 

9.     Whom does Theseus take back with him to Athens, with Minos’s approval?                               

10.   What promise does Theseus forget about on his return to Athens?                                                                                                                                                                                                    What are the consequences?                                                                                             

 

 

 

 

SUMMARIZE:

 

1.  MAIN IDEA.  Write in one sentence the main idea of the reading passage (chapter, section, story), the core idea that the writer wants the reader to understand. [Try, “This is the story of  , who                and after        , finally             because          .”]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

8.     SUMMARY.  Summarize the reading passage by writing down its three most central events in chronological order.

1.                                                                                                                                            

2.                                                                                                                                              

3.                                                                                                                                            

CONNECT:  Something in the reading can be connected to your own personal experience.  Strong readers find connections easily or try to find them when they don’t come easily.  There is also some personal connection that can be made to what is read.  Complete the following statement:  I can connect/identify to this reading because

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

INFER.  What inference can you make from the reading?  What can you guess may have happened to any of the characters before the story began?  Or what may happen to any of the characters after the story ends?