Week at a glance Feb 1 - 5, 2010

Curriculum focus: determines meaning of words through knowledge of Greek and Latin roots (1.3.K3a), identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of personification (1.3.K4g), identifies, interprest, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we come to one of the primary and most long-enduring stories in Greek mythology: the Trojan War. We'll start the week with some background notes over the war to learn why it started and who was involved. We'll read through a summary of Homer's The Iliad. We'll pay special attention to the choice of Achilles and how this heroic choice not only tells us much about what the Greeks saw as the heroic ideal, but also what makes a hero in general. By the end of the week, we'll discuss the aftermath of the Trojan War: who died, who survived, and what happened to the various heroes on their way home.

• Mon: The Trojan War - Background and Who's Who- notes in class.
• Tues: Read and discuss The Iliad, chapters 1 - 4, pgs 48-61 in class. Homework, read chapters 5-8, pgs 61-73 and be prepared to discuss them Wednesday.
• Wed: Discuss The Iliad, chapters 5 - 8, pgs 61-73. Complete questions over The Iliad before the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Aftermath of the Trojan War: the House of Troy, Agamemnon, Menelaus and Helen - notes in class.
• Fri: Read and discuss The Odyssey, chapters 1 - 4, pgs 77-93 in class. Homework, read chapters 5-8, pgs 93-109 and be prepared to discuss them Monday.

Week at a glance Jan 25 - 29, 2010

Curriculum focus: determines meaning of words through knowledge of Greek and Latin roots (1.3.K3a), identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of personification (1.3.K4g), identifies, interprest, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we'll continue our unit over Greek mythology. Having explored the basics including gods/goddesses and the cycle of life and death last week, this week we move on to the first generation of heroes in Greek mythology. These are heroes whose names endure to this day: Hercules, Perseus, Jason and his band of warriors, the Argonauts. We'll explore their myths and analyze how these heroes follow the pattern of the Heroic Quest. Students can expect to have short wrap up assignments toward the end of each class.

• Mon: Heroic Lovers - Read discuss "Pyramus and Thisbe," "Orpheus and Eurydice," "Daphne," and "Cupid and Psyche." Study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Tues: The First Generation of Greek Heroes -- Read and discuss "Perseus" and "Theseus."
  
• Wed: The First Generation of Greek Heroes -- Read and discuss "Hercules."
  
• Thurs: The First Generation of Greek Heroes -- Read and discuss "The Quest for the Golden Fleece"
  
• Fri: The First Generation of Greek Heroes -- Read and discuss "Phaethon," "Pegasus and Bellerophon," and "Daedalus." Greek Heroes wrap up assignment due by the end of the hour.
  

Week at a glance Jan 18 - 22, 2009

Curriculum focus: determines meaning of words through knowledge of Greek and Latin roots (1.3.K3a), identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of personification (1.3.K4g), identifies, interprest, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we'll wrap up our notes over the major and minor gods of Classical (Greek and Roman) mythology. We'll then move on to our finally reading a few of the myths from Greek mythology. For that we will also finally check out books for our class. Our focus this week will be the life cycle as it occurs in Greek mythology: the creation of the world, death, and rebirth.

• Mon: No school - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  
• Tues: Finish notes over who's who in Greek mythology. Begin readings over Stories of Creation: the Ages of Man, Prometheus, and Pandora.
  
• Wed: Finish readings over Stories of Creation - the Ages of Man, Prometheus, and Pandora. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Thurs: The Cycle of Life and Death - Demeter, Persephone, and Hades and The Flood Cycle.
  
• Fri: Greek Myths Identification Quiz. Complete The Cycle of Life and Death study guide by the end of the hour.
  

Week at a glance Jan 11 - 15, 2010

Curriculum focus: determines meaning of words through knowledge of Greek and Latin roots (1.3.K3a), identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of personification (1.3.K4g), identifies, interprest, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

After a brief break thanks to our snow days, we'll return to covering the basics of mythology. We'll start the week with a review of what we learned about archetypes by having students review the familiar archetypes we regularly see in movies, tv shows, and books. We'll then continue our opening week of notes -- a lot of notes to start us off so that we have a strong background and vocabulary to make later activities, discussions, and readings much easier -- with notes over how we use myths to make sense of our world, Joseph Campbell's analysis of the Heroic Quest, and the development and origins of Greek mythology. We'll wrap up the week with a quiz over the basics of mythology and notes and discussion over the Greek pantheon.

• Mon: Archetype review and discussion. Notes due at the end of the hour.
• Tues: How do we use myths to make sense of our own world? Notes in class.
• Wed: The Heroic Quest - Notes in class.
• Thurs: Greek Mythology - Origins and Development - Notes in class.
• Fri: Short quiz over Mythology Basics. Greek Mythology - Who's who? The Titans, the Olympians, major and minor gods and monsters - Notes in class.

Week at a glance Jan 4 - 8, 2010

Welcome!

On this site, you’ll find a breakdown of each week’s lesson plans and activities for the Mythology course. Assignments and due dates will always be listed in red. You can access class handouts through the “Course Materials” section located on the top left side of this site. If you have any questions or comments regarding things you'd like to see on this site, call me at WRHS or e-mail me at ritchjoh@usd437.net

This week our main task is to develop a working vocabulary for our class. Before we can study mythology, we must know what it is and its basic components. We'll take notes and have discussions. With the notes we take this week, we'll be prepared next week when we begin our unit over Classical Mythology.

• Mon: No school - staff workday
  
• Tues: Course Overview
  
• Wed: What is mythology? Notes in class
  
• Thurs: Archetype review - assignment due by the end of the hour
  
• Fri: How do myths interact with our culture even today? Notes in class