Week at a glance March 1-5, 2010

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), compares and contrasts themes across multiple stories ( 1.4.K7b), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), analyzes the contextual aspects of setting (historical, social, and cultural) and their impact and influence on characters and events in the story (11.2.1.K2), recognizes ways that literature from different cultures presents similar themes differently across genres (11.2.2.K1), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we turn to a two week unit on mythology from Japan and China. We'll start with Japanese/Ainu mythology. As usual with any region's mythology, we'll start with the creation story of the region and discover its major gods and heroes. From Japan, we'll move on to China to discover its rich mythological traditions. Though Western culture was separated from China by thousands of miles and discovery of one another, students will find Chinese mythology and its tales to be as familiar as any Greek or Norse tale.

• Mon: Japanese mythology -"The Creation of the Universe and Japan" and "Amaterasu," pgs 369 - 376.
• Tues: Japanese/Ainu folktales - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Wed: Chinese mythology - "The Creation of the Universe," "Yi the Archer and the Ten Suns," and "The Quest for the Sun," pgs 360 - 369 - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Chinese mythology - Sun Wukong, the Monkey god - read and discuss in class.
  
• Fri: Chinese mythology - Chinese folktales - read and discuss in class. Study guide due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance Feb 22 - 26, 2010

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), compares and contrasts themes across multiple stories ( 1.4.K7b), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), analyzes the contextual aspects of setting (historical, social, and cultural) and their impact and influence on characters and events in the story (11.2.1.K2), recognizes ways that literature from different cultures presents similar themes differently across genres (11.2.2.K1), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we turn to Ancient Egypt for a study of their mythology. We'll spend Monday getting to know the Ancient Egyptians and their pantheon. We'll then read one of the most famous Egyptian myths as we explore the romantic tale of Isis and Osiris. We'll explore other Egyptian myths on Wednesday. On Thursday we'll do a wrap up and review and discuss the most important things we can learn about mythology from a study of the ancient Middle Eastern regions. We'll wrap up the week with a quiz over Middle Eastern Mythology.

• Mon: Middle Eastern Mythology - Part II: Ancient Egypt, notes in class
  
• Tues: Middle Eastern Mythology - read and discuss "Osiris, Isis, and Horus," pages 162 - 168. Assignment due by the end of the hour.
  
• Wed: Middle Eastern Mythology - Other Myths of Ancient Egypt, discuss notes in class and complete assignment by the end of the hour.
  
• Thurs: Middle Eastern Mythology - Wrap up and review.
  
• Fri: Middle Eastern Mythology - quiz.

Week at a glance Feb 15 - 19, 2010

Classical Mythology Unit Exam grades - Exam grades are now posted and can be viewed online in Parent Portal. We will go over the exam and answer any questions once all make-up exams are complete.

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of symbols (1.3.K4i), compares and contrasts character traits (1.4.K7a), compares and contrasts themes across multiple stories ( 1.4.K7b), identifies and describes the protagonist (2.1.K1a), identifies and describes the antagonist (2.1.K1b), analyzes the contextual aspects of setting (historical, social, and cultural) and their impact and influence on characters and events in the story (11.2.1.K2), recognizes ways that literature from different cultures presents similar themes differently across genres (11.2.2.K1), and compares and contrasts works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems (2.2.K2).

This week we finally move away from Greek Mythology and begin what will be a pattern of two-week units exploring various other major mythologies from around the world. Our next unit will focus on the Middle East, specifically Mesopotamia and Egypt. These two regions give us some of the oldest myths and stories that we have in recorded human history. We'll discuss each culture's timeline, its major gods and goddesses, and its primary myths. We'll also use what we learned about mythology in general to look for recurring patterns or archetypes to be discovered in the myths.

• Mon: No school
  
• Tues: The Mesopotamian Cultures: Sumeria and Babylonia - Discussion and notes in class.
• Wed: Sumeria and Babylonia - "The Enuma elish," pgs 153 - 158. Other myths. Read and discuss in class.
  
• Thurs: Sumeria and Babylonia - Finish discussion of other myths. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Fri: Sumeria and Babylonia - "Gilgamesh," pgs 174 -203. Begin reading and discussing in class. Read to page 203 for Monday.

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 unit over Greek Mythology. We'll start the week by finishing our discussion over Homer's "The Odyssey." We'll do a quick overview of Virgil's "The Aeneid" on Tuesday. At that point we'll take a look at the exam study guide. On Wednesday we'll do a Jeopardy-style review for the unit exam. We'll complete the unit with the Greek Mythology Unit Exam on Thursday.

• Mon: Finish reading and discussing "The Odyssey," pgs 77-110. Study guide due at the beginning of the hour on Tues.
  
• Tues: Overview of Virgil's "The Aeneid," pgs 119-146. Begin reviewing for the Greek Mythology Unit Exam.
  
• Wed: Jeopardy-style review for the Greek Mythology Unit Exam.
  
• Thurs: Greek Mythology Unit Exam
  
• Fri: No school