Week at a glance April 5 - 9, 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'll wrap up our work studying the various myths of Norse mythology. We'll read and discuss "Sigurd the Volsung." This famous myth became the basis for the German epic Nibelungenleid and Richard Wagner's "Ring Cycle" opera. On Wednesday (Odin's Day), we'll finally see Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods. We'll also begin preparing for the Thursday exam over Norse Mythology. We'll wrap up the week by preparing for the Mythology Research Project. This will be a group research project in which groups will be responsible for researching and presenting an assigned mythology. We'll have more details as the week progresses.

• Mon: Norse Mythology - "The Valkyrie" and "Sigurd the Volsung," begin reading and discussing the story.
  
• Tues: Norse Mythology - "Sigurd the Volsung," finish reading and discussing the story. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Norse Mythology - Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, reading and discussion. Review for exam.
• Thurs: Norse Mythology Exam
• Fri: Mythology Research Project - Assemble groups, assign topics, overview of the assignment.