Week at a glance Oct 19 - 23, 2009

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 finish our brief unit on mythology from China and Japan. We'll wrap up our discussion over Chinese mythology with a review of last week's story from the movie Hero and an overview of the Chinese god Monkey. We'll then read and discuss two tales from Japan. We'll end the week with a short quiz and an introduction to the Creation Story Research Project coming up next week.

• Mon: Chinese mythology - finish discussion of Hero. "Monkey" - discussion and notes in class.
  
• Tues: Japanese mythology -"The Creation of the Universe and Japan" and "Amaterasu," pgs 369 - 376. Discussion and notes in class.
  
• Wed: Pass back and discuss Mesopotamian Myths quiz. Review for a short quiz. Short quiz over Chinese and Japanese mythology.
• Thurs: Introduction to the Creation Story Research Project - What is it? What are the expectations? How are we going to do it? Discussion and notes in class.
  
• Fri: No school

Week at a glance Oct 12 - 16, 2009

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 China and Japan. We'll start with Chinese 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. China also has a unique and rich storytelling style as many of its stories are circular in structure, adding more details as they go along. China also has a rich magical tradition with heroic warriors in a story genre called wuxia. We will analyze the Chinese storytelling style and the wuxia tradition by watching and discussing the Oscar-nominated and award-winning movie Hero (2002)

• Mon: 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.
  
• Tues: Chinese mythology - the Chinese storytelling style and the wuxia tradition: begin watching and discussing Hero.
  
• Wed: Chinese mythology - the Chinese storytelling style and the wuxia tradition: continue watching and discussing Hero.
  
• Thurs: Chinese mythology - the Chinese storytelling style and the wuxia tradition: finish watching and discussing Hero. Hero study guide due by the end of the hour.
  
• Fri: End of the 1st quarter - No school
  

Week at a glance Oct 5 - 9, 2009

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 Sept 28 - Oct 2, 2009

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 Classical 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: Mythology review. "The Mesopotamian Cultures: Sumeria and Babylonia" - Discussion and notes in class.
  
• Tues: Sumeria and Babylonia - "The Enuma elish," pgs 153 - 158. Read and discuss in class.
  
• Wed: Sumeria and Babylonia - other myths. Discussion and notes in class.
  
• Thurs: Sumeria and Babylonia - "Gilgamesh," pgs 174 -203. Begin reading and discussing in class. Read to page 203 for Friday.
  
• Fri: Sumeria and Babylonia - "Gilgamesh," wrap up discussion. Assignment due by the end of the hour.
  

Week at a glance Sept 21 - 23, 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 are wrapping up our unit over Classical Mythology. We'll start the week by reading and discussing the last major text of the Trojan War, a summary of Virgil's Aeneid. On Wednesday, students will receive a study guide for their Friday unit exam that we'll go over in class. On Thursday, we'll play a Jeopardy-style review game to give students a fun way of preparing for the Friday exam. We'll take the Classical Mythology Unit Exam on Friday.

• Mon: Begin reading and discussing The Aeneid, pgs 119-146 in class. Homework, read pgs 119-146 and be prepared to discuss the text on Tuesday.
  
• Tues: Discuss The Aeneid. Complete questions over The Aeneid before the end of the hour.
  
• Wed: Pass out and discuss the Classical Mythology Unit Exam Study Guide - notes in class.
  
• Thurs: Jeopardy-style review for the Classical Mythology Unit Exam.
  
• Fri: Classical Mythology Unit Exam

Week at a glance Sept 14 - 18, 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).

This week, we start our final series of readings for our Classical Mythology unit as we cover the Trojan War. Much of the myths we have in Classical Mythology come from tales about the Trojan War that allude to them. We'll start by reading and discussing a brief summary of Homer's The Iliad in our textbook in the early part of the week. On Wednesday, we'll take a brief reading break and discuss the aftermath of the Trojan War on the mythological characters who did not receive their own Homeric epics. We'll then wrap up the week reading and discussing a brief summary of Homer's The Odyssey.

• Mon: 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 Tuesday.
  
• Tues: Discuss The Iliad, chapters 5 - 8, pgs 61-73. Complete questions over The Iliad before the end of the hour.
  
• Wed: Aftermath of the Trojan War: the House of Troy, Agamemnon, Menelaus and Helen - notes in class.
  
• Thurs: 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 Friday.
  
• Fri: Discuss The Odyssey, chapters 508, pgs 93-109. Complete questions over The Odyssey before the end of the hour.
  

Week at a glance Sept 7 - 11, 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).

Extra credit opportunity: later in the week students will receive a list of books they may read and then complete an assignment over for extra credit. Each book listed relates in some way to common themes and archetypes found in mythology. The list of books and extra credit assignment will appear in class and on this site soon.

This week, we'll wrap up our overview of myths about individuals from Classical Mythology and move into our final part of our Classical Mythology unit: the Trojan War - causes, events, and aftermath.

• Mon: No school. Labor Day.
  
• Tues: Wrap up Archetype Review discussion. Read and discuss "Theseus."
  
• Wed: Jason, the Argonauts, and the Quest for the Golden Fleece - read and discuss.
  
• Thurs: The last of the great adventurers - Phaethon, Pegasus and Bellerophon, Daedalus and Icarus. Complete Heroes assignment.
  
• Fri: The Trojan War - Who's who and how did it all get started? Notes and readings in class.