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.
  

Week at a glance Aug 31 - Sept 4, 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).

Our theme for this week's portion of our Greek mythology unit is lovers and adventurers...often one and the same. We'll start the week with tales of star-crossed lovers. We'll then spend a day with the story of love uniting at last with the mind or soul as we read and discuss the fairy tale-like story of Cupid and Psyche. From there we'll move on to the tale of one of Greece's greatest heroes, Hercules, and discover the tragic romantic element at the heart of his story. On Thursday we'll read and discuss our last romantic hero as we follow Perseus' quest to fight Medusa and save his beloved Andromeda. We'll wrap up the week with notes to help us review and synthesize the various romantic adventures.

• Mon: Star-crossed lovers: Pyramus and Thisbe, Orpheus and Eurydice, Apollo and Daphne - read and discuss in class.
  
• Tues: Cupid and Psyche - read and discuss in class; study guide due Wednesday.
  
• Wed: Romantic heroes: Hercules and the 12 Labors
  
• Thurs: Romantic heroes: Perseus and the fight against Medusa
  
• Fri: Lovers and adventurers - wrap up and review, notes in class.
  

Week at a glance Aug 24 - 28, 2009

This week we'll begin our first major unit: Greek mythology. Students will learn the origins of Greek mythology and how it developed in the ancient world. We'll then cover the Greek pantheon and get to know the major and minor gods. Finally, we'll analyze how the world was created according to Greek mythology, which gods and goddesses guided the Greeks' daily lives, and how the Greeks viewed the last part of the great cycle - death. On Friday we'll review our notes for the week and take a short quiz.

• Mon: Greek mythology - Origins and development. Notes in class.
  
• Tues: Short quiz over mythology basics. Greek mythology -Who's who? The Titans, the Olympians, and other major and minor gods. Notes in class
  
• Wed: Greek mythology - Stories of creation: the Ages of Man, Prometheus, and Pandora. Readings and notes in class.
  
• Thurs: Greek mythology - The cycle of life and death: Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. Readings and notes in class.
  
• Fri: Review notes and concepts covered this week. Short quiz over the notes and concepts covered this week.
  

Week at a glance Aug 17 - 21, 2009

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

Our class is unique because we have a large class and mixture of students, grades 10-12. Therefore, we'll spend our first two days focused on getting to know one another and getting comfortable discussing the concepts involved with Mythology. Our next two days will be days of notes focused on defining Mythology, determining its relevance, and learning about how it interacts in social, historical, and cultural contexts.

• Mon: New student orientation
  
• Tues: Introductions
  
• Wed: Finish introductions and course overview
  
• Thurs: What is Mythology? What are its basic components? What is its relevance to us today? Notes in class.
  
• Fri: How do myths interact with the society and culture of their time period? Notes in class.