Corbin's Corner

Exploring The Odyssey and Ancient Greece – A Thematic Unit

Through both traditional and online study, students will meet the following ISTE/NETS standards:

• Demonstrate creativity and innovation

• Communicate and collaborate

• Conduct research and use information

• Think critically, solve problems, and make decisions

• Use technology effectively and productively

After viewing the introductory PowerPoint (Appendix A) to The Odyssey, it is time to take a journey through the world of Greek mythology.  In this unit, we will not only study the story, but also learn about the ancient Greek world and what is there today. 

Students will be required to choose a character from The Odyssey and evaluate his/her/its role in the story as well as in other Greek myths. This investigation will culminate in a 1500 word essay discussing the chosen character. (See the list of choices below.) In addition, each three-member student team will choose to investigate an area of Greece or the surrounding lands and produce a PowerPoint or multimedia presentation showcasing the area both as it appears today in ancient times.

Students will work in groups of three with no two groups working on the same area. Individual students will choose characters from the chart below.  Again, there should be no duplicating characters. 

Individual tasks:

    Each student will turn in his or her own 1500 word essay and relevant paperwork.

Group task:

Each team will present their findings to the class with a creative PowerPoint or other multimedia production.

Before Beginning the Project

Before starting the project, students should read The Odyssey.  The text is available in both book form and online. A good source for the online text is http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html. 

Once the text is read and students have answered the guided reading questions (Appendix B), they are to explore some of the links on Mrs. Corbin’s website for more interesting information about Odysseus and his journey. 

Finally, students will take The Odyssey Content Quiz (Appendix C)

There are many characters in The Odyssey whose encounter with Odysseus and his crew change the course of the journey.  Many of these characters can be found in other stories of Greek Mythology.  Students are to choose one of the characters listed below, follow that character’s role in The Odyssey as well as in one other major Greek myth, and introduce this character and other myth to the class.

Students will be living the life of this character in both these stories so they should make sure to chose one they are interested in (not just one that is easy to find). 

Each student will pick one character from The Odyssey to investigate.  Choices have been listed below.  They must notify the me with the choice as no more than two students may have the same character.  It is first come first served, so they should chose at least three before coming to me.

The Characters:

Achilles – famous Greek warrior.

Aeolus- keeper of the winds.

Agamemnon- King of Mycenae

Alcinous - King of Phaecia

Aphrodite – goddess of love and beauty

Athene- Goddess of wisdom.

Calypso- Immortal sea nymph.

Charybdis – killer whirlpool opposite Scylla 

Helios – son of the god of the sun,   Hyperion

Nestor – former Greek warrior.

Polyphemus- Cyclops.

Tiresias- Famous Greek seer.

Zeus- Supreme God.

Students may use the following websites to investigate the chosen character.  Remember, the more information they have, the easier it will be to write the essay

http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/index.html  Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology

http://bulfinch.org/  Bulfinch’s Mythology

http://www.mythweb.com/odyssey/index.html    Breakdown of The Odyssey

http://loggia.com/myth/myth.html   Explores Greek, Roman and Celtic myth

http://www.ithaki.org/homericithaca.htm  Geographic exploration of Ancient Greece

http://www.mythweb.com/today/today01.html Ancient catchphrases (helpful for video!)

http://mythman.com/  Lots of information in an entertaining format

The Locations

Each team of three students will choose a location visited in The Odyssey.  After a thorough investigation of the location in both modern and ancient times, students will prepare a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation illustrating the change that has occurred in that location.  Remember that some of the information in mythology is not historically accurate, so that may require additional research.

The following websites are just a few that may come in handy in research of the locations:

http://irasov.com/odyssey_map.htm  Map of the Wanderings

http://www.adnax.com/classical/writers/homer/odyssey/odysseymaps1.htm   Maps to The Odyssey

http://nadabs.tripod.com/odyssey/  Compares ancient and modern maps

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Odysseys-End-The-Search-for-Ancient-Ithaca.html  searches for the ancient city of Ithaca

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200501/in.search.of.the.real.troy.htm  all about the search for the ancient city of Troy

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/list-of-ancient-greek-cities/      list of the ancient Greek cities

Student Products

Students will have two final products to submit. 

The first is an individual essay, and the second is a group video. 

The Essay:

Each student will turn in a 1500 word essay about their chosen character.  This essay will include:

• Proper MLA page format and margins

• A title

• A clear introductory paragraph with a thesis statement

• Organized body paragraphs with topic sentences, elaboration, and specific details

• A defined conclusion

• Accurate information from The Odyssey

• New information about character from outside source

• Works Cited page, properly formatted

The essay must be typewritten, no hand written essays will be accepted!

The PowerPoint or Mulitmedia Product:

Each team will produce a minimum 15 slide PowerPoint or a 3-5 minute multimedia production depicting a scene from the location chosen by the team. This assignment  will follow the following parameters:

·         Turned in on a CD, DVD, or via Synergy

·         Each team member will have an equal part in producing the project

·         A storyboard showing the planning phase of the product must be submitted

·         The story line is followed and understood

·         Must include background music

·         Product must be balanced between images and text

·         Includes Works Cited, properly formatted in the presentation

Classmates will view this so students should take time and plan what they want to do before beginning.  Lack of preparation will be obvious.