Last week was a short week, but that didn’t stop us from getting a lot done!  Students finished up the first unit and began looking at myth, mythology, and characterization with Homer’s The Odyssey and the loosely based adaptation, O Brother, Where Art Thou? from the Coen Brothers.  While many students found the selected episodes from the text to be long, wordy, or occasionally confusing, they generally enjoyed the excitement and adventure that accompanied Odysseus on his travels.  However, they really got a kick out of comparing and contrasting the text to the movie – addressing CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.9 by  looking at how various authors and artists draw upon and change source material.  In this case, the legend of Odysseus provides rich fodder for an epic poem and a comedic film.

Students will wrap up this unit by examining the internal and external conflicts that drive the evolution of the dynamic Odysseus in an informative essay.  They will also complete a summative evaluation, to help give me a better idea of their mastery of the concepts of character, character development, characterization, internal and external conflicts, and the genres of epic poetry and mythology.  Make sure to check the class website for further details!