The Odyssey - Amazon Simple Storage Service€¦ · The Odyssey. teacher’s Guide. ... in the script they are about to read. introduce the Script ... The Iliad: is the oldest piece

Summary The story takes place in ancient Greece, thousands of years ago. Odysseus has spent the last ten years fighting the Trojan War. He now sets sail in twelve ships, promising to return his men safely to their homes. Odysseus and his men have various encounters with a giant, an enchantress, Sirens, and a sea monster along the way. Odysseus uses his wits to escape, but he loses several men and is left with one ship to get his men home.

Objectives FluencyStudents will:• Buildfluencythroughecho-reading,choral-reading,andrepeatedreading

• Readwithappropriatepitch• Readexclamationpoints

cOmprehenSiOnStudents will:• Analyzecharacter• Analyzestoryelements• Compareandcontrast• Drawconclusions• Identifysequence• Makejudgments• Makepredictions

GenreStudents will:• Identifyandanalyzefeaturesofmythsandlegends

VOcabulary and WOrd StudyStudents will:• Buildvocabulary:enchanted,

hospitality, soothe• Usewordsindifferentcontexts• Createwordwebs

character educatiOnStudentswilllearnabout:• Trustworthiness• Citizenship

The Odysseyteacher’s Guide

Reader’s Theater™for Fluency and comprehension

leVelS 28–60 m–X

myths and legends

characters levelsElpeenor (ehl-PEE-nore) M/28Player One: Brother Cyclops (SY-klops) and Hermes (HUHR-meez)

M/28

Castor (CAHS-tuhr) N/30Sirens (SY-rihns) N/30Circe (SIR-see) O/34Eurylochus (yoo-REE-lah-kuhs) O/34Polyphemus (pahl-uh-FEE-muhs) O/34Odysseus (oh-DIHS-ee-uhs) P/38Narrator 2 R/40Narrator 1 X/60

62013-TG-Odyssey.indd 1 1/3/11 3:14:56 PM

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build background•PointoutGreeceonaworldmap.

Ask students to discuss with a partner what life might have been like in Greece over 3,000 years ago. If possible, show students illustrations of ancient Greece to stimulate their thinking. Ask pairs to share their ideas and record these on a concept web on chart paper.

•Writethefollowingwordsonthechalkboard and read each one: Odysseus, Cyclops, giant, fleece, journey, enchantress, Circe, goddess. Make a chart on the chalkboard with four columns labeled “Word,” “Know It Well,” “Have Seen/Heard It,” “Have Never Seen/Heard It” and ask students to copy it. Tell them to list the words in the first column and place a check mark in the column that best describes their knowledge of the word. Explain that these words will be in the script they are about to read.

introduce the Script•Givestudentsacopyofthescriptand

read the title with them. Tell them The Odyssey is a Greek myth about Odysseus, who was a hero in stories told by an ancient Greek storyteller named Homer. See Background Information on page 3.

•Tellstudentsthatmythsarestoriesmade up to explain things about the natural world. Remind students of myths they may already have read. Use the Learning About Genre sidebar to help teach students the characteristics of myths.

•Readthebackcoverblurbwithstudents. Encourage them to predict what might happen in the story.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

introduce Vocabulary•Refertothecharacterchartonthe

cover of this teacher’s guide and read each name. Tell students they may refer to the pronunciation guidelines during the story reading if necessary.

Day One

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• Stories written to explain things in natural world

• Characters are gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters

• Heroes perform tasks and battle monsters

• Completing tasks often leads to series of adventures

learning about Genre: myths

Copyright©2006BenchmarkEducationCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.Nopartoftheguidemaybereproducedortransmittedinwholeorinpartinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformationretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

ISBN:978-1-4108-6201-3


•Pointoutthewordenchanted in the glossary. Read the word with students before reading the definition and the example sentence together. Ask students to substitute the word magical in place of enchanted and tell whether the sentence still makes sense.

•Readthewordhospitality and its meaning with students. Read the example sentence together. Ask students to think of different ways to ask the same question of Polyphemus—forexample:Why aren’t you giving us a friendly welcome, Polyphemus?

• Introducethewordsoothe, reading the word and definition in the glossary. Ask paired yes-and-no questions to encourage students to think about the meaningoftheword—forexample:Can chili pepper soothe a sore throat? Can a hug soothe a crying child?

•Askstudentstoworkwithapartnerto create other yes-and-no questions for each of the glossary words.


model Fluent readingAsk students to listen and follow along with you as you read the script aloud to model fluency and expression.

background information

Greek Myths

Greek myths come from the religious beliefs of classical Greece. Many are centered on a family of immortals, known as the Olympians, who ruled the earth and sky. This main family of twelve gods and goddesses was ruled by the god Zeus.

Besides gods and goddesses, Greek myths contain heroes and heroines, such as Hercules or Odysseus, who must battle giants, witches, and other strange creatures. Often these heroes must perform a series of arduous tasks that require their use of wit, as well as strength, to survive.

Greek myths began as an oral poetic tradition and were eventually written down to become the versions we know today. One well-known Greek storyteller was Homer, who composed The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad is the oldest piece of western literature that has survived to modern times. In this poem of 15,691 lines, Homer records the final year of a ten-year siege of the city of Troy. The Odyssey is a sequel to The Iliad, and is an adventure story detailing more about the fall of Troy as well as the exploits of Odysseus and his men.

Some well-known Greek myths include: “Jason and the Argonauts,” “Hercules and HisLabors,”“Pandora’sBox,”“Theseusandthe Minotaur,” and “Helen of Troy.”

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build Fluency: echo-read•Readthescriptaloud,andask

students to echo-read, or repeat, the lines after you. Stop where necessary to clarify vocabulary and any difficult pronunciations of names encountered during the reading.

•Pointoutthestagedirectionswrittenin parentheses in the script, (e.g., Odysseus’s lines on page 4), and explain that these give directions on how the reader should read the lines. Tell students that Odysseus is speaking softlyheresothatPolyphemuscan’thear him. Odysseus is thinking of a waytokeepPolyphemusfromeatinghis men. Later in the lines, he changes his voice to be louder as he begins speakingtoPolyphemus.

•Callattentiontopunctuationmarksand model how to read the lines. For example, point out exclamation pointsinthelinesforPolyphemusonpage 6, and instruct the students to read these lines showing distress. Ask students to experiment by reading the lines as if they ended in a period and then rereading the lines with the exclamation point.

build comprehensionEnsure students understand the ideas in the story, as well as character development, by involving them in discussion.

•What events make this story a myth? What specific examples can you point to in the text? (See pages 3, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 15 for examples of mythical events.) (analyze features of myths)

•Reread Odysseus’s lines on page 16. What can you tell about the type of person Odysseus is from what he says here? (analyze character)

•Why does Odysseus tell Polyphemus that his name is Nobody? What does this tell you about his character? (draw conclusions; analyze character)

•What is different about the encounters with Polyphemus and with Circe? What makes these two encounters similar? (compare and contrast)

•Why does the author separate the sentences when Eurylochus is speaking on the bottom of page 8? How would you read these lines? (analyze story elements)

•Odysseus has a chance to cause Circe harm but chooses not to. Why is this? (draw conclusions)

•Where in the story does Odysseus almost give in to temptation, risking the lives of his men? (identify sequence or steps in a process)

•What about this story do you think makes people believe Odysseus is a true hero? (make judgments)

•Do you think the rest of the journey home will be without any more adventures? Why or why not? (make predictions)


Day Two


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assign roles•Usethereadinglevelsprovidedonthe

front of this guide to help you assign roles that support or challenge each student appropriately.

•Thisscriptcontainstenparts.Ifyou have more than ten students in the group, you may want to assign several students to read one of the longer parts chorally. For example, two or more students at the same reading level could read the part of Eurylochus.

•AssignseveralstudentstobetheSirens. One student could act as the announcer to introduce the script and the characters.

•OnestudentcouldreadbothPlayerOne parts, or the parts could be assigned to two students.

build VocabularyMake sure students fully understand the glossary terms. The Vocabulary in Action suggestions on the inside back cover of the script provide further ideas for building students’ understanding.

Fluency assessment rubric• TheReader’sTheaterOverviewcontains

an assessment rubric you can use to quickly assess each student. Use the rubric at different times during the lesson to assess different skills. For example, you may want to select students to assess their understanding of characterization during the comprehension discussion. Alternatively, you may wish to use their performance to assess how appropriately they develop their characters.

•Discusstheassessmentrubricwithstudents so that they know what you expect of them.

character tips for Voice and expression

Narrator 1 serious, scholarly

Eurylochus firm, strong, curious

Odysseus strong, caring, capable, confident, smart, authoritativeNarrator 2 serious, scholarly

Elpeenor young, impressionable,

Castor weak, scared, fearful, hungryPolyphemus loud, strong, authoritative, selfish, cruel, greedyPlayer One: Brother Cyclops tired, annoyedPlayer One: Hermes hurried, authoritativeCirce friendly, charming, sly, clever, cruelSirens beautiful, enchanting, untrustworthy


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build Fluency Skills: read With appropriate pitch•model: Tell students that pitch refers

to the rise and fall of a character’s voice in order to demonstrate different feelings, such as surprise, anger, fear, andsoon.ReadaloudPolyphemus’slines at the end of page 3, modeling how you raise the pitch of your voice to show surprise in the first two questions and then lower the pitch for the exclamation. Say: I think Polyphemus would raise the pitch of his voice when he questions Odysseus in order to show his disbelief with what Odysseus has just said. Then he would lower the pitch of his voice in order to show his disdain.

•Guide: Ask students to look at Polyphemus’slinesonpage4.Discusshow he is feeling here. Then guide students to experiment with the lines, using appropriate pitch to express different feelings.

•apply: Ask pairs of students to select a character and experiment using different pitch as they read the character’s lines. Encourage them to decide which use of pitch sounds best.

choral-read for Fluency Involve students in a choral-reading of the script to reinforce the fluency skill of reading with appropriate pitch. Remind them to use dramatic expression to bring each character’s mood or personality to life.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Discusstheexpectationsyouhavefor

student behavior during the rehearsal. Use the suggestions provided here and in the Reader’s Theater Overview.

•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudentstorehearse their script. Monitor students as they rehearse, and tell them you will be listening to how they develop the characters through their reading.

•Offersuggestionsforexpression,voice,and characterization as you monitor students’ work. See the chart on page 5 for tips on voice and expression. Use specific comments, rather than general ones, directed at the character, not the student. For example: Polyphemus, make your voice louder to show you are frustrated with Player One.

•Usethistimetoobserveparticularstudents and assess for behavior. Remind students of the assessment rubric and let them know you will be assessing them as you monitor the rehearsal.


Day Three

When working in a group, students should:• follow along as the script is being read;• remain quiet while others are reading

their parts;• wait and watch for their turn to read;• ask for help when needed;• read clearly, using expression and fluency.

expectations for rehearsing


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perform the ScriptInvite students to present the script to an audience. The audience might be members of their class, students from other classes, school staff members, and/or parents.

assess Students’ Fluency•Usetheassessmentrubricto

complete your assessment of students’ fluency.

•HavestudentsfilloutaSelf-Assessment Response Form.

•Taketimetobrieflyconferencewitheach student to provide feedback on his or her reading and behavior.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudent

rehearsal.Donotinterruptthissecondrehearsal, but simply observe students as they read.

•Usetheassessmentrubrictomonitorstudents’ rehearsal behaviors and reading fluency.

Staging and performance SuggestionsDecideonastagearea,howstudentswill be positioned, and whether props or movements will be added. See staging tips in the Reader’s Theater Overview. Here are some other ideas:

placement/mOVement

•Narrator1standsstageright;Narrator 2 stands stage left

•Odysseusandhismenstandtogethercenter stage

•Polyphemus,Circe,PlayerOne,andthe Sirens stand left behind other characters; step forward to read and step back when finished

•OdysseusandhismenwalkinplaceasNarrator reads, “The men walked . . . ”

•Odysseusandhismenswaytorepresent sailing on the ship

•Odysseusandhismenturnbackstoaudience to demonstrate sailing away or scene changes

muSic/SOund eFFectS

•TheSirenscouldsingtheirpartsorhum before or after reading lines

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Day Four Day Five


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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving ReadersSupport for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

build background and make connections (day One)•Showstudentsillustrationsofancient

Greece. Ask students to tell or point to things in the illustrations that are different from today. For ELL students, label each item in the illustrations with self-stick notes to help them use the vocabulary as they discuss the illustrations.

•ShowstudentsanillustrationofOdysseus from the Internet or othersource.Providebackgroundinformation about him and the Trojan War. Include information relevant to his life to create a more comprehensive understanding of who he was and why he is a mythological character.

•Writethewordhero on the chalkboard and tell students that Odysseus was a hero in ancient Greece. Explain that heroes are people who are admired and respected for the things they have done. Ask ELL students to share the names of heroes from their native countries and tell why these people are considered heroes.

develop Vocabulary and language (day One)•Writewordsonself-sticknotesand

match them to pictures to preteach words that students are likely to know in their native languages but may notknowinEnglish—forexample,ship, families, island, and escape. Help students find the words in the script and read the sentences with them. To reinforce the meaning of the words, students could act out the words while other students guess, or they could draw pictures of the word and ask others to guess.

•Understandingthemeaningofthe word nobody is important for understanding how Odysseus tricked Polyphemus.Writethewordonthechalkboard, read it, and point to the students as you say: Nobody is standing. Then ask students to stand up and say: Nobody is sitting.

•ShowstudentstheareaofancientGreece on a map and where the Trojan War took place. Write the words Trojan War on the chalkboard. Make sure students understand the meaning of the word war. Show students an illustration of a warrior from ancient Greece to help demonstrate what type of clothing they wore and what weapons they had. Write warrior on the chalkboard and read it with students. Read aloud the lines on pages 2–3 that contain the words as students follow along.


Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers•Writepairedsentencesthatrequirea

yes or no answer on the chalkboard: Does a warrior fight in wars? Does a warrior use a weapon? Is the Trojan War still happening? Is Greece a city? Read the questions and ask students to respond.

•Provideextrapracticewiththepronunciation of the names. See IntroduceVocabularyfromDayOne of this teacher’s guide.

•Toappreciatemyths,studentsneedtounderstand the concept of imagination. Write the word imagination on the chalkboard and read it, having students repeat it. Show illustrations of mythical creatures and explain that storytellers in ancient Greece used their imaginations to make up these creatures. Explain that people in ancient Greece used their imaginations to explain things they did not understand. Ask students to use their own imaginations to draw an unusual creature.

build comprehension (day two)Engage students in discussion about the script, starting with simple literal questions and progressing to more difficult ones. As students discuss the questions, ask them to point to places in the script that best answer the questions. Suggested questions:

•Where does this story happen? (analyze story elements)

•Where are Odysseus and his men going? (recall details)

•The first adventure Odysseus has is with ________. (identify sequence or steps in a process)

•How do the men get out of the cave? (identify cause and effect)

•How did Odysseus escape the Sirens? (identify cause and effect)

•Tell what Odysseus is like. (analyze character; make inferences)

•How do the men feel about Odysseus? (make inferences)

read and perform (days two–three)•Provideextrapracticereadingthe

script as a group before students read their individual parts to ensure they are familiar and comfortable with the language and vocabulary.

•Youmaywanttoassigntwostudentsto a role so they can read the part together. This will help support their reading.

•Besuretousethereadinglevelsprovided on the cover of this teacher’s guide to help you assign the roles.


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Literacy Extensions

Word StudyWOrdS in diFFerent cOnteXtS

•Reviewthethreeglossarywordsenchanted, hospitality, and soothe with students. Invite them to tell in their own words what each word means.

•Writethefollowingsentencestarterson the chalkboard: It is important for a restaurant to provide good hospitality because _______; Fairy tales often use the word enchanted because ________; Doctors often need to soothe patients because _____.Pairstudentsand invite them to complete each sentence. As students share their sentences, ask them to judge whether the sentences accurately portray the meanings of the words.

•Askstudentstorespondorallytothe following questions using the vocabulary words: Tell about a time when you experienced hospitality; Tell about a time when you felt enchanted; Name something that soothes you.

WOrd Web

•Pairstudentsandassigneachpaira glossary word. Invite students to create a word web for their word on a sheet of acetate. Explain that their web should: provide the definition of the word, provide a sentence using the word, show the root of the word, list other forms of the word (i.e., enchantress, enchanting, etc.), list two or more people who might use the word (e.g., a writer of folktales, a person describing feelings about a movie or book).

•Whenstudentscompletetheirwordwebs, ask them to use an overhead projector to share their webs with the group. Ask them to compare the webs created for the same words.

reader responseAsk students to reflect on their reader’s theater experience by writing or drawing in their journals. Students could:

• reflectontheirreadingexperienceanddecide if they read with appropriate pitch;

• identifythereadingstrategiestheyused to make sense of the script;

• selecttheirfavoritecharacteranddrawa picture of the character, adding a short paragraph that either describes the character or tells why the character was chosen;

•writetheirownmythusingtheirimagination to create unusual characters.


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read across texts•Leadstudentsinareviewofthe

characteristics of myths. Ask students to tell which features were present in The Odyssey. Ask students whether they can suggest other features of myths based on their reading of the script or other myths. Record the features of myths in a chart.

•Selectafairytalethatstudentswillbefamiliar with, for example, “Hansel and Gretel.” As a group, retell the fairy tale.

•Askstudentstobrainstormcharacteristics of “Hansel and Gretel” and record their ideas in a list on the chalkboard.

•CreatealargeVenndiagramonchartpaper. Ask students to compare and contrast The Odyssey with “Hansel and Gretel.”

•Createachartlabeled“Characteristicsof Fairy Tales” to go with the chart on myths. Encourage students to look for other myths and fairy tales for independent reading. As they read, invite them to think about how these stories are similar to and different from the stories they compared in the Venn diagram. Suggest they use self-stick notes to add characteristics to the two genre charts. From time to time, review the charts with students and evaluate the characteristics that have been added to the charts.

• takes place in ancient Greece

• story heroes are warriors

• story has monsters

• magical events• clever, good

character tricks evil character

• good wins over evil

• takes place in a forest

• wicked stepmother and witch

• children are main characters

the Odyssey both hansel and Gretel


trustworthiness•Explainthatapersonwhodemonstrates

trustworthiness is someone who is honest and loyal to friends, family, and country. This person is reliable and has the courage to do the right thing, makinggoodchoices.PointoutthatOdysseus was trustworthy because he was honest with his men and avoided causing harm to others. On page 11 Odysseus showed his trustworthiness by askingCircetoreleaseherspell,therebyprotecting his men. Odysseus did all he could to remain loyal to his men.

•Encouragestudentstothinkaboutatime when they were trustworthy either to a family member or friend. Ask them to recall the specific events and exactly what it was they did that showed they were trustworthy. Encourage students to brainstorm what would lead them to believe that someone was trustworthy or not. Record their responses on the chalkboard or on a sheet of chart paper as a reference for specific traits that make someone trustworthy.

citizenship•Explainthatwhenwearegoodcitizens,

we cooperate and obey laws and rules, and are concerned about the common good. We take time to participate in community affairs and help make schools and communities a better place.

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Character Education Connection

•Ask:How does Odysseus show good citizenship on pages 12–16? (helps protect his men) How does what Odysseus says to his men on page 12 demonstrate his citizenship? (expresses concern for his men and wants them to be protected) Are there other characters that show good citizenship in the script? (Athena and Eurylochus support Odysseus and his efforts)

demonstrate trustworthiness/citizenship•Askstudentstoworkingroupsoftwo

or three to demonstrate the character traitoftrustworthiness.Providethefollowing scenario: Say: You are walking to class with a couple of your friends, and you see a student walking ahead of you who has dropped her wallet on the ground. Your friend picks it up and notices twenty dollars inside. One student should take the role of the person walking, another student should take the role of the friend who picks up the wallet, and a third student can be the student who drops the wallet. Create a skit that demonstrates trustworthiness and citizenship.

• Invitethegroupstosharetheirskitswiththe class.

• Iftimeallows,askgroupstochangerolesor provide other scenarios.


Documents

The Odyssey - Amazon Simple Storage Service€¦ · The Odyssey. teacher’s Guide. ... in the script they are about to read. introduce the Script ... The Iliad: is the oldest piece