Over Break...

Hey, gang!

I will be looking over Career Papers and grading them this weekend.  If you need to turn it in or make revisions, and you finish the paper and email me during break, I will NOT take off points for it being late.

I will also grade Odyssey tests.  If you aren't happy with your grade, you will be able to write extra Short Answer/Essay questions to bring the grade up.

Finally, for the Odyssey Game projects, you were given a couple card templates.  Think about actual plot events that happened during the story and assign one to each card.  You want to make the smaller point value cards represent easier tasks, and save the big points for the hard challenges (Calypso, Polyphemus, etc).  Give the card a title at the top, and a description (quote from the text would be good) or illustration.  Illustrate the card however you want, but only write on one side.

You also need to make two other cards:
Fortunes: Objects, items, supplies that can help you every turn
Heroic Feats: Character traits that helped Odysseus complete his journey. These cards will be discarded after one use.
For the other two cards, think of an appropriate title. Describe what they give you in the game (gain more Crew to help you, reroll or roll extra dice, pass a specific kind of encounter, etc). The description should make sense based on what it does.  For example, a Sword might help you fight a monster, by would do nothing against a fierce storm.  You can use objects, allies, and events from the book (Maron's wine, Odysseus's bow) or make up your own that would make sense in context of the odyssey (new sails for the ship, a magic amulet given by Athena).
This is a Big Deal project, and you should spend at least an hour on thinking up ideas for the cards, looking back in the text, and designing the cards.  This will help the game "feel" like you're actually going through the story.

Happy Holidays and have a great break!

Odyssey Test: Short Answer/Essay Section

For this section, complete responses on your Drive or on a separate sheet of paper.  You are expected to complete twenty (20) points worth of questions.  Just think of responses being worth 5 points for each solid paragraph.

This section is an OPEN-BOOK TEST!  Feel free to include references to line numbers (eg: p.895, line 181-183) if you need to, but this is not required.

To get the 5 points, each paragraph needs:

• Clear TOPIC sentence connected to your THESIS (for multiple-paragraph responses, include a one-sentence THESIS paragraph as an introduction)
• At least two details supporting your idea
• Include TEXTUAL EVIDENCE and
• original COMMENTARY for each detail.

SA1: Explain in depth one of the major THEMES from The Odyssey Include one paragraph explaining why the theme is still relevant to 21^st century life, and three paragraphs with ideas to support the theme. [20 points]

SA2: What in your opinion is the CONFLICT of The Odyssey (Man vs. _____) ?  Explain how two different types of conflicts are presented, and what is the CLIMAX of each. [10 points]

SA3: Read “Waiting” pp. 904-905. Discuss how Odysseus’s wife is characterized by Atwood as compared to how Homer presents her. [10 points]

SA4: Explain one situation involving DRAMATIC IRONY. Discuss what was ironic and what effect did it have on you as a reader. [5 points]

SA5: Explain this Homeric simile [5 points].  For another [5 points], write your own Homeric simile describing your feelings about this test.

As ravenous wolves come swooping down on lambs or kids to snatch them away from right amidst their flock all lost when a careless shepherd leaves them straggling down the hills and quickly spotting a chance the wolf pack picks them off, no heart for the fight so the Achaeans mauled the Trojans.

SA6: Compare and contrast Odysseus’s leadership to that of Eurylochus (Part 1, the cattle of Helios). Explain why the men listened to Eurylochus rather than Odysseus. [5 points]

SA7: Describe Odysseus’s character. Was he changed by his adventures? If so, how? If not, what qualities were reinforced by things that happened on the journey? [15 points]

SA8: What character, creature, location, or event could be  a symbol for a contemporary problem?  [5 points]

SA9: Describe a scene from a popular movie, book, or TV show, NOT directly related to Greek mythology, that you feel paralleled (or ripped off) a scene from The Odyssey. [5 points]

SA10: In case you didn’t know, it was Odysseus’s idea to create the Trojan Horse in The Iliad. He also feigned insanity to try and get out of going off to fight in the war. What do these plans tell you about his character, and how do the events of The Odyssey support that characterization? [10 points]

Studying for THE ODYSSEY test

Trying to make this as easy as possible for you folks.
The test will be in three sections, so I made three Quizlet lists you can study.  Don't believe me? Check the link below:

http://quizlet.com/class/278000/

They're the sets called "Odyssey Test December 2013 - blahblahblah"

You PROBABLY won't need to know ALL the terms and names, but since I'm rewriting my test, I will only pull terminology from those lists.  If you aren't familiar with Quizlet, play around with it (I like Scatter the best, Space Race drives me crazy).  You can even do practice tests to make sure you know who's who.

CHARACTERS - Make sure you know who's who.
LITERARY TERMS - There will be some open ended/short answer questions about a lot of these.  If I don't cover them on this test, you can be sure to see them on the Semester Final in January!
CONTEXTUAL VOCABULARY - You will be given sentences containing blanks to fill-in with the vocabulary terms.  I will probably be a jerk and change the form of the word, so changed in verb tense and form or even family words (like "beguiled" instead of guile) are fair game.

Have fun studying, and good luck!

Finishing The Odyssey

Home sick today, folks.  This could put a damper on the game we're making for an independent project, so I will leave most of it in your capable hands.  I hope to have an "Alpha" copy of the game ready by Thursday. That way I can give each of you the cards you will need to design and you will have all of winter break to work on them.  This does count as an independent project, so expect to put in about two hours.

For Monday 12/16, you are to work in partners or groups of three to come up with elements from Homer's epic that could translate into a game.  The categories are:

• ENCOUNTERS that challenged Odysseus (or another hero like Telemachus, I suppose)
• HEROIC FEATS showing how the hero reacted, or personal characteristics that helped him succeed
• FORTUNES means both "good luck" and "treasure." This could be blessings or objects given to Odysseus, as well as allies who helped him. In game terms, Feats are one-time use cards, while Fortunes stick around and give you benefits.

Brainstorm ideas of things from the plot, setting, or characters that would make good cards.  Try to think of at least three things that fit in each category.  Some of you are bound to have the same ideas, so if you think of more than three that's great.

THAT'S YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR MONDAY!  I also have a file available in the English 9 Common folder you can use to study literary terms, characters, and contextual vocabulary for the test.

Wanna know more about the game?

The game will be played KIND OF like Yahtzee, but instead of having a score card you will draw an Encounter. It will have what you need to roll listed, along with a description of the event from the story.  Feats and Treasures help you roll more dice or modify them to beat the Encounter.  Remember those LEGO pieces?  Players will have Crew to help buy rerolls like the LEGO pieces did.  The difference is, once your crew is dead, you have to start over from the beginning if you fail an Encounter

Sample Encounter:

8 points: "Scylla Attacks!" Roll six dice. If you have no weapons and get a run of three (eg. 2,3,4) on your first roll, you remember not to take up arms and PASS the encounter. If not, you need a run of six (1,2,3,4,5,6).  For every die that you're missing, discard one Fortune as Scylla eats them.

Sample Heroic Feat:

Unwavering Courage: Reroll exactly three dice.

Sample Fortune:

Olive Limb Spike: Weapon. Add one die that may not be rerolled. Discard to PASS any encounter with a Cyclopes.

Odyssey Part 1

HOMEWORK:

Read pp.836-856.
Answer the questions 1-7 on p.856 in complete sentences.
You may write the answers on paper or create an "Odyssey Questions" file on your Drive.

Here are links to the videos we watched in class today:

Baptism


Klan Rally

Choose 1:
a) Explain in at least ten sentences the sequence of events with Polyphemus.
b) Write a paragraph or two (10 sentences) explaining parallels bewteen the Polyphemus (Part 1 lines 58-445) and the "Klan Rally" scene above.

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