Title: Calypso or Penelope? Odysseus' hard choices

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic:

Calypso or Penelope? Odysseus' hard choices.

Target group:

1st‑grade students of a high school.

Core curriculum

Core curriculum (old)

I. Receipt of statements and use of information contained.

1. Reading and listening. Student:

1. reads the meaning of the whole text (and in it the meanings of words, phraseological relationships, sentences, groups of sentences ordered in a paragraph, distinguishes real and etymological significance) and fragments separated by it; can explain their meaning and function on the background of the whole;

2. distinguishes arguments, key concepts and theorems in the argumentative text, and makes its logical summary.

2. Self‑education and access to information. Student:

2. uses dictionaries and lexicons, including etymological dictionaries and symbols.

II. Analysis and interpretation of cultural texts.

1. Initial recognition. Student:

1. presents his own experiences resulting from contact with a work of art;

2. defines the problem of the work.

2. Analysis. Student:

4. recognises in the work the ways of creating the represented world and the hero (narrative, plot, lyrical situation, action);

3. Interpretation. Student:

1. uses in its interpretation elements significant for reading the meaning of the work (eg key words, determinants of composition);

2. uses contexts in the interpretation of the work (eg literary, cultural, philosophical, religious);

4. Values and evaluation. Student:

2. sees national and universal values present in literary works and other cultural texts;

3. sees in the world different hierarchies of values (eg equality and freedom, law and mercy) and understands the sources of conflicts of values.

III. Creating statements.

1. Speaking and writing. Student:

3. creates an independent argumentative statement according to the basic principles of logic and rhetoric (puts forward a thesis or hypothesis, selects arguments, organizes them, hierarchizes them, makes them selection in terms of usefulness in statements, summarizes, selects examples illustrating the reasoning, makes correct inferences).

A new core curriculum

I. Literary and cultural education.

1. Reading literary works. Student:

1. understands the basis for periodizing literature, situates literary works in particular periods: antiquity, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, enlightenment, romanticism, positivism, Young Poland, the interwar period, literature of war and occupation, literature of 1945‑1989 national and emigre literature, literature after 1989;

2. distinguishes epic, lyrical, dramatic and syncretic genres, including: genres learned in primary school and epos, ode, ancient tragedy, psalm, chronicle, satire, idyll, ballad, romantic drama, poetic novel, as well as variations of the novel and drama , lists their basic species traits;

3. recognises in the literary texts: irony and self‑irony, comedy, tragedy, humor, pathos; defines their functions in the text and understands the value of character;

4. recognises the subject and issues of the texts learned and its relation to the programs of the literary era, social, historical, existential and aesthetic phenomena; he reflects on it;

5. recognises in the work the ways of creating: the presented world (plot, heroes, actions, themes, motives), narrative, lyrical situation; interprets and evaluates them;

6. understands the notion of a literary motif and topos, recognizes the basic motifs and topos, and perceives the vitality of biblical and ancient motifs in literary works; defines their role in creating universal meanings;

7. presents a proposal for interpretation of the work, indicates in the text places that may constitute arguments in support of its interpretation proposal;

8. recognises universal and national values present in literary works; determines their role and relationship with the work's issues and the importance to build their own value system.

2. Receipt of cultural texts. Student:

6. reads non‑literary cultural texts using the code proper in a given field of art;

III. Creating statements.

1. Elements of rhetoric. Student:

1. formulates theses and arguments in oral and written speech using appropriate syntactic constructions.

2. Speaking and writing. Student:

1. agrees with other people's views or polemicizes with them, substantively justifying their own opinion;

2. build a statement in a conscious manner, with the knowledge of its language function, taking into account the purpose and the addressee, keeping the principles of rhetoric;

3. in the interpretation presents a proposal to read the text, formulates arguments on the basis of the text and known contexts, including personal experience, and carries out a logical argument for the validation of formulated judgments.

General aim of education

Pupils discuss fragments of Homer's Odyssey , assess the behaviour of heroes - Calipso, Penelope and Odysseus.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• characterises species of the epic and the Homeric epic;

• presents the content of two of Homer's epics: Iliad and Odyssey ;

• talks about the journey of Odysseus to her Ithaca family;

• evaluate the heroes' decisions and behaviours;

• interprets iconic texts.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks the chosen student or students to get acquainted with the literary works in the abstract and to prepare the pieces of art for the lesson. Students, working using the intersemiotic translation method, prepare three examples with justification. Their task will be to start classes with the presentation of their impressions or associations and to encourage other students to discuss.

Introduction

1. The lecturer gives the topic of lesseon and its goal - to assess the behavior of the heroes of the Odyssey : Calipso, Penelope and Odysseus. Then, together with the students, sets the criteria for success.

2. Students interpret the cover illustration, indicating its relationship with the subject and goals of the lesson.

3. Selected students present the illustrative material prepared by them before the lesson.
   The teacher encourages the class to ask questions to the presenters, e.g.

   • Why did you choose such examples?

   • What does this photo involve?

   • What this illustration is talking about

   • Why is this scheme important?

   • What is the graphics to tell us about?

Realization

1. One of the students presents information about Homer and his works: Iliad and Odyssey. The teacher and other students ask questions.

2. Determining the definition of the epic and the Homeric epos. Students refer to their previous knowledge and perform exercises 1 and 2.

3. Work with the text of W. Kopaliński. Students determine the geographical location of places visited by Odysseus during their return journey home (exercise with a map and exercise 4).

4. Reading and interpretation of the fragment Odyssey written down by Jan Parandowski. The teacher divides the class into groups. Each team has the task to execute commands under the text (Exercise 6). The work can be organized on the basis of competition: the teacher will assess the degree of the task and will reward the best group.

5. After reading and discussing the text in abstract, one of the students impersonates the chosen character, the hero of today's lesson. The students' task will be to hold a press conference with this character. The protagonist can choose an assistant (spokesperson) from colleagues, who can partly answer questions asked by other students (journalists).

Summary

1. As a summary of the lesson, the teacher uses a fragment of Jan Parandowski's text about Penelope and asks students to briefly characterize the nymph Calypso and Penelope.

2. The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer?
   If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

Homework

1. Arrange a crossword with the slogan „Odyssey”.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Calypso or Penelope? Odysseus' hard choices

Homer is one of the founders of European literature. Most historians of literature believe him to be the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. These two great − not only in terms of length − epic poems were composed nearly 3,000 years ago. Although Homer's authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey is disputed and the works may be the result of combining many separate poems, their greatness is beyond doubt: they have always been considered masterpieces.

Despite many doubts and various theories about Homer's biography, experts agree that:

• Homer was a real person,

• his name may mean: Blind Man, Bonder, Hostage,

• his home was the island of Chios,

• he lived at the turn of the 9th and 8th centuries B.C.

• he first composed the Iliad and then the Odyssey,

• both works are Homeric epic poems.

Before we start discussing one of Homer's works, let's repeat what epic poem and Homeric epic poem are.

After 10 years of fighting, the Greeks prevailed, among other things owing to the ruse of Odysseus (Ulysses) − the smartest of the Greek warriors who invented the Trojan horse. After the city was destroyed and the spoils of war (including captive women) divided, the invaders left for their homes. Odysseus embarked on his journey home too.

Odysseus' stay on the island of Ogygia lasted no less than seven years, according to some sources even ten! No such island can be found on modern maps, but historians have established that Homer meant one of the following islands − Gozo near Malta or Gavdos south of Crete.