Your Journey through The Odyssey

This webquest is targeted to high school sophomores/juniors to accompany Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Created by Vinnie Bonnit.

Students will be required to choose a character from the story and report on its role in the story as well as in other Greek mythology. This report will include an essay and a videotaped presentation of their choice.

Students will work in groups of three with no two groups working on the same character.

Individual tasks:

Each student will turn in his or her own two-page essay and relevant paperwork.

Group task:

Each team will present their

findings to the class with a

creative video.

Introduction

There are many characters in The Odyssey that Odysseus and his crew encounter that change the course of their journey. Many of which can be found in other stories of Greek Mythology. Your team is going to choose one of these characters, follow their role in The Odyssey as well as in one other major Greek myth, and introduce this new myth to your classmates.

You will be living the life of this character in both these stories so make sure you chose one you are interested in (not just one that is easy to find). Have a safe trip!

Process

Each group will pick one character from The Odyssey to investigate and present about. Your choices have been listed below. Please notify the instructor with your choice as no two teams may have the same character. It is first come first serve, so chose at least three before coming to me.

The Characters:

Aeolus- keeper of the winds.

Agamemnon- King of Mycenae

Athene- Goddess of wisdom.

Calypso- Immortal sea nymph.

Circe- Island enchantress.

Helen- Mortal who is cause of Trojan war.

Hermes- Ambassador of the gods.

Hyperion- God of the sun.

Menelaus- King of Sparta.

Polyphemus- Cyclops.

Poseidon- God of the sea.

Scylla- Six headed sea monster.

Sirens- Tempting island maidens.

Tiresias- Famous Greek seer.

Zeus- Supreme God.

You will use the following websites to investigate your chosen character as well as to answer the questions on your website worksheet. Remember, the more information you have, the easier it will be to write your essay and create your video.

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

http://bulfinch.org/ BulfinchÕs 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!)

Student Product

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 2-5 page essay about their chosen character. This essay will include:

· Proper page format and margins

· A title

· A clear introductory paragraph

· Organized body paragraphs with topic sentences

· A defined conclusion

· Accurate information from The Odyssey

· New information about character from outside source

· Source citing

· Worksheets completed and attached to back of essay

Your essay will also be type written, no hand written essays will be accepted!

Also, remember even though you are working in groups, this essay is an individual assignment and will be checked against your teammates papers.

The Video:

Each team will produce a 3-5 minute video depicting a scene from the secondary story that clearly shows the characters most well known traits. This video will follow the following parameters:

· Turned in on a VHS videotape

· Tripod or stable surface is used to avoid jumpy images

· Each team member will have an equal part in making the video

· Each team member will appear in the video

· Props and costumes are used effectively

· Characters are easily identifiable

· Story line is followed and understood

Your classmates will view this video so take your time and plan what you want to do before you begin taping it. Lack of preparation will be obvious.

Evaluation

Essay Rubric	2 Complete	1 Inadequate	Points
Page Format	Correct margins, correct heading, Descriptive title	Incorrect margins, missing heading, missing title or misleading title
Paper Format	Clear introduction, concise paragraphs, topic sentences clear, conclusion ties into introduction and body. Meets length requirement	Missing any of the following: clear introduction, clear topic sentences, defined conclusion or does not meet length requirement
Content	Includes character description, information on role in story, new story information and character tie-in, cites sources including websites	Lacks discussion of role in The Odyssey, lacks new myth, incorrect new myth, or does not describe well-known traits of the character
Worksheets	Complete worksheet with information from at least four different websites	Incomplete worksheet or less than four websites explored
Total Individual Score (points X 5)

Video Rubric	2 Complete	1 Inadequate	Points
Research	Character is well researched and defined traits are successfully portrayed	Major character traits missing or portrayed incorrectly
Video Quality	Camera is steady, picture is clear, voices are clearly audible	Camera moves considerable, picture is distorted, sound quality is poor
Video Content	Video is coherent and follows story accurately. Props and costumes are used	Story is inaccurate and/or props and costumes not used
Work Distribution	Each team member has equal on camera time and off camera time	Time is not equally distributed between team members
Total Team Score (points X 5)