Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Dearest Mythology Students,

I'm sorry that you missed class! If you are ill, please take care of yourself, if you decided to "avoid" class, then YOU ARE GOING TO HADES WITHOUT AN OBOLUS! SHAME ON YOU, my young friends!

We completed the following:
1. Journal #1 entitled "Hope"
Please consider the following quote by Freidrich Nietzsche. "Hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torment of man." "Talk" to me about this. Do you agree or disagree with Nietzsche? Explain why? Possibly you see his point of view, but you also view "hope" as a positive entity, as well. Please support your opinion with a personal example.

2. You were introduced to Prometheus and Pandora. We read both nature myths in class.

Instructions for "Modern Day God" Assignment:

1.Through our class discussions, each student should have a greater understanding concerning the Olympians. Please select ONE Olympian and connect him/her to an individual from past or present society. The god you select does not need to be the same one you research regarding your “Handout” assignment.
2.All of the god's attributes do not need to be obvious in relationship to the individual chosen for connection; however, you must be able to relate at least one (obviously) attribute that both possess. Please go beyond the obvious, by focusing on intrinsic characters rather than appearance.
3.In order to obtain enough information regarding your chosen connection, you will need to complete some research. Please note the citation examples below concerning a book or Internet source.

BOOK: Carter, Joseph. The Life of Mark Twain. Scott Foreman, Pub., New York, NY.

                                1989.

INTERNET: William, Jacob. “Mark Twain.” The Mark Twain No One Knew. August

                               17th, 2001. September 11, 2008.

                                  http://coned.ceu.edu/authors/19thcentury.org

4.Please begin your response by indicating the connection between the god and your chosen individual (Introduction). Your next paragraph needs to indicate aspects concerning the god (Body Paragraph #1). The third paragraph will focus on the individual chosen for comparison (Body Paragraph #2). Finally, your fourth paragraph will justify why you elected to compare the two characters (Conclusion)

5.Please use ACADEMIC VOICE for your response.
6.MLA Format regarding structure and citations also needs to be used. Double space your response, using Times New Roman print, and 12 point font.
7. Please incorporate an image of your “modern day” comparison in your paper.



. FOR HOMEWORK:
1. Please read "Demeter and Persephone" ( I gave everyone a copy of this myth). It won't work as a PDF, so I have left several copies outside my room on the bulletin board.
2. Please read "Demeter" (located on pgs. 50-55) in your book.
Note: Both #1 and #2 are the same myth; yet, they have some distinct differences
3. QUIZ on FRIDAY covering "Prometheus," "Pandora," and "Demeter and Persephone." Your quiz is a "take-home" quiz. Make sure you have your myths to exchange for the quiz.
4. Remember your "Modern Day God" assignment is due on October 4th, 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

Monday, September 24th,2012

Dear Mythology Kids,

STOP MISSING CLASS! Please make sure you find out what you missed, so you are not behind upon your return.

1. Students took their "Application Quiz" and then we corrected it.
2. We had a brief introduction to the first two explanatory myths entitled "Prometheus" and "Pandora." Students were given copies of the myths and then asked not to read them, as we will read them together in class on Wednesday.
3. Students were asked to respond to the following journal entry, as it relates to the above two explanatory myths.  

 Journal #1 entitled "Hope"
Please consider the following quote by Freidrich Nietzsche. "Hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torment of man." "Talk" to me about this. Do you agree or disagree with Nietzsche? Explain why? Possibly you see his point of view, but you also view "hope" as a positive entity, as well. Please support your opinion with a personal example.

HOMEWORK:
1. Work on your THRONE! You will receive your first "official" writing assignment on Wednesday, so take advantage of the extra time. 
 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tuesday 18th and Thursday 19th, September 2012

Dear Mythology Kids,

I have included the practice quiz for your official quiz scheduled for Monday. If you missed class today, we completed the following gods. In addition, you were given your "THRONE" assignment, which is due on Tuesday, October 2nd. The requirements for your assignment are located in the "HOMEWORK" section of your binder.

Hades
Demeter
Artemis
Apollo
Hermes
Ares
Aphrodite and....
Hephaestus

Please make sure you obtain the information about the above gods from another mythology student.

Instructions for PRACTICE QUIZ: Please select the god that BEST fits each description. You will need to identify the character with both Greek and Roman names. For some questions you will need to justify your response. Some gods may be used more than once.

1. Venerate, Vigil, Valuable, Vigilante, Volume, Viscous...I love words that begin with the letter V. ______________/______________ (both Greek and Roman names)
2. I would make an excellent "shop" teacher. ______________/___________
3. I have a PhD in Statistics. __________/______________
4. I am "President Obama" of the Olympians. _____________/____________
5. I directed a documentary film on master thieves. ___________/____________
6. I would do well working in a floral shop, as the buds would always bloom.

_____________/_______________
7. March is my favorite month. ____________/___________
8. I always "hit my mark." __________/_____________
9. I am responsible for desecrating a temple. ____________/_____________
10. Justify your response for #9 ____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
11. A trick was played to woo me, so "love can not live where there is no trust." ______/_____
12. Justify your response for #11. ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
13. I failed to ask my wife's mother for her hand in "marriage." _________/_________
14. "Make me the most beautiful land animal." __________/____________

Good luck with the practice quiz.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Dear Mythology Kids,
If you missed class, or had to leave early due to the assembly, we discussed the following gods. Please transfer this information to your "yellow" handout in the "notes" section of your binder.

1. We submitted the "Handout" assignment that was due today, and then a "spokesperson" from each group shared information about their god. We completed Zeus, Hera and Athena and recorded that information on the YELLO handout in the "note section" of your binder. The following information was discussed for each:



Zeus

  • controls all aspects of the weather
  • tricks Hera into marrying him by transforming into a cuckoo bird
  • Hera is his second wife
  • Metis is his first wife (she is the mother to Athena)
  • shape shifts into animals in order to woe women
  • has numerous affairs
  • Just
  • has difficulties in making decisions
  • god of athletes/athletic events were held in his honor/wore "crown" of oak leaves
Hera

  • Zeus transforms into a cuckoo bird. Hera loves animals, and finds a "cuckoo bird" outside her window trapped in a storm. She brings the bird to her breast and states, "I will love you forever, cuckoo bird, and I swear by the River Styx that I will honor this vow." At this point, Zeus returned to his true form, raped Hera, and told her that she had to honor her vow by marrying him. If you swore by Styx your oath could not be broken.
  • She loves animals.
  • Hephaestus is her son without a father (in some versions) Hera was angry that Zeus had given birth to Athena without the assistance of a mother, so she gave birth to Hephaestus without a father. He was born ugly and unshapen, so she cast him off Mt. Olympus.
  • Due to Zeus' affairs, Hera takes her anger and frustrations out on Zeus' lovers and children.Athena
  • Zeus swallowed Athena's mother, Metis, because an oracle had informed Zeus that if Metis birthed a son that child would overthrow his father. Zeus felt that he could not risk this, so he swallowed Metis. Athena grew within her father, until one day he experience a terrible headache. Hephaestus, the God of Inventions, sliced open Zeus' head and Athena was born wearing full battle armour and holding a shield and spear.
  • Athena values mankind. She taught them how to create tools, use numbers, create nets, weaving and ships.
  • Athena expected mankind to give gratitude to the gods of Olympus. If they were disrespectful, she punished them. She turns a mortal woman names Arachne into a spider because she failed to thank Athena for her gift. In addition, she said that she was a better weaver than Athena.
  • Athena and Poseidon both wanted Attica as their city-state. The people decided they would select their patron god based upon a gift they offered the people. Athena gave the people an Olive Tree, and Poseidon gave the people a spring of salt water. The people selected Athena as their patron deity; consequently, Poseidon detested Athena.
I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday; you have NO HOMEWORK!

Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10th, 2012

Dear Mythology Kids,
 HOMEWORK:
1. Visit with someone else regarding your "HANDOUT" assignment. Each student was given one of the 13 Olympians to research. In addition, I gave each student information regarding their particular god. Your assignment requires that you have a minimum of two sources (I gave one to each student), and then you are to locate another source (Internet, your book, etc.) A valid website is "ENCYCLOPEDIA MYTHICA." This assignment is due on Friday, September 14th. You should have two copies of your handout. One will be used in class, the other will be given to me. In addition, please make a copy of your additional source (the Internet, book, etc. ), as I want to see the other source you used to obtain information.

2. Start prepping for your quiz covering the gods (Greek and Roman names, symbols and domains). This quiz will take place on Wednesday, September 14th.

PRACTICE QUIZ for "The Olympians" NOTE: I did not find an image of Hades that I felt was "accurate." Please be aware of this when taking your quiz. Good Luck.....



For each image, please identify the Greek and Roman names, the other symbols not present in the image, and all of the god's domains. Please follow this structure for your responses.



1.
2.

3..
4.

5.

6.
.



7.

8.



9.

10.

11.

Your FINAL exam!

Dear Mythology Kids, It's nice to "see" you again. Let me offer some "study guidance" for your final exam. Please ...