Friday, October 28th, 2016

Dear Mythology Kids,

Please remember the following.......

If you know that you are going to miss class, and an assignment is due on the day that you miss, then you need to make sure you submit it on the assigned due date. If you choose not to, then you are welcome to submit it the day you return to school, but you will only receive up to 50% of what the assignment's worth, unless, of course, you choose to submit the assignment with your HW coupon. WHY? It is late, my young friends!  Communication is the key, my young friends. ALWAYS COMMUNICATE with me regarding your absences. I am so happy to work with you if you put forth the effort and act as advocates for yourselves!

If you missed class, we completed the following.....

1. Students were introduced to a unique ANNOTATING/NOTATING METHOD using COLORS. Please see my notes below, and then I suggest communicating with a friend that was in class on FRIDAY! Ask them to explain the NOTATION portion of your assignment. Each student was give an article regarding HADES. We will begin our discussing regarding Hades on Tuesday, and I am asking you to read the article in order to have some schema before we begin. DO NOT MISS CLASS ON TUESDAY, as Hades can be tricky to understand without some strong explanation.

• If you  find a section of text confusing then you would underline it using BROWN.
• If you are able to make a connection to your own life then you would underline that section of text using your PURPLE.
• Another way to annotate is by asking QUESTIONS about the text. RED is the color you will use for this annotation.
• If text gives you a different perspective then GREEN is your annotation color.
• ORANGE is the color you will use if you come across text that you find interesting
• YELLOW (i'm using black here, so you can SEE IT).....if you come across a vocab word that you do not know, then underline it using YELLOW!  

THIS IS THE ARTICLE REGARDING HADES! Please annotate/notate the article using any or all the colors that you want. Yu need a total of 10-15 annotations/notations for the entire article.  Please print it off, and have it ready to submit on Tuesday.

HADES

            When the Greeks buried their dead, they put a coin under the corpse’s tongue so that his soul could pay the fare on the ferry that crossed the river Styx.  Souls who couldn’t pay for the ride had to wait on this side of the river.  Sometimes they came back to haunt those who hadn’t given them the fare.

            On the other side of the river was a great wall.  Its gate was guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog who had an appetite for live meat and attacked everyone but spirits.  Beyond the gate, in Tartarus, was a great wide field shaded by black poplars.  Here lived the dead—heroes and cowards, soldiers, shepherds, priests, minstrels, slaves.  They wandered back and forth aimlessly.  When the spoke, they twittered like bats.  Here they awaited trial by three judges—Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus.

            Those who had particularly displeased the gods were given special punishment.  Sisyphus must always push a huge rock uphill.  Each time he gets it halfway up, it breaks loose and rolls down to the bottom, and he must begin again.  And this he will do for all time.  Tantalus has been given a burning thirst and set chin-deep in a cool, clear stream of water.  But every time he bends to put his lips to the water, it shrinks away, and he can never drink.  Here he will stand as long as Sisyphus rolls his stone.

            But these are special cases.  Most of the souls were judged to be not too good and not too bad, but simply dead.  They went back to the field, which is called the Field of Asphodel, to wait—for nothing.

            Those judged to be of unusual virtue went to the Elysian Fields close by.  Here it was always holiday.  The air was full of music.  The shades danced and played all day long—all night long too—for the dead need no sleep.  Also, these happy spirits had the option of being reborn on earth.  Only the bravest accepted.  There was a special part of Elysium called the Isles of the Blest.  Here lived those who had been three times born and three times gained Elysium.

            Hades and his queen lived in a great palace made of black rock.  He was very jealous of his brothers and scarcely ever left his domain.  He as fiercely possessive, gloated over every new arrival, and demanded a headcount from Charon at the close of each day.  Never did he allow any of his subjects to escape.  Nor did he allow a mortal to visit Tartarus and return.  There were only two exceptions to this rule, and those are other stories.

            The palace grounds and the surrounding fields were called Erebus; this was the deepest part of the underworld.  No birds flew here, but the sound of wings was heard; for here lived the Erinyes, or Furies, who were older than the gods.  Their names were Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera.  They were hags, with snaky hair, red-hot eyes, and yellow teeth.  They slashed the air with metal-studded whips, and when they found a victim, they whipped the flesh from his bones.  Their task was to visit earth and punish evil-doers, especially those feared; no one dared say their name.  But they were referred to as the “Eumenides,” or Kindly Ones.  Hades valued them.  They enriched his kingdom, for their attentions persuaded people to suicide.  He enjoyed their conversation.  When they returned to Erebus after their work was done, they circled low over the palace grounds, screaming their tale, and the latest gossip.

            Hades was well-cast to rule the dead.  He was violent, loathed change, and was given to slow black rage.  His most dramatic hour was when he kidnaped Persephone and made her his queen.  But that belongs to the next story.

                       

2. Students were then asked to visit about their homework assignment entitled "TITAN." Students were placed in groups, and a discussion took place regarding their interpretation of the questions posed on the Journal entry #6. Students submitted the entry and their paragraph response.  WELL DONE to those of you that missed class, and submitted your assignment on the due date! 

3. Students then finished the flow chart regarding "ANTIGONE." We started reading the myth in class, but we did not finish. We will finish reading it on Tuesday. MITCH and DANNY did a great job of trying to take on the roles of the "guard" and "Kreon." You both made an attempt, and that is what matters. For those of you that were absent, Please read the myth up to the second to the last page.

 "Antigone" by Charles Walsh

4. Students were also given two additional vocabulary words:
LACONIC and VENERATE.....Communicate with a friend in class. DO NOT COPY THEIR WORK, but have them explain the words to you, specifically the etymology. 

HOMEWORK:
1. Please read, annotate, and notate the article regarding HADES! You need 10-15 annotations/notations total.
2. Students received the "MODERN DAY GOD" assignment back. Students were offered 10 point to revise the essay again, but only if they were not happy with the final score.

I hope you have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing you on TUESDAY!