Freshmen Project #3 -- Odysseus: A Man of Character

Project Launch (Entry Event): 

For the entry event for this project we watch the very beginning of The Odyssey movie (available free on YouTube).

Before watching I wrote "Epic Hero" up on the dry erase board and I posed the question, "What makes someone an epic hero?" I told the students that we were heading into reading The Odyssey, which is an epic with an epic hero, named Odysseus. I prompted the students to think about what it means to be a hero. We discussed and bullet point our ideas on the board.

Then I posed the following questions on the board:

• What makes Odysseus an epic hero?
• Why him? What makes him so special?
• What does he do in the beginning of this film that shows us or others that he's a hero?
• What does he say in the beginning of this film that tells us he's a hero?

We watched the beginning of The Odyssey.  (Up to 26:01) Students should've been taking notes in their notebooks by creating a bullet list that focuses on the questions above. They should reference events and/or quotes from the story as they watch Odysseus.

After we stop the film we had a brief circle share about what we saw in the movie. Then I asked students to choose three words they'd use to describe Odysseus using our list on the white board. Then we shared those traits.

This will help us move into a discussion of character and that all heroes should have good character.

The second half of this entry event brings in the modern, authentic element and introduces our community partner.

We'll listen to a podcast about a modern, real life hero named Alex. She's a little girl who had cancer and started "Alex's Lemonade Stand" to raise money for her hospital. After her death it turned into a nationwide organization that raises money for hospitals and kids with cancer.

While they're listening I encouraged them to create a bullet list of "traits" that Alex's possessed (words they'd use to describe her). 

http://www.values.com/inspirational-audio-stories/2-Alexandra-Alex-Scott 

After listening we'll share the traits on a Google Doc on the projector. Then we'll highlight the traits that students also see on their Odysseus list form earlier. This is to show students that character mattered back in the days of Odysseus and it's still important today. I love Alex's story because it really shows that even young kids can be inspirational and teach others what it means to have good character. This will transition us really well into our authentic final product -- teaching the elementary students what it means to have good character.

Character educaiton is one of our pillars in our school corporation and I think my students will really see the purpose and authenticity. The idea of good character can follow through all of our reading, discussion, as well as through the final deliverable.