Hercules as an Archetypal Hero

Starshine Supernova

Ms. Hatfield

Mythology

28 September 2015

The Life and Times of Hercules

Cornell Notes 

Directions: Create higher order questions (Costa’s or Bloom’s Level of Question) for the information from the website.

Zeus and Alcmene Eurystheus and the 12 Labors

The following information can be found at  http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/bio.html Additional information can be found in the link below and thorughout the text. http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hercules Hercules was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved. More stories were told about him than any other hero. Hercules was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome.  There are as many different versions of Hercules' life story as there are storytellers. Differences between the Disney movie version and other versions include the explanation of who Hercules' parents were, and why he had to perform the 12 Labors. Zeus, Hercules' father, was the most powerful of the gods. That meant Zeus could do anything he pleased, but it also meant that sometimes Zeus was not a very good husband to his wife, Hera, the queen of the gods. Zeus fell in love with a beautiful Greek woman named Alcmene [Alk-ME-ne]. When Alcmene's husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby anyway, she named him Herakles. (The Romans pronounced the name "Hercules," and so do we today.) The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera" in Greek, and that got Hera angrier still. Then she tried to kill the baby by sending snakes into his crib. But little Hercules was one strong baby, and he strangled the snakes, one in each hand, before they could bite him. Hera remained angry. How could she get even? Hera knew that she would lose in a fight, and that she wasn't powerful enough to prevent Zeus from having his way. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Hercules' life as miserable as she could. When Hercules grew up and had become a great warrior, he married Megara. They had two children. Hercules and Megara were very happy, but life didn't turn out for them the way it does in the movie. Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules that put him into so great a rage, he murdered Megara and the children. When Hercules regained his senses and saw the horrible thing that he had done, he asked the god Apollo to rid him of this pollution. Apollo commanded the hero to do certain tasks as a punishment for his wrongs, so that the evil might be cleansed from his spirit. Apollo had many divine responsibilities. As Phoebus, he was the sun god, and every day he drove the chariot of the sun across the sky. He was the god of healing and music. Finally, Apollo was a god of prophecy: the Greeks believed that Apollo knew what would happen in the future, and that he could advise people how to act. Hercules hurried to the temple where Apollo gave such advice. It was in the town of Delphi and was called the Delphic oracle. Apollo said that in order to purify himself for the spilling of his family's blood, he had to perform 10 heroic labors (this number would soon be increased to 12). Hercules got even more bad news. Apollo declared that he had to go to the city of Tiryns. The king of Tiryns was Eurystheus [You-RISS-theus]. Eurystheus had a reputation for being mean, and Hercules knew that the king would give him a tough time. The hero had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years while he performed the Labors. There was some good news, though. When the tasks were completed, Apollo said, Hercules would become immortal. Unlike other men, instead of dying and going to the Underworld of Hades, he would become a god. You might want to explore the 12 Labors of Hercules, at this point, or you can continue to read about his life. Most of the pictures of Hercules shown at this web site were painted by the Greeks on vases around 2200 to 2500 years ago. Notice that Hercules wears a lion's skin, the prize from his first Labor, and wields a huge club. Further Adventures of Hercules After he completed the 12 Labors, Hercules didn't just sit back and rest on his laurels. He had many more adventures. One was to rescue the princess of Troy from a hungry sea-monster. Another was to help Zeus defeat the Giants in a great battle for the control of Olympus. You might want to read these other stories about Hercules now, or continue with the hero's biography, below. Hercules on the Pyre Hercules got married a second time, to the beautiful Deianira [Day-an-EE-ra]. When Hercules was returning from his last adventure, Deianira gave him a welcome-home present. This was a cloak which she had woven herself. Deianira had a magic balm which a centaur had given to her. The centaur told Deianira that anyone who put on the balm would love her forever. But actually the balm contained a caustic poison. This balm she now smeared into the cloak. When Hercules received the cloak and tried it on, his body immediately began to burn with excruciating pain. He tried to pull the cloak off, but the pain burned even harder and deeper. Death, thought Hercules, would be better than unendurable pain. Bellowing in agony, he asked his friends to build a huge pile of wood on the top of Mount Oeta. This would be Hercules' funeral pyre. He laid himself upon the pyre, and told his friends to light it. As the fire began to burn Hercules alive, the great gods looked down from Olympus. Zeus said to Hera that Hercules had suffered enough. Hera agreed and ended her anger. Zeus sent Athena to take Hercules from the pyre, and she brought Hercules to Olympus on her chariot.

Archetypal Hero Review

Project and Rubric

Project: Create a visual representation and a speech to discuss how Hercules is an archetypal hero.  You can create a PowerPoint, a Prezi, a video, or an original piece of art. You will have to spend 10 minutes explaining your piece and how it demonstrates that Hercules fits the mold of an Archetypal Hero. You may use other sources for further research. If you do, please use MLA format for your Works Cited

Multimedia Project : Hercules as an Archetypal Hero Teacher Name: Jaimie Hatfield  Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Presentation	Well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.	Rehearsed with fairly smooth delivery that holds audience attention most of the time.	Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of the audience most of the time.	Delivery not smooth and audience attention often lost.
Oral Presentation	Interesting, well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.	Relatively interesting, rehearsed with a fairly smooth delivery that usually holds audience attention.	Delivery not smooth, but able to hold audience attention most of the time.	Delivery not smooth and audience attention lost.
Attractiveness	Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation.	Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation.	Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content.	Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. but these often distract from the presentaion content.
Content	Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors.	Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.
Originality	Product shows a large amount of original thought. Ideas are creative and inventive.	Product shows some original thought. Work shows new ideas and insights.	Uses other people\'s ideas (giving them credit), but there is little evidence of original thinking.	Uses other people\'s ideas, but does not give them credit.
Sources	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. All documented in desired format.	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. Most documented in desired format.	Source information collected for graphics, facts and quotes, but not documented in desired format.	Very little or no source information was collected.

The Prince by Machiavelli:Graphic Organizer/Socratic Seminar

Graphic Organizer/Socratic Seminar

The Prince has proven to be a very difficult text for many of my students.

However, through various interpretations, real world connections, discussions, and using a wide range of close reading strategies,

One very successful lesson that aided in comprehension, application, and analysis including a graphic organizer and a pre-write.

In the lesson prior to this one, I had my students generate 5 higher order thinking questions as an exit slip for the following topics:

1. The Prince by Niccolo' Machiavelli
2. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
3. Current political/police state of affairs
4. A comparison between The Prince and Julius Caesar
5. A comparison between The Prince and current political/police state of affairs.

Before the day of the Socratic Seminar, I had selected a handful of questions from various students and embedded the questions into a graphic organizer. Because I have so many students in need of differentiated instruction it benefits many of my students to have peer examples and an opportunity to organize their thoughts prior to the lesson. Below is the graphic organizer that I used as a Bell Ringer/Do Now:

Graphic Organizer

CORNELL NOTES SHEET	Name: ________________________________________ Class:  ______________________     Topic:  ________________________ Date:   _______/ _____/ ________                                          Period ______
QUESTIONS	NOTES
Discuss whether it is better to be feared or loved when you are a position of power.           ~ Ezequiel S.
Determine the ways that Machiavelli’s theories about how to be a strong ruler is still present in today’s society?      ~ Kelvin W.
Julius Caesar was loved by the people, but hated by the Senate. Explain why and connect the Senate’s actions to statements made in The Prince. ~ Maddlyn H.
Identify examples of how police officers are considered to be Machiavellian through their actions in our society. ~ Alexis B.
Analyze how the current policy systems and government policies are like the principalities described in The Prince. ~ Landon A.
It is common knowledge that Tupac was heavily influenced by The Prince. Infer why this type of text would have such a huge influence on a person hundreds of years later. Discuss whether you believe that Tupac truly identified with the text or if he used Machiavelli to simply gain attention.  ~ Kyle D.
Generate your own higher order thinking discussion point for this seminar.
SUMMARY:  Write 4 or more sentences describing specific learning from these notes. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
STUDENT REFELCTION:  Write 4 or more sentences describing what you enjoyed about the lesson and how you believe the lesson could be improved in the future. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

For further help in understand how this was used in my class discussion and as an assessessment piece, here is my lesson plan from that day. 

Socratic Seminar for The Prince and Julius Caesar

English II (Pre-AP)/English II (ESL/Repeaters)

Goals, Objectives, and Standards:

Goals: Students will conduct an academically advanced, collaborative discussion that generates ideas instead of asserting opinions.

Objective: Through a Socratic Seminar, students will be able to gain a deeper understanding of The Prince by Niccolo’ Machiavelli (through chapter 10) and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare through discussion in a student-run/student-based method of instruction.  Students will answer both interpretive and evaluative questions concerning important issues in the novel and the drama while making real life connections.

C.C.S.S.:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C

Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D

Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.

Activities, Tasks, and Methods: 

Do Now:   Students will review a sample of discussion points and create a list of points that they want to have evaluated/discussed amongst the group using a graphic organizer (Cornell notes).

*ESL/Repeater Modifications (if needed): The teacher will monitor understand and hold mini-discussions while using examples to help students recall and apply the information that was previously learned.

Opening: The teacher will review expectations for listening and responding to one another in a Socratic Seminar.  

*ESL/Repeater Modifications (if needed): The teacher will review the expectations for contributions and show a video that models Socratic Seminar to the students for standards of behavior:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZMGK6IdEs

Work Period:

Whole Group:  Students will engage in a Socratic Seminar to develop further understanding of the texts.

Task: The teacher will monitor for academically appropriate discourse between students. The teacher will facilitate the lesson while aiming for a student-led lesson.

Closing: Students will complete the summary and reflection piece on their graphic organizer (Cornell Notes).

Assessment, Grouping and Questioning:  

Assessment: Students will be assessed by contribution to the discussion, which will be evident through respectful and well-processed questions and responses. Students will also provide documentation of their thought-process through their additions to the graphic organizer.

Grouping:  The students will be in a whole-group setting in order to achieve the desired environment for a Socratic Seminar.

Questioning:  Most questions are/will be student-generated (developed prior to class and through discussion); however, the initial question will be:

Considering Machiavelli’s points about a strong ruler, discuss whether it is better to be feared or loved when you are a position of power.

Additional Student Generated Questions Designed for the Purpose of Discussion

1.      Determine the ways that Machiavelli’s theories about how to be a strong ruler is still present in today’s society? ~ Kelvin W.

2.      Julius Caesar was loved by the people, but hated by the Senate. Explain why and connect the Senate’s actions to statements made in The Prince. ~ Maddlyn H.

3.      Identify examples of how police officers are considered to be Machiavellian through their actions in our society. ~ Alexis B.

4.      Analyze how the current policy systems and government policies are like the principalities described in The Prince. ~ Landon A.

5.      It is common knowledge that Tupac was heavily influenced by The Prince. Infer why this type of text would have such a huge influence on a person hundreds of years later. Discuss whether you believe that Tupac truly identified with the text or if he used Machiavelli to simply gain attention. ~ Kyle D.

Homework:

N/A (students are preparing for standardized testing)

Materials and Resources:

Notes on The Prince by Niccolo’ Machiavelli

Notes on Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Cornell Notes/Graphic Organizer

Modifications:

Preferential seating

ESL Strategies

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZMGK6IdEs

·         Extended time

·         Translation Dictionaries

·         Additional Support (as embedded within the lesson)

Until Next Time, 


LEARN LOUDLY!!!

P.S. Don't forget about Tupac

Ozymandias

When I was an intern, I sat with a teacher who was conducting a lesson on “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

She was attempting to draw the infamous "vast and trunkless legs" on the white board for her students. They began laughing hysterically because her drawing did not look like legs, but rather two examples of something very inappropriate.

This was a complete accident on her part and she was mortified. Because I was a witness to this event, I choose to draw jeans instead of legs for my students that need the visual aid to understand the meaning of trunkless.

I have no talent for visual arts, which is apparent with my drawing. My students laughed at me and make jokes about the owner of the pants buying them at warehouse sales or only doing work out for one leg. I had to laugh because those are the most lopsided pants in the history of SmartBoard art.

I do love my SmartBoard. It is the best thing that every happened to me as a teacher.

Prior to using any piece of poetry, including musical lyrics, I have my students begin with a TP-CASTT  graphic organizer.

While working on reinforcing annotated reading (marking the text), I thought this would also be a good opportunity to reintroduce the Petrarchan sonnet. English teachers spend so much time with Shakespeare, that other pieces of literature often get ignored.

For this part of annotation, I have the students:

1. Number the lines
2. Label the Rhyme Scheme
3. Divide and label the stanzas.
4. Highlight words with which the students are unfamilar.

I normally have the students make the intial lines to determine the metrical line (rhythm), but in this case, the students identified iambic pentameter rather easily.  

This is an example of how the students interacted with the poem

Here is where it really starts to get messy and fun. 

After the students paraphrase the poem and identify new vocabulary to enhance understanding, we begin to evaluate and analyze the text. In this case, we focused on poetic and other literary devices. 

Although I am able to discuss some interesting things about Pharoah Rameses II and Percy Bysshe Shelley, I am limited due to appropriate discussions in a school setting. The kids will have to talk to their parents or wait for college to get into the nitty-gritty. 

Of course, they have Google. 

Until Next Time, 



LEARN LOUDLY!!!
.

Introduction to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

 Introduction to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The second quarter began with Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Aside from a deeply-rooted “geeky” personality, I became very eager to explore censorship, government control, and general dystopian ideas with my students. 

Pop culture is exploding with dystopic teen fiction and movies currently, so I knew the building interest would be easier than with other novels that I have taught over the course of my career.

Banned Books

My very first activity coincided with Banned Books Week. There is a plethora of resources for information on banning books, but I choose to use  Banned  Books Week. 

I am fortunate enough to have computers in my classroom, so I allowed the students to make a collaborative mini-inquiry project. After the students had been assigned to their small groups, they began to do research on their individual parts: Banned Books that Shaped America, Mapping Censorship, Heroes and Highlighting Censorship: Tucson Unified School District. 

After obtaining their individual information, the students determine the method in which they want it presented to the class. Their options are a formal speech, a visual project presentation, or a PowerPoint/Prezi presentation.

Short Stories

Prior to beginning the main focus of a unit, I use short stories to reinforce literary analysis and the examination of elements of fiction. I use stories with similar themes to build text-to-text connection and the ability to identify and argue theme. 

This is the sample
that is on the right side
of the bulletin
board. 

I used “The Pedestrian”  by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Both stories work well to demonstrate a dystopian society that is maintained through an oppressive government and technology.  I have my students annotate their text and write a brief analysis with each piece that we read. After the selection and individual work is done, we hold a Socratic seminar regarding the topics and questions generated.

These two pieces work very well for a comparison essay. You can utilize a Venn diagram, Cornell Notes, a bubble map or a 3-sectioned T-chart. I allow my students to choose whichever strategy works before for their pre-writing process. This works well for different learning styles and gives them ownership of their creation.

Twilight Zone

Most people are visual learners and our current students have been raised on technology. Incorporating an old T.V. show does a couple of things: it shows universal theme and how far we have progressed.

“Time Enough at Last”  maintains the loss of knowledge by way of discarding books. Upon completion of the show, I have the students review various pieces of art and propraganda. In small groups, the students must compare the video to one of the visual representations of book burning and will create claims based on the standard (student-generated prompt). The students will use poster-size chart paper to create a visual aid to represent their thoughts. The students will participate in a Gallery Walk, making notes of strengths and weaknesses on each poster with Post-its.

 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

I work in an urban school with a high poverty rate. This makes at-home reading difficult because we have a shortage of books and a lack of technology in the students’ homes. Therefore, we do our reading in class.

I start the class with a Do Now/Bell Ringer that pertains to the subject matter or a reflective writing prompt about the previous reading. This is especially easy at this time due to current events worldwide.

Next, I spend a small portion of my time providing instruction and information. We also address any areas of concern and commentary.

After reading the selection in their small groups, the students work collaboratively on their graphic organizer. These snapshots are from my smart book; for the download go to Dialectical Journal: Literature Circle Activities

 I have the students recreate the graphic organizer in their journal. This one in particular is a combination of a dialectical journal, Cornell notes, and Literature Circles. The students are able to work collaboratively while providing individual work and avoiding the argument of how much their partners are contributing.

Common Core State Standards Used

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7

Until Next Time,

Learn LOUDLY!!!

P.S. If you enjoy using lyrics as poetry and are looking for connections, Lit Tunes offers the following suggestions:

• "In the Year 2525" by Zeger and Evans Summer of Peace Love and Music
• "Choose Your Own Perfume" by Chris Hawkins SIBL Contest Winners                       
• “Conformity 451" by Norine Braun SIBL Contest Winners                                
• "Let Down" by Radiohead OK Computer               
• "Fahrenheit 451" by Utopia Swing to the Right  
• “The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel Wednesday Morning, 3 AM