Through the 9th grade study of The Odyssey, we explored how the story was crafted to teach its

audience basic lessons of the time, (i.e. "How to be a real man."  "The importance of loyalty in upholding

social order.")   Further, we tracked and analyzed how archetypes were used within the story.  From this study,

we looked to the modern version of this lesson-based, archetype-heavy story, the Fairy Tale.  Students were 

then asked to create an illustrated fairy tale story book.  Lastly, they had to reflect on their experiences developed

through their own authorship, and then connect those experiences to a deeper understanding of Homer and The

Odyssey.

 The final versions of these stories are in hard copy.  If you'd like to read them, head over to school and ask one of

our students to show you. 

Yesterday we had another amazing rehearsal. The crew was inside the drama studio, hard at work building 2 new pieces of our stage.

This is the way we roll in the SLA Theater Department: DIY! (Do It Yourself!)

Thanks to Mr. VK for teaching the crew how to handle powertools in the name of good!

The cast was outside in the hallway, practicing their lines (and falling over with laughter!!)

To help our actors get more into their specific characters, we put them all in the Hot Seat. There, each character had to respond to everyone else's questions. They had to move, think, speak, and interact fully in character.

During class, we discussed the ways in which we could all relate to the Odyssey now that we spent time crafting our own stories.

We talked about:

1. Archetypes in our fairy tales -- like Damsel in Distress, or the Hero

2. Archetypes in The Odyssey -- like the rude enemies (suitors), or the lonely housewife (Penelope)

3. Why these archetypes have stuck around so long.

4. The reasons that storytelling holds so much power in our culture.

5. What it's like to craft a story with a lesson, just like Homer tried to do with The Odyssey.

We wrote our reflective essay. Even though it felt challenging, we were able to approach the questions in some way.

This is the picture that best represents my learning style:

The reason this demonstrates my learning style is....