Stories of Heroes

Do heroes have responsibilities?

Hero

• What makes a person a hero?• What characteristics do they have? • Fill in the blank:– A hero has an obligation to __________

because _______________. – The choices he or she makes are looked at

closely and even scrutinized because ____________.

– The true character of a hero can be seen when __________.

Academic Vocabulary)

• Hero• Choice• Identity• Intentions• Serve• Character• Honesty• Imitate• Involvement

• Justice• Morality• Obligation• Responsibility• Standard• Wisdom

Academic Vocabulary)

• Hero n. – person who is admired for brave or noble actions

• Choice n. – alternatives, a variety of possibilities from which a person can make a selection

• Identity v. – recognize as being a particular person or thing

Academic Vocabulary)

• Intentions n. – aims, ends, or purpose of someone’s actions or behavior

• Serve v. - perform duties or take on responsibilities for the benefit of others or for a higher purpose

• Character n. – combined qualities (intellectual, moral, etc.) tat makes a person unique

Academic Vocabulary)

• Honesty n. – quality of being truthful• Imitate v. – copy the actions of

another• Involvement n. 1. state of being

included in something 2. state of being engaged as a participant

• Justice n. – quality of fairness and impartiality; lawfulness; righteousness

Academic Vocabulary)

• Morality n. – coed of conduct; principles that a person uses to decide whether behavior is right or wrong

• Obligation n. –p something must be done out of a sense of duty or as a result of law or tradition

• Responsibility n. – state of being accountable; obligation

Academic Vocabulary)

• Standard n. – basis for comparison; idea or thing by which other things are evaluated.

• Wisdom n. - ability to make good judgments based on knowledge and experience

Genre – Related Vocabulary

• Hero (SL 4)

• Oral Tradition (SL 10)

• Beliefs (SL 11)

• Values (SL 11)

• Folk Tale (SL 13)

• Author’s Purpose (SL 27)

• Point of View (SL 27)

• Cultural Experiences (SL 27)

• Cultural Backgrounds (SL 27)

• Social and Cultural Context (SL 27)

• Universal Themes (SL 28)

• Theme (SL 28)

• Implied (SL 28)

• Myth (SL 35)

• Legend (SL 35)

• Epic (SL 57)

• Hero’s Quest (SL 61)

• Epic Hero (SL 59 -61)

• Archetype (SL 61)

The Oral Tradition

• The term oral tradition refers to the literature they passed down through the ages by word of mouth

• Eventually, these spoken stories and poems were retold in writing.

The Oral Tradition

• Stories from the oral tradition teach a culture’s central values and beliefs.• Values - moral

principles or standards held by an individual or group

• Beliefs - an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

Lesson Essential Questions

• What conflicts do characters face and how do they respond to those conflicts?

• How does the story’s setting contribute to the conflict?

Knowledge and Skills

• Students will be able to use context clues to help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

• Distinguish between information a narrator or character must state directly and ideas readers must infer.

Folk Tale

• Folk Tales:– Follow a simple formula– Deals with heroics, adventure, magic, or

romance– Frequently features animals characters

with human traits, such as the trickster Coyote

– Includes fables and fairy tales

Sally AnnThunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

• American Folk Tale• Read Sally Ann

Thunder Ann Whirlwind Corckett on page 729 taking note of the annotations that model the way to closely read the text.

Discussion

• How does Mike Fink’s behavior demonstrate that, unlike Sally Ann, he lacks a sense of responsibility?

• Do you consider Davy Crockett’s behavior in the tavern to be responsible? Why or why not?

• In what was does Sally Ann’s behavior distinguish her from the male characters in this story and other male heroes in tall tales?

• Based on her actions, how might Sally Ann defined a hero’s responsibilities?

Ancient Greece

Literacy Lesson: History and Geography of Greece

• Read article, complete handout and extended writing in journal (#1)

History and Geography of Greece

• The historical and cultural context of a work is the backdrop of details of the time and place in which the work is written: specific events, beliefs, customs, language, etc.

Where is Greece?A peninsula in the Mediterranean sea Mountainous terrain

https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!data=!1m4!1m3!1d6034030!2d27.1392019!3d38.0764391!2m1!1e3&fid=7

Hazardous Waters

Shipwreck Beach Shallow waters

Why did they prefer to travel by sea?

Harbors along the shoreline

Isolated colonies, city-states

Was Ancient Greece a United Country as it is today?

Olive and Grape Orchards

Harvesting Olives and Making Olive Oil

What other natural resources did they have?

Sheep and Goat Herders

Why did they use sheep and goats instead of cows?

Greek Culture

• The two leading city-states: Sparta and Athens– Since Greece is a collection of city-states separated by water

and mountains the question is “what united these people to have such similar culture?”

– The answer is language.

• In 800 BC the Greek alphabet was solidified and the language was beginning to be written by scribes– So, the stories told for generations were finally written

down….similar to how the Christian Bible was written

Tarpon Springs, Florida

The Author

• Authors’ cultural background influences their point of view and the themes that they express.

• Point of View – the author’s perspective, consists of his or her attitudes toward, and beliefs about, a subject.– An author’s point of view is influences by his or her cultural

experience – the basic experiences, beliefs, and values that shape life in his or her society.

– Social and Cultural Context – the values, beliefs, and experiences that the tales reflect and affirm

• Author’s Purpose - is his or her main reason for writing– To entertain– To inform– To persuade

Theme

• A literary work conveys a theme – an insight about life.

• Themes: deeper meanings or insights– Frequently, the theme of a work is implied or

suggested – Universal Themes: an insight into life and human

nature that appears in literature of many different times and cultures.

Homer

• Homer is the legendary poet credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey.

• According to tradition, Homer was born in Asia Minor and was blind.

• Some historians argue whether Homer existed.

• Scholars feel confident that the Iliad and the Odyssey are the result of generations of oral poetic composition

Homer

• Rhapsodes: a class of wandering bards or minstrels– “Singer of tales” spreading news and recent

of events, the doing of heroes and the gods

• Originally, the Iliad and the Odyssey were sung out loud for those who could not read– A story as long as the Odyssey could not be

told by one bard in a few days, so they would sing sections….like we will read sections

Greek Culture

• The Iliad and the Odyssey are works of poetry, not history.– Yet, both works provide insight into the ways of

life, outlooks, and values of the early Greeks.

• In Greece, the Iliad and the Odyssey were like their bible; The books served as instructions, teaching society what it meant to be Greek– Cultural aspects such as how does a child treat

their parents, what makes a hero, how should a person treat their guest, pride, courage, honor, etc.

Greek Culture

• The epics came to be used as basic texts for education of generations of Greek males.– “My father was anxious to

see me develop into a good man…and as a means to this end he compelled me to memorizes all of Homer.”

The Greek Virtues

• All Greeks were challenged to live by the virtues set by their culture. Breaking one of the Greek virtues meant angering the gods.

• The virtues are: – Loyalty– Hospitality– Respect for the gods and goddesses– Respect for all forms of life– Courage

Themes in the Odyssey• Homer introduces several themes that will

recur throughout the epic. These include:– The power of cunning over strength– Fate – Hospitality– Reputation, kleos– Revenge– Power– Importance of Lineage– Pitfalls of Temptation– Respect for the Gods

• Throughout, people are responsible for their choices but always susceptible to intervention by the gods.

Truth in Fiction

• Scholars also argued whether or not the events described in the Iliad were true or if Troy was real

• In 1868 a German archeologist found the city of Troy by following the list of ships in the Iliad

• The city met a violent end in 1200 BC – a date very close to 1184BC, the traditional date for the climax of the Trojan War

• Scholars think the real reason for the war was over taxes imposed by Troy to those traveling though the Dardanelles (a narrow straight connecting the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px-QzqTqn1E• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0jkFPDx8k0