ELA - Grade 9 Monday, April 27 - Friday, May 1

PURPOSE

Review and New Material Learning Standards

• I can determine the meaning of words and phrases ase they are used in text, including figurative language and connotative meanings; analyze the cumaltive impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. (RL.4)

• I can write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well structured event sequences. (W.3)

WATCH Monday: Read, “Ithaka” by Constantine P. Cavafy. Text can be found here:

https://classicsmalta.org/life-as-a-journey-ithaka-by-constantine-p-cavafy/ An Audio version can be found here: https://youtu.be/1n3n2Ox4Yfk Tuesday: Watch the Ted-Ed Talk, “Everything you need to know about the Odyssey” https://youtu.be/8Z9FQxcCAZ0

Wednesday: Read the invocation and first few lines on Book One of The Odyssey

Thursday: Read the invocation and first few lines on Book One of The Odyssey

PRACTICE Monday: As you are reading the poem, pay careful attention to the tone ( the speaker’s attitude toward the subject)After reading the poem, annotate using the activity guide. *Screen-free activitity Tuesday: Complete the TPCASTT of “Ithaka” *Screen-free activitity Complete the during/post thought questions about the Ted-Ed talk.

https://classicsmalta.org/life-as-a-journey-ithaka-by-constantine-p-cavafy/https://youtu.be/1n3n2Ox4Yfkhttps://youtu.be/8Z9FQxcCAZ0

Wednesday: After reading the excerpt, follow the directions on the guide for the first reading. *Screen-free activitity Thursday: After reading the excerpt, follow the directions on the guide for the second reading and write and objective summary. *Screen-free activitity

DISCUSS Thursday: Tell the story of a challenge you have faced in your life and how you grew from that challenge. Your writing assignment for tomorrow will be to write about a challenge you have faced. Have a verbal brainstorm with a sibling, parent, or a peer via safe communication. Explain the writing prompt and discuss your ideas of what you would like to create. *Screen-free activitity

PRODUCT Friday: Write a one-two page personal narrative based on the writing prompt from Thursday’s brainstorm. Here is is again: Tell the story of a challenge you have faced in your life and how you grew from that challenge. Be sure to include well-chosen details, well-structured event sequences and be mindful of your word choice and phrases. Use the checklist for narrative writing to assist you during the writing process. *Screen-free activitity

Practice Monday, April 27

Connecting Device to Meaning

“Ithaka” by Constantine Cavafy

Using the annotation guide below, record your insights and observations to the poem “Ithaka,” a poem by Constantine Cavafy based on the ancient epic The Odyssey by Homer.

Activity 1—Vocabulary: List all words unknown to you, and then define them with more accessible synonyms. Next, go back through the poem and read the text with the synonyms in place to deepen your comprehension. (Save the mythological terms for the fourth activity.)

Word Part of Speech

Definition Synonym

Activity 2—Connotative Diction: Determine the meanings of words or phrases with figurative or connotative meanings used in the text. Do the words bring to mind positive or negative feelings? What more specific emotions do the words suggest?

Positive Negative

Activity Three—Objective Summary: Write an objective summary of the poem.

Activity Four—Literary Devices: Identify the allusions in the poem. Using an online resource or mythology collection, write an explanation of these allusions in the right hand margin.

Allusion Explanation of Allusion

Laestrygonians

Cyclops

Poseidon

Ithaka

Activity Five—Point of View: What types of pronouns do you see? What is the point of view that the author employs? Using the tone resource, determine what the speaker’s attitude toward the subject seems to be.

Activity Six—Symbolism: What does the city of Ithaka seem to symbolize in this poem?

Tone Words1

Tone is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject of a text and is revealed through the author’s word choice, organization, choice of detail, and sentence structure. The tone of a text impacts meaning. Your understanding of the text, how you feel about the text, and how the text impacts you are all related to the tone.

The following are sample tone words, which can be used to describe the tone of a text.

Positive Tone Neutral Tone Negative Tone

● Eager, zealous ● Imaginative, fanciful, whimsical ● Humorous, playful, comical ● Respectful, admiring, approving ● Sincere ● Powerful, confident ● Complimentary, proud ● Calm, tranquil, peaceful ● Sentimental, nostalgic, wistful ● Excited, exuberant, exhilarated ● Happy, joyful, giddy, contented

● Conversational, informal ● Matteroffact ● Reflective ● Impartial, objective, indifferent ● Scholarly, instructive ● Practical, pragmatic ● Subdued, restrained, lowkey ● Serious, formal, solemn ● Uncertain ● Straightforward, direct, candid

● Accusatory, pointed ● Cynical, bitter, biting, sharp ● Satirical, critical ● Condescending, arrogant,

haughty ● Contemptuous, scornful ● Sarcastic, ironic, mocking, wry ● Silly, childish ● Sad, depressed, melancholy ● Angry, indignant, harsh ● Fearful, panicked, anxious ● Demanding, insistent, urgent ● Skeptical, dubious, questioning ● Pretentious, pompous

Practice Tuesday, April 28

Practice for Tuesday, April 28

Ted-Ed talk,” Everything you need to know about The Odyssey”

1. Recall that the poem begins in medias res, in the middle of things. From a narrative standpoint, what are some benefits of beginning in this fashion?

2. In addition to the ancient Greeks, the ancient Romans also had a code of hospitality like xenia, called hospitium. What do you think were some of the challenges of such a code, and do you think a code like this would benefit our society today?

3. The oral tradition of "Iliad" and "Odyssey" make these stories cultural, communal, entertainment experiences. Since Homer’s time, in what ways has public, communal entertainment changed?

4. The stories on “Odyssey” originally gained popularity through social gatherings in which people listened to rhapsodes recite the poem aloud. What types of entertainment unite us in similar ways today? Which common stories create the fabric of our culture in the ways that the stories of Homer did for the ancient Greeks?

Practice Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30 The Odyssey Book One

Handout

The Features of an Epic

An epic is a long, booklength poem that tells a story about a hero. The ancient poet Homer wrote both The Iliad (the story of the Greeks defeating the their enemies during the tenyear Trojan War) and The Odyssey (the story of the Greek king Odysseus’ tumultuous tenyear journey home to Ithaca). The following characteristics are just some distinctive elements of the epic genre:

1. Beginning in medias res or “in the middle of things.” 2. An invocation or prayer to the gods for inspiration at the beginning of the poem. 3. Epic similes or Homeric similes, which are more involved, more ornate than the typical simile, often lasting

last several lines. 4. Epithets or phrases that rename characters: for example, Athena is called “the cleareyed goddess,” Odysseus

“the master tactician,” and Hermes “the giant killer.” These epithets sometimes function as appositive phrases.

Activity One: Reading and Annotating the Invocation

Read the invocation and the first few lines of Book One of The Odyssey below. Follow the instructions below as you annotate:

1. For your first reading, define the terms that have been bolded for you. Write a synonym or definition directly above the boxed word.

2. For your second reading, use a handbook of mythological terms, the glossary at the back of your text, or the Internet to look up background information for the shaded terms. Write the explanation directly above the term.

3. Finally, use the questions on the right side of the text to guide you as you record your insights and impressions about the text.

Throughout the passage, highlight for

patterns of diction. Write the effect in the margin beside the text.

Explain the underlined epithet. Who is it

describing, and what does it suggest about him?

fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.

many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns …

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy.

Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,

Activity Two—Objective Summary: In the space below, write an objective summary of what is happening in the

passage. You might use the questions below to help you write your summary:

● Who is the text about? ● Where is this story taking place? ● When does the action begin? ● What seems to be the problem? ● Why is there a problem? Is there any background information?

Checklist for Narrative Writing:

Look for…

Narrative Elements

• Uses narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, description and reflection to develop experiences, events, or characters

Organization

• establishes situation / context • introduces narrator / point of view • creates event sequence that unfolds

naturally • uses transitions, linking words to manage

sequence of time • has satisfying conclusion

Style and

Word Choice

• Uses precise words and phrases • Uses concrete detail • Uses sensory language

Conventions

• Errors in mechanics and grammar do not impede the reader’s understanding of the text

• See the Grammar Guide for gradelevel expectations

Practice Monday, April 27Connecting Device to MeaningThe Features of an EpicActivity One: Reading and Annotating the Invocation