The students in the ninth grade are excited about moving back into literature, or maybe just watching Troy. We are starting the Odyssey and the class is watching the movie Troy to allow them to see that an older piece of literature can still be relevant in our modern times and to give the classes a little bit of background on who this guy Odysseus is and why is he important. We have just finished a section on grammar, exploring phrases, and the students were unexcited and at times just simply bored. There's not much a person can do to make grammar exciting to a student so I am also excited about lit also.
The students have a graphic organizer for important information they find during the movie which will be helpful when they have a test at the end of the unit. They are asking some very good questions about things they see in the movie that they don't understand, and I am explaining things as we watch. Today, they noticed the coins on a dead man's eyes and ask why this was being done, allowing me to explain about Greeks belief in having to cross the river Styx to get to their afterlife and needing the coins to pay the ferryman to take them across the river.
I think this unit will reengage the students that have been bored with grammar. Hopefully, we will all have fun learning about the Odyssey.
