Page 58 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade8_Flipbook

The Initiation
aCTIvITy 1.7
Learning Targets
• Analyze an excerpt of an epic poem for archetype and narrative techniques.
• Demonstrate understanding of these concepts by drafting and illustrating an event in a hero’s Road of Trials stage.
Preview
In this activity, you will read and analyze an excerpt from an epic poem.
Setting a Purpose for Reading
• Read the excerpt and make observations and inferences about Odysseus’s character. Make note of words that describe his appearance, as well as his own words, actions, thoughts, and feelings. Also note how others react to him.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
Word CoNNeCTIoNS
Cognates
The English word initiation has at its root -init-, which comes from the Latin word initialis, meaning “beginning.” Its Spanish cognate is iniciación, which derives from iniciar, meaning “to begin.”
About the Author
Homer is the traditionally accepted author of two famous epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. No biography of Homer exists, and scholars disagree about whether he was the sole author or whether Homer was a name chosen by several writers who contributed to the works. Some scholars believe that the poems evolved through oral tradition over a period of centuries and are the collective work of many poets.
the Odyssey by Homer
Translation by Tony Kline
Book IX: 152–192
ODYSSEUS TELLS HIS TALE: THE CYCLOPS’S CAVE
1 Looking across to the land of the neighboring Cyclops,1 we could see smoke and hear their voices, and the sound of their sheep and goats. Sun set and darkness fell, and we settled to our rest on the shore.
2 As soon as rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, I gathered my men together, saying: “The rest of you loyal friends stay here, while I and my crew take ship and try and find out who these men are, whether they are cruel, savage and lawless, or good to strangers, and in their hearts fear the gods.”
From
INdepeNdeNT
readING LINk
Read and Discuss
Think about the hero of the book you are reading outside of class. Meet with a partner and describe the mental
and physical strengths your book’s hero possesses that will be important when facing challenges and obstacles. Talk to classmates who chose a different independent reading book than you. Discuss how the strengths of your book’s hero are similar to those of the heroes in their books.
1 Cyclops: one-eyed giants
Unit 1
• The Challenge of Heroism 31
LearNING STraTeGIeS:
Marking the Text,
Note-taking, Shared Reading, Close Reading, Rereading, Diffusing, Skimming/Scanning, Visualizing
Literary Terms
An epic is a long narrative about the deeds of heroes or gods.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.