Connections Across The Disciplines: Understanding the Historical Context of the Odyssey

When first approaching this lesson plan, I did not know what to expect, because I knew that the content areas of the authors was varied between English and Social Studies. I thought that their topic, which included a combination of the literary piece The Odyssey and the history and culture surrounding the piece, was appropriate for their subject areas, and thought it provided an interesting and engaging way for students to form connections with the text. Reading through their lesson plan, I thought the objective was clearly stated, and that the final assessment was well aligned with their objective. I also found that the progression of the lesson was logical and seemed to flow well from activity to activity.

One aspect of their lesson plan that I found particularly interesting was how much they were able to integrate technology throughout their entire lesson. They also made sure to mention BYOD, and how this would work well in areas with fewer resources available to their students. The material appeared accessible to students on laptops, tablets, as well as smart phones, which could be brought to class without too much trouble. I was also impressed with their planning to use technology in the classroom in various ways. They had videos for the first half of the period for students to watch and discuss periodically, followed by a map activity, where students make connections between travel in the epic poem to current day locations on a map. I thought both activities allow for sufficient interaction and engagement of the students. By breaking up the video into segments, I think this would better allow for students to comment and connect with the material being shared.

I was also impressed with how precise timings were marked out in this lesson plan, but wonder about the details of the discussions following each of the videos. Although I am sure the individuals who wrote the lesson have discussion questions in mind for each of the video segments, I am interested in knowing what these questions were, and what they wanted their students to obtain from each of the segments. Another aspect that I was interested in was who this lesson was aimed towards. I noticed that the students were expected to have recently read The Odyssey in their lesson planning process, but it was not quite clear what level the students would be at when being given this lesson.

Another thing that could make the goals of this lesson plan more clear would be to include the purpose of each activity. They provided plenty of time for discussion throughout the video portion of their lesson, but it is unclear whether there will be time provided to discuss the map activity. I thought this was an interesting and engaging activity for students to work together on, but I think by having a more explicit discussion session on what the students gained from the activity, students will have a better understanding of why they are participating in such activities and what your goals are as their teacher.

After having read through each section of their lesson plan, as well as their discussion of BYOD and their lesson planning process, I am now thinking about all the possibilities after this lesson plan. I wish I could find activities and assignments where students could go from making connections between the text and the historical context, to somehow bringing in a part of themselves to the discussion, so that they are looking for connections between them, the text, and the historical context. Unfortunately, I have not read the texts discussed in this lesson, but I think there are plenty of branches to build on from this lesson. That being said, I found this lesson to be interesting and its incorporation of various school subjects made it so. It seems that students would be able to gain a lot from this lesson, and I think the time for discussion will especially encourage this growth of knowledge for the students.