Goals
This text can be used in the context of an English or humanities class anywhere from 8th through 12th grade. The purpose is to help a wide range of students, with and without disabilities access the Odyssey. The text itself serves a variety of instructional purposes, described below in "Introduction to the Content." With the embedded supports, the online text should help students understand the plot, main concepts, and key vocabulary, and also help them begin drawing connections between the text and their prior knowledge. It should prepare them for discussions, projects, and writing based in a familiarity and conceptual understanding of the text.
This text is one small piece of what would be a full online book including the entirenty of the Odyssey.
Introduction to the Content
The Odyssey is a staple in many high school English and humanities classrooms. It is a sweeping story about the hero Odysseus's long journey home from the Trojan war, aided and often deterred by the gods. As an instructional material, it is an excellent text for delving into the origins and conventions of the western storytelling tradition. It also offers deep insight into the cultural worldview of the ancient Greeks, and offers opportunities for students to learn how to draw connections between a culture and a text that is a product of that culture.
Included here is the first half of Book II, which takes place after Odysseus has been gone from his home, Ithaca, for ten years. Telemachus, Odysseus's son, clashes with the suitors who have moved into his father's home in hopes of marrying Odysseus's wife Penelope. It is the beginning of Telemachus's journey and creates an air of mystery about Odysseus's journey, which students will read about in later parts of the epic. It is a crucial and famous moment in the Odyssey.
This content benefits from embedded supports in addition to audio because it is a difficult text for a wide range of students with regard to content and vocabulary. This translation, by Alexander Pope, includes frequent vocabulary words that most high school students would be unfamiliar with. There are also frequent character names, which come up without explanation and can be confusing. The content, which is located entirely in ancient Greece and far removed from students' experiences, can also be difficult to conceptualize and connect with for a reader new to studying ancient Greece. Supports are included that are meant to breach the distance between students' knowledge and the text.
Every word in the text comes directly from Alexander Pope's translation. All additional explanation is added through the coaches.
Supports
Audio: Any reader can listen to any part of the text.. This is especially important for students with disabilities such as dyslexia or a vision impairment, but can help any student who prefers to listen to texts when they read.
Words and Terms: The penguin coach offers definitions of key vocabulary words in addition to phrases, terms, and names that students may not be familiar with. The words are also highlighted within the text, for easy referencing. English vocabulary words are highlighted in green. Terms relating to concepts from the Odyssey and names are highlighted in orange.
Summary: The lizard coach offers summary. This is a quick way for students to understand what is taking place in the stanzas on the page and particularly useful for students who struggle to comrehend the text on its own. It can help them contextualize what they are reading. It is not meant to replace reading the entire text.
Connections: The dog coach comes in to help students draw connections between other knowledge and the Odyssey. It is meant to help the material feel more immediate, rather than distant, from their other experiences in school and life.
Images: Every few pages, I included an image that illustrates a concept from the text. I was careful to choose images that will help students comprehend something that is taking place in the text visually. It will also help students feel engaged by adding an element of visual interest. All images are captioned for context.
