ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT MODULE
THE ODYSSEY
Unit 1
Research Question:
Could it have happened?
Entry Survey
Students will take this entry survey to test their knowledge before engaging in a class discussion on our research question: Could some of the events in the Odyssey have actually happened?
​
When students have completed the entry survey have them return to Unit 1 to continue on with the class discussion portion of this unit.
​
​
​
The instructor will choose a few (10 to 12) events from The Odyssey for a class discussion in which students will explore the possibility that myths — though heavily romanticized — could be based in reality. The students’ task will be to research a chosen topic from the list of 10 to 12 major events that Odysseus faces, and discover how those fantastical experiences from The Odyssey could have been based on a real phenomenon. Based on a show-of-hands, groups will be formed for an initial in-class debate and discussion to introduce the research question, "Could it have happened?"
Class Discussion
Students will explore in class discussion the potential reality of situations such as, anthropophagous (flesh-eating) giants, winds and seas that can lift and carry ships hundreds of miles, six-headed serpents, and seven-mile-wide whirlpools—just to name a few.