Lesson plan based on Fallen Warrior

Explore ancient warfare and compare the quarrels of the gods to those of the Trojans and Greeks through a dramatic reading of portions of The Iliad.

Skills and Focus: Reading, Discussion, Oral Presentation

Subject Area: English Language Arts

Thematic Connection: Myths and Legends, Literature

Grade Level: Secondary School

Time Needed: Two to four 50-minute class periods

Objectives

• Identify the major characters in Homer's epic The Iliad.

• Understand some of the strategies, external forces, and alliances of the Trojan War.

• Compare the quarrels of the gods with those of the Trojans and Greeks.

• Comprehend the kind of warfare celebrated in the Fallen Warrior relief.

Instructional Materials Needed

Stories: The Shield of Athena and Why Was This Sculpture Made?

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by New York: W. H. D. Rouse Penguin Books, 1964. pp. 1-22, 79-83, 245-265.

Props for dramatic reading

Activity

Before completing the following activity, you may want to ask the students to read books I, VI, XXI, and XXII of the Iliad (corresponding to the page numbers given above). You may also want to assign students to a specific book for the dramatic reading. (See below.)

?Step 1: After students watch the stories The Shield of Athena and Why Was This Sculpture Made?, introduce the students to The Iliad and the factors that contributed to the Trojan War. Although the warrior on the shield of Athena is known to be fighting in the Greek war against the Amazons, the principles of valor, loyalty to one's country, and heroism are also applicable to the war against Troy.

Step 2: The excerpts of text shown above correspond to four books of The Iliad that trace one battle of the Trojan War, from its origin in a quarrel to the final outcome. If there is enough class time, the entire text should be read so that students will understand the scope of the battle and the characters in it. However, book I and/or book XXI may be eliminated to shorten this activity.

Step 3: Assign students to each of the parts (listed below by section). The classroom can be arranged to provide a set for a dramatic reading of the text incorporating limited movement. In this way, students (those who read and those who participate as non—speaking Greeks or Trojans) can physically get an idea of the words and movements of battle.

Book I:

Speaking: Narrator, Achilles, Calchas, Agamemnon, Athena, Nestor, Talthybios and Eurybates, Thetis, Odysseus, Chryses, Zeus, Hera

Non—speaking: Patroclus, Apollo, members of the assembly

Book VI:

Speaking: Narrator, Hector, Paris, Helen, housekeeper, Andromache

Non—speaking: nurse, maids

Book XXI:

Speaking: Narrator, Achilles (also called Peledies); son of Priam, Asteropaios, Scamandros; Trojan enemies of Achilles, Poseidon, and Athena in the shape of two men; River; Hera; Hephaestus; Ares; Athena; Aphrodite; Apollo; Hermes; Artemis; Priam; Agenor

Book XXII:

Speaking: Hector, Apollo, Achilles (also called Peledies), Priam, Athena, Zeus, Hecuba, Andromache

Non—speaking: Achaeans

Step 4: As students dramatically read each section, allow them to change roles so that all of them are able to read and act out at least one speaking role during the class period. For difficult names, use the pronunciation guide at the back of the text. Discuss the ways in which each section reveals events and situations that served to further the continuation of the war and discuss how the actions and quarrels of the gods mirrored the war itself.

Goals

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 1: Read for understanding and fluency.

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 2: Understand explicit and implicit meaning in literature representing individual, community, national, world, and historical perspectives.

This activity meets Illinois State Goal 4: Listen and speak in a variety of situations.

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