November 29-30: Intro to the Hero’s Journey 2.0, Early Influences of George Lucas

Today, we did the following:

1. Engaged in FEAR Time.

2. I distributed a handout called THE HERO’S JOURNEY: Greek Mythology and Medieval Lore.  I then distributed a class-copy handout of “The Story of Perseus” from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  We read the section entitled ‘Andromeda Rescu’d from the Sea Monster’ up to the line “The cause, and sweet reward of all the hero’s pains.”   We then watched a clip from Clash of the Titans (1981) that tackles the same scene as the poem.  Then students were asked to answer the prompts in the box regarding Perseus’ heroic traits and then asked students to identify what parts of the Hero’s Journey could be in these excerpts.  IT’S INTERPRETIVE, meaning, don’t worry about right or wrong answers so much as taking a risk with what you know or what you think some of these concepts could mean and sharing it.  Again, I want to see how students work with these concepts, even if they have only a vague clue as to what they mean.

Clash of the Titans (1981):

3. We read an excerpt from “The Crowning of King Arthur” from Sir Thomas Malory’s La Morte D’Arthur.  We started at the bottom, right of p. 908 when Merlin speaks to a dying King Uther about his son Arthur and finished out the rest of this story.  We then watched a clip from the 1981 film Excalibur that addresses the jousting tournament and Arthur retrieving the sword.  Students completed the prompts for this one, seeing if they could identify anything heroic about Arthur in this clip as well as any stages of the Hero’s Journey within it as well.

Excalibur (1981):

STUDENTS HANDED THIS IN.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

It’s important to note that we are addressing these two texts to show at least two examples of worldly historical texts that have parts of the Hero’s Journey in them as well as showing two pieces of world literature that had an enormous influence upon George Lucas’s creation of Star Wars.   In addition to Greek Mythology and the Arthurian Legend, Lucas was also influenced by writings, films, and TV shows he experienced as a kid, college student and young adult: Lord of the Rings, Flash Gordon, TV and film westerns (How the West was Won), Taoism (Tao Te Ching or “The Way”), Hinduism, among other influences.

November 22-28: Intro to the Hero’s Journey

Today, we did the following:

1. FEAR Time

2. Monomyth Intro Activity – Students received a handout regarding the The Hero’s Journey, and answered prompts and questions accordingly.

3. The Matrix ‘Call to Adventure’– We viewed an excerpt from The Matrix (1999) and answered the prompts on the handout.  Students handed the handout in.

The Matrix excerpt – Part I:

The Matrix excerpt – Part II:

The Matrix excerpt – Part III:

 

November 14-21: Of Mice and Men Unit Test and Film

On these days, we did the following:

1. Took our unit test on Of Mice and Men.
2. Watched the 1992 film of the same name featuring a pre-Lieutenant Dan Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lennie.  The film was produced and directed by Gary Sinise, who brought along fellow Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago) alum John Malkovich to play Lennie.  It helps to know people, right?We began the second day of the film engaged in FEAR Time.

   3. Engaged in FEAR Time prior to the viewing of the second half of the film on the second day of its showing.

November 9-10: Of Mice and Men Review, Symbolism, Theme, and Jeopardy!

Today, we did the following:

1. FEAR Time.

2. Symbolism – We reviewed a few symbols for Of Mice and Men using the backside of the Chapter 5 study guide.

3. Thematically Speaking – Using the backside of the chapter 6 study guide, we explored the three major themes of Of Mice and Men by matching excerpts from the book to three possible themes.

4. Of Mice and Men Jeopardy Review – We played OMaM Jeopardy! Check out the board and such!

NEXT CLASS: UNIT TEST!

November 4-7: Death of the Dream, Of Mice and Men, Chapter 6

Today, we did the following:

1. FEAR Time.

2. Chapter 5 Review/Chapter 5 Quiz – We reviewed chapter 5 of OMaM using the study guide and took the chapter 5 quiz.

3. Of Mice and Men, Chapter 6– We finished OMaM by reading chapter 6 and we worked on the chapter 6 study guide.

 

November 2-3: Of Mice and Men, Chapter 5, “Uh-Oh, I Done Another Bad Thing…”

Today, we did the following:

1. FEAR Time.

2. Quiz Review & Chapter 4 Quiz – We reviewed chapter 4 for Of Mice and Men and then held a quiz on it.

3. Of Mice and Men – Chapter 5 – We read and finished chapter 5 in one sitting because we’re coming up against the end of the unit.  Students answered questions using the chapter 5 study guide.