Culminating Assessment The Odyssey Unit Plan

Film and Theme Analysis Essay

Now that we have finished reading The Odyssey and watched the films Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Godfather,
we are going to begin a paper analyzing film techniques and how these film techniques can help us understand the
social implications in The Odyssey. Below is a rough draft (use pieces of evidence that you gathered in your viewing
guide and evidence from your reader-response cards to help you out!)

Essay prompt: Using evidence from the films and text, analyze the social implications of the stories. How do cinematic
techniques emphasize varying parts of the text, and how can it tie into issues such as loyalty, gender roles, heroic
qualities, human flaws, revenge, and lying? Once the films have been analyzed, write a paragraph on how your
understanding of The Odyssey has grown or changed due to analysis of the film AND classroom discussion. How have
your ideas changed from your previous timed write? How can you apply it to your life today? How do your ideas
encourage social transformation? Use the outline below to help organize your ideas.

Timeline:
-Day 1 and Day 2: Gather evidence, outline analysis using the Outline below.
-Day 3 and 4: Draft paper.
-Day 5: Revision process with educator. Complete 2-minute conference.

Texts, Materials, and Resources:

-Viewing Guides from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Godfather
-Timed Write: Heroic Odysseus
-Reader-Response Cards
-Rubric for grading (underneath Criteria)
-Outline for Film and Theme Analysis Essay

Criteria:

Film and Theme Analysis Essay Rubric

Category Description Points

Outline Is the outline complete? Are there specific pieces of evidence for each
film and for The Odyssey? ______/15
Introduction Is an introduction present? (with an attention getter, connecting
information, and a thesis statement). ______/15

Embedded Quotes Pieces of evidence are integrated smoothly into the essay. There are
specific examples from the films and from The Odyssey. ______/30

Analysis Analysis explains the quote and ties it into thesis. The analysis looks
at cinematic techniques and connection to themes. Social issues are ______/30
explored and expanded upon. Reflection of ideas is present.
Conclusion Ideas are reiterated but not repeated. Connections to the
introduction are clear. No new ideas are presented. ______/15

Mechanics Little to no grammatical errors are present.

______/15

Total: _______ / 120

 Outline for Film and Theme Analysis Essay:

Oh Brother? The Godfather The Odyssey

Topic Sentence: Topic Sentence: Topic Sentence:

Evidence 1: Evidence 1: Evidence 1:

Analysis: Analysis: Analysis:

Evidence 2: Evidence 2: Evidence 2:

Analysis: Analysis: Analysis:

Evidence 3: Evidence 3: Evidence 3:

Analysis: Analysis: Analysis:

Statement of closure: Statement of closure: Statement of closure:

Rationale:

This assignment ties into the unit as a whole. First of all, it takes a look at student comprehension of

The Odyssey. Students need to be able to understand the story to complete the assignment, which will require

them to make sure that they are staying caught up on the reading, completing vocabulary, understanding

characters, and understanding the overall timeline of the story.

The next reason why I chose to create the culminating assignment in this fashion was because it

requires students to look at the information that they have accumulated throughout the unit. They will need

to look back at their Reader-Response cards, their Heroic Odysseus timed write, and the evidence that they

gather while watching the two films. Once they have all this information in front of them, they need to reflect

on this evidence to analyze cinematic techniques can highlight notions and how their own ideas have

progressed throughout the unit

Furthermore, by tying in various films, students can ponder greater questions. As stated in Morrells

writing, I wanted students to theorize the role of the hero in the epic. What characteristics are associated

with heroism? What is the role of religion? What is the treatment of women? How is violence justified or

glorified?(Morrell, 2008). This ties into the essential questions that are posed for this unit. Throughout the

unit and with this culminating assessment, students will explore major concepts throughout The Odyssey and

then analyze how their ideas can change in comparing it to different media and in exploring the text on a

deeper basis.

Finally, I think this culminating activity is important because it shows the relevance of a text that was

written so long ago and connecting it to modern ideas. Students will make these connections and, hopefully,

open their minds to comparing older texts with ideas of our current society. Overall, students will be able to

explore their own notions and then see how they grow and develop.