Rap a Rhapsody

Homework:
Math: practice page 9-5 The Coordinate Plane

Planner Signed Due: 1/25
Read 30 minutes

Language Arts: DOL Sentences #1-2 Due: 1/25. Wkst: "Food Fight" Due: 1/27. Today I introduced our next essay "How To Handle A Bully." Students were encouraged to be thinking of what advice to give others about bullying. We start typing tomorrow.

Reading: Greek and Roman Geography comprehension page was done during class today. Reminder that book reports and calendars are due next week, February 1st.


SHOE BOX for Science tomorrow!

Soc. Studies: Early Greece Vocab. Sentences due 1-25; Prepare for symposium on Thurs. by practicing a 1 min. speech; "Assemble a New Law" due Thursday. Students may bring small bunches of red grapes to eat during the symposium. Study 2-5 min. each night.
Students should be studying their study guide, class notes, gods/goddesses, and common Greek myths. The final TEST is Feb. 3, 2011.


In the days of ancient Greece, reciting poetry and telling stories were considered world-class entertainment. Poets, called rhapsodists, would stand with a staff (a tall cane, like a shepherd's) in front of a group, and recite the tale. They'd use dramatic voices to bring the story to life.

Could rhapsodic poetry be a long-lost ancestor of today's rap music? Have some fun and find out!

Grab a staff, put on some dark glasses, and play the part of Homer for your friends and family, doing The Odyssey Rap. The Homettes can back you up as a Greek chorus. Remember that Odysseus is pronounced o-DIS-ee-us.

Homer and the Homettes
The Odyssey Rap

My name is Homer, I'm an old-time poet
I'm one of the ancient Greeks, doncha know it
I'm the boy who told about Troy,
How the Greeks got annoyed,
And Troy got destroyed

Now one of these Greeks, he had a plan
The king of Ithaca was the man
He went by the name Odysseus
Don't dis, don't dis Odysseus
'Cause he was the man who thought of the plan
The gift of a horse with an inside force
That would end the war,
Make the Greeks' spirits soar!

(Chorus)
Yeah, that's the way it happened
That's the way it was
Just feel a blast from the past
'Cause that's what Homer does
Yeah, that's what Homer does!

Now, Odysseus sailed his ships away
But to god of the sea he forgot to pray
So Poseidon got mad and made things bad
He made the sea rise and made Odysseus sad

Poseidon blew poor Ody far, far away
Where the whirlpools whirl and the dragons play
Where sirens sing and drive you crazy
To lotus land where you get lazy

Doomed by the lord of the foam to roam
It looked like poor Odysseus would never get home!
He ran into a cyclops with one big eye
Had to cross a lake of fire to the other side

Then his ship got sunk, and his crew was gone
Poor Ody was alone, but he had to carry on.
But, hey, in the end, a ship from a friend
Came along to bring Odysseus home again
He was happy as can be to see Penelope
After 20 long years of his Odyssey!

(Chorus)
Yeah, that's the way it happened
That's the way it was
For epic poems just turn to Homes
'Cause that's what Homer does!
'Cause that's what Homer does!

Practice and perform the rap with a group of friends for some ARETE points.