Demographics

This assessment was developed for an advanced 8th grade language arts class, which is an International Baccalaureate class. This assessment was created with a gifted or talented student in mind. The class is comprised of predominantly minority students, whom are either in the Gifted Program, or the Middle Years International Baccalaureate Program, or both. Topics such as Greek mythology and Joseph Campbell’s, The Hero’s Journey can be dense, and intricate. For that reason, I decided to introduce mythology via a modern version of it; //The ////Lightning Thief // is a modern take on Greek mythology. Instead of having the students read the book, and take a test on it, I decided to use a web quest as an alternative assessment. Via the web quest, students will have the opportunity to interact more with the text, and thereby develop a greater depth of knowledge of the novel and mythology. Due to how vast the subject matter is, I thought that creating a web quest would be the most structured way to facilitate the students’ process of delving into the complexities of mythology and the symbolism that traverses story-telling. Students that are gifted can become overwhelmed with projects if they do not see some sort of structure. The challenge is that it needs to be easy to understand, and still be thought-provoking. For this reason, the bulk of the work is done using a graphic organizer I created for them, which is an elaborate journal that gives explicit directions for every chapter. This journal includes a variety of activities that address analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Many of the activities ask the students to draw comparisons between the novel and Greek mythology or Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. In addition to analyzing, the students are asked throughout the journal to create projects that include detailed travel itineraries, and predictions of what will happen to different characters in the novel. Students are also asked to defend their positions on different topics. However, if the students do not read the book, they cannot answer the questions, unless of course they get that information from a peer; this would be unethical, but mainly a true shame because the student would cheat him or herself of a unique learning experience. The task addresses the following standards and learning targets: >> >> >> >> >>
 * Benchmark: LACC.8.RL.1.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 * Learning Target: The student will be able to effectively communicate the the main idea or essential message of each chapter by correctly answering the questions in the graphic organizer.
 * Benchmark: LA.8.1.7.7: The student will compare and contrast elements in multiple texts (e.g., setting, characters, problems); and
 * <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Learning Target: The student will be able t o compare and contrast the Greek myths with the way those myths are referenced, modernized, and reinterpreted in the novel.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Benchmark: LA.8.2.1.5: The student will develop an interpretation of a selection and support through sustained use of examples and contextual evidence.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Learning Target: The student will be able to analyze the elements of the hero’s quest within the novel.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">LA.8.2.1.6: The student will compare literary texts that express a universal theme, providing textual evidence (e.g., examples, details, quotations) as support for the identified theme;
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Learning Target: The student will be able to compare, and contrast the hero's journey as it relates to the novel and Greek mythology by defending their positions in writing.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Benchmark: <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> LA.8.4.2.2: The student will record information (e.g., observations, notes, lists, charts, legends) related to a topic, including visual aids to organize and record information, as appropriate, and attribute sources of information;
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Learning Target: The student will be able to use the graphic organizer to research thoroughly and answer questions accurately.