Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Homer Lesson Plan

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Homer, and supports the standard of determining a theme from details in a text. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display an image of characters and mythical creatures featured in The Iliad and/or The Odyssey, like this one from the movie (timestamp: 3:03):

Prompt students to share what they know about these stories. Ask:

  • Where might these stories have come from?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Homer topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Arts and Entertainment,” or “Around the World.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign Homer Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about Homer while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce an interview with Homer where he explains major themes of The Odyssey and The Iliad. 
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map identifying evidence for and against the claim that Homer was a real person. 
  • Creative Coding: Code a comic where characters discuss why Homer’s works are still popular so long after they were written. 

More to Explore 

Sortify: Writers: ​​Players sort by attributes, such as genre, time period, and more in this learning game.  

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of Homeric themes with these topics: Greek Gods, Athens, and Poetry.

Teacher Support Resources: