Unit Title: Jason and the Argonauts
Grade Level: 10-12
Discipline/Topic Area(s): Latin II- Mythology and translation
Unit Designers: Matt Clay and Chris Mann
Time Frame: 4-6 weeks
Interdisciplinary Concept:
 Folktale motif – Hero’s Journey (based on Joseph Campbell’s A Hero with
a Thousand Faces
Concepts in the Discipline
 Grammar – Subjunctive uses, irregular verbs, special constructions,
reflexives
 Vocabulary – Latin to English and English to Latin
 Derivatives
Enduring Understandings: What overarching understandings are derived from the
relationships between organizing concepts?
 Language is appreciated culturally.
 Culture shapes language.
 The universality of the human experience is shared through language.
Lifelong Learner Standards: Which life-long learner standards are central to this unit?
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Seek recognize and understand systems, patterns, themes, and interactions
Gather, organize, and analyze data, evaluate processes and products; and
draw conclusions
Habits of Mind in this Discipline: What habits of mind employed by adults working in
this discipline are partially developed within this unit?
Students of Classics:
 See that words are made up of parts (morphemes) that give them meaning
 Apply literary structures across cultures
 Recognize that grammatical structures that comprise Latin are consistent
and essential across any language.
Content Standards: Which SOL or discipline standards are central to this unit?
LII.1 The student will understand written Latin based on topics presented through a
variety of media.
1. Read for information.
2. Recognize the difference between giving literal meaning and paraphrasing.
Acquire an expanded vocabulary and recognize additional syntactical structures essential
to comprehension
LII.2 The student will continue to use orally, listen to, and write Latin as part of the
language learning process.
1. Read Latin aloud with consistent Latin pronunciation, meaningful phrase
grouping, and appropriate voice inflection.
2. Initiate and respond appropriately to oral and written questions, statements, and
commands.
3. Write Latin sentences with expanded vocabulary and structures to reinforce
language learning.
LII.3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the perspectives, practices, and
products of Roman culture and how they are interrelated.
1. Examine selected myths of Greek and Roman origin and their influence on
Roman perspectives, such as Ulysses and craftiness, Mars as patron god of Rome, and
Baucis and Philemon as symbols of piety.
LII.4 The student will use information acquired in the Latin classroom and information
acquired in other subject areas to reinforce one another.
1. Give examples of the influence of the Latin language and Greco-Roman cultures
in other subject areas, such as English vocabulary derived from Latin or construction
and engineering contributions of the Romans to the world.
LII.6 The student will develop a better understanding of the English language through
the study of Latin.
1. Expand knowledge of English vocabulary by noting the relationship of Latin
words to their derivatives in English.
2. Compare and contrast structural patterns of Latin and English
Essential Questions: What essential questions will focus this unit? What essential
questions will drive inquiry and understanding within this unit?
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Why is this hero’s journey occurring across cultures and time?
Why do cultures create myths? What purpose do they serve?
To what other stories from our culture does the hero’s journey apply?
What purpose does grammar serve in a language?
Can the student translate/read for understanding the Latin content?
Interdisciplinary connections: What are the natural connections to other disciplines in
this unit?
 Analyze literary structure components of hero’s journey (English/language
arts)
 Grammar (English/language arts)
 Discover human need behind the hero’s quest (Anthropology)
 Vocabulary building skills (English/language arts)
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Connections between myths and a culture’s history (History)
Pre-assessment: What pre-assessment(s) and rubrics that define quality will be used to
determine students’ prior knowledge and/or misconceptions related to the essential
knowledge, understanding, skills, and vocabulary in this unit? How will pre-assessment
data be used to inform instruction?
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Quiz with the themes of the hero’s journey
Qualities and characteristics of epics and heroes
Assess knowledge of gods and goddesses
On going grammar quizzes (verbs, nouns, subjunctives,
Essential Knowledge, Understanding Skill, and Vocabulary
Students will know: What ideas, concepts, information, and facts will students be able to
recall or recite?
 Specific vocabulary related to Jason and the Argonauts
 Geography of Jason’s travels
 Advanced grammar concepts (see above)
 Explain and apply the Hero’s Journey the Jason and the Argonauts as well
other modern myths/stories
 Word and derivation skills
Students will understand: What ideas, concepts, information, and facts will students be
able to explain, interpret, manipulate or apply in new situations?
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How the hero’s journey motif can be applied across cultures to different folktales
and stories
How grammar and vocabulary interact to structure any language.
Students will be able to: What skills do students demonstrate?
 Identify and use new grammatical structures
 Recognize new Latin vocabulary translating from English to Latin and vice-versa
with an emphasis on irregular nouns and verbs
 Translate and interpret passages from Latin to English for style and content
 Know the steps of the hero’s journey and apply it to Jason’s story
 Identify geographic locations important to the myth and the classical world as a
whole
Vocabulary: What terms must students know and use?
 Hero’s Journey and all of the subsequent steps
 Unfamiliar Latin words emphasized in the text (see pgs. 235, 237, 239, 241, 243,
245, 247, 249, 251, 253)
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Understand new grammatical terms (indirect questions, gerunds/gerundives,
indirect commands, coordinating conjunctions)
Summative Assessments: What summative assessment(s) and scoring guides will be
used to determine if students have mastered the essential knowledge, understanding,
skills, and vocabulary in this unit? At what levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy will students
demonstrate mastery?
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A total of (each containing 3 to 4 stories from the Jason unit in the text) 3
assessments incorporating the following:
Pertinent steps of the Hero’s Journey applying it modern day
(Analysis and Synthesis)
Identification of significant characters and places on the journey
(Knowledge and Comprehension)
Pertinent vocabulary/etymology/derivation covered in each section
(Knowledge and Comprehension)
Translation stories covered (selected passages)
(Comprehension and Application)