Homer's Odyssey WebQuest & Anticipation Guide

A 39-question WebQuest guides students through the historical context, hero's journey structure and literary devices of Homer's Odyssey using linked research, video and article sources, with a complete answer key and a 12-statement anticipation guide.

Grades: Grades 9–12
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Jul 01, 2022

Subject: Literature, ELA
Topic: Homer, Odyssey
Resource types: Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

This resource is a Homer's Odyssey WebQuest & Anticipation Guide.

There are 6 steps with links for students to follow and then complete the activity.

Some are comprehension questions and some are graphic organizers for students to fill out.

This is an engaging and interactive way for students to show what they know.

At the end, there is an anticipation guide in which students will decide if they agree or disagree with each statement listed.

Answer key included for the webquest.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Research and explain the historical context surrounding Homer and the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Identify and apply the stages of the hero's journey to a specific narrative example.
Recognize and explain the epic simile and the epithet as literary devices used in epic poetry.
Form and defend a position in writing, using an argumentative response with multiple supporting points.

Teaching tips

Have students complete the WebQuest steps in order, since later steps (the epic simile and epithet) build on vocabulary introduced in the earlier historical-context and hero's-journey steps.
Use the anticipation guide's agree/disagree statements as a warm-up discussion before assigning the WebQuest, then revisit them after reading to see whether student opinions shifted.
Confirm the external research, video and article links are still active before assigning the WebQuest, since several steps depend entirely on that outside material to answer the questions.

Skills covered

Historical and biographical research -- students research Homer and the era in which the Odyssey was composed to answer fact-based questions.
Hero's journey analysis -- students learn the stages of the hero's journey and apply them to a worked example before analyzing Odysseus.
Literary device identification -- students research and explain the epic simile and the epithet as devices specific to epic poetry.
Argumentative writing -- the wrap-up activity requires an 8-sentence response defending a position with at least three supporting points.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Do students need outside sources to complete the WebQuest?

Yes -- each of the six steps points to an external research link, video clip or article, and students pull their answers from that linked source rather than from text printed in the file itself.

Is there a separate writing task beyond the WebQuest questions?

Yes -- after the WebQuest and a 12-statement anticipation guide, a wrap-up activity asks students to write an eight-sentence argumentative response defending one belief statement with at least three supporting points.