1/7/2020 Stanley Kong Period 8

1/7/2020

Stanley Kong

Period 8

Blogger # 11

(My team taught the lesson for the day so here is the lesson plan) 

Short Reading Check Quiz

Aim: What do the characters and their actions tell us about the culture surrounding Norse mythology?

Do Now: Pair share 

Hypothetically, if you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby, would you? Why? 

• There are two scenarios, one being to kill baby Hitler and prevent millions from dying but the con is killing an innocent child. The other being to let fate play out, not kill an innocent child but then would lead to deaths of millions. At the same time making each choice will weigh on the person’s conscience. 

Do you believe there is a better way? (nature vs. nurture)

This discussion is to instantly start off question evil/intent and relating it to Odin and Loki’s children. It gets the class warmed up and the responses were a majority NO.

Video: Overview of Loki and Angrboda

Jormungandr: The Midgard Serpent

• Jormungandr means “earth necklace” in old Norse.
• Often characterized as Thor’s nemesis
• *Associated with Ouroboros- serpent biting its own tail and forming a circle; destructive but essential for nature regenerative process*
• Triggers Ragnarok 
• In Ragnarok- Battles and is slain by Thor
• Thor dies after walking nine steps (covered with too much of Jörmungandr’s venom
• Poisons the nine worlds in Norse cosmos

Fenrir Wolf

• Chains were unable to overcome Fenrir’s strength: ask the Dwarves for assistance 
• Raised under the supervision of the Gods
• Only Tyr, the God of law and justice, was brave enough to feed Fenrir
• Bound to a rock and a sword thrust in his mouth. until Ragnarok due to its rapid growth and destructive nature 
• Speculation that Fenrir will eat Odin
• In Ragnarok

• Consumes Odin
• Vidar avenges his father- tears Fenrir jaw

Hel: Queen of Helheim

• Her name, which means “hidden” in Old Norse
• Described as half black and half white (half dead/half alive)
• Ruled over the underworld, the souls that were unable to die from battle (reach Valhalla)
• Represents finality and frailty of life

Discussion: How does the story of Loki’s children relate back to do now?

• In Norse mythology, Odin finds out that Loki’s children take part in the destruction of Asgard. He tries to prevent this by abandoning and getting rid of them. Even though they were considered monsters, they were still young children and had not done any wrong. Going back to the do now, killing Hitler before he commits evil acts might seem like the right thing to do but at the same time it is considered a sin to some cultures. For example in Greek mythology, the king of Thebes tried to kill his son after hearing about his future. Even in today’s culture, films/movies aren’t allowed to show children being murdered/killed. 

Discuss with your groups: 

When Fenrir, Loki, and Jörmungandr, went into battle with the Gods, it resulted in the death of the Gods and themselves. What does this tell about the Gods themselves? How do the attempts of preventing Ragnarok connect to other cultures?

• Gods being vulnerable like humans. Comparable to humans. In other civilizations and mythology, such as Greek mythology, Gods can also not defy fate. 

Group Discussion: How does the idea of Ragnarok influence the Vikings’ lives and culture?

• Gods are comparable to humans from the last question. A common answer will be something about faith being lost because Vikings believed in an untimely demise and maybe they won’t care about life. But, the story of Ragnarok is to inspire them to always fight to the end and never give up like the Gods. All/Most people look up to the Gods. And since the Gods can die like humans, it gives a sense of relatability. The Norse Vikings/Warriors would be more motivated to fight till the end just like their “idols”.

Freya’s Unusual Wedding

When Thrym asked for the hand of Freya, the “most beautiful” among the Gods in exchange for the hammer (Mjollin) Loki and Thor asked Freya for her opinion. 

“Do you think I’m that foolish? That disposable? That I’m someone who would actually marry an ogre just to get you out of trouble? If you two think that I am going to the land of the giants, that I’ll put on a bridal crown and veil and submit to the touch and… the lust of that orge…”(Gaiman, 114).

Discuss: What does this say about women in Norse culture and how does this compare to other cultures?

• Women in Norse culture is given more respect and power compared to other cultures such as Greek mythology in which women were supposed to be subservient to men. In Freya’s unusual wedding, Freya was given a choice to decide whether to agree to be the bride of Thrym. 

Discuss with your groups: 

How do these stories reflect the Norse perspective on trickery and deception? (Think about duality)

• In the second story, Loki and Thor are deceiving Thrym and end up with a positive outcome by receiving Thor’s hammer back. But during the first story about Loki’s children, Fenrir was obviously tricked and deceived and that ended up causing Loki’s children becoming more and angrier at the Gods causing Ragnarok in the future.
• Relate it to how this shown in Norse culture and how Norse sees trickery and deception.

Think about both stories AND Ragnarok and how they relate to this question.

Kahoot!

Reflection: Although our team had run into technical issues, we were able to try our best to explain our points of the story across to the class. We weren’t able to touch a lot of connections between different cultures such as Ouroboros and women’s rights during our rush on time. This project was very helpful to get our team to get to know each other better and slowly bond over Norse mythology. The class was extremely thoughtful with their responses, even getting the exact answer that we were looking for. The day was a wonderful experience as we get to see the classroom from Ms. Fusaro’s point of view and tried our best to get every bit of analysis of the two stories to the class.