***+Resource+3

 **Interactive page featuring factual descriptions of Greek Gods, Goddesses and Heroes**


 * __Explanation of the resource __**

The Odyssey Online website is an interactive resource which allows young children to actively explore various aspects of Ancient Greece. The site is a rich source of information that covers distinguished topics such as Gods, Goddesses and Heroes, Geography, Architecture and Greek democracy. With its creative use of animation, the website is also highly engaging for young students. As children navigate through, they are able to access images and written text that assist in building their understanding of the culture and beliefs of the Ancient Greeks. The website further helps contribute to students independently learning about Greek mythology which is featured throughout the unit.

__**Relevance to the focus outcome **__

With the focus of our unit being on Greek mythology as part of Ancient Greek culture, the Odyssey Online website is a highly appropriate classroom tool for discovering how Ancient Greeks lived and the systems they based their ideologies on. As described in the HSIE syllabus, the focus outcome outlines that as part of the learning process, students study traditional stories about significant people and entities of major world beliefs (Board of Studies NSW, 2007, p. 55). Using this website provides a direct link to relevant information, drawing students’ attention particularly to the topic of the myths behind some of the Greek gods and goddesses. As students read and explore, they can begin to develop an understanding and appreciation for the cultural aspects surrounding Ancient Greek belief. The resource is clearly effective in helping children work toward the fulfilling of the chosen HSIE outcome, that states students must “describe different viewpoints, ways of living, languages and belief systems in a variety of communities” (Board of Studies NSW, 2007, p. 54).

__**Aspect of literacy explored **__

As the text type students are working towards is a Factual Description, the Odyssey Online website is highly useful in providing examples that are already written in an age appropriate form within an engaging context. The site can be referred to in lessons within the unit when exploring the structural features and the grammatical components of the chosen text type, drawing from examples of factual descriptions written on the Greek gods and goddesses such as Aphrodite, Demeter and Hercules.In exploring the content of the descriptions, teachers can help students understand how the social purpose of the specific text type is to describe the characteristic features of particular people, places or objects (Droga & Humphrey, 2003, p. 133). The website’s descriptions also follow the correct structure of factual descriptions, including the main features of Identification and Description of the subject matter- this provides the class with a useful tool that assists them in analyzing each feature and supports their learning to distinguish factual descriptions from other text types.The key grammatical features of the chosen text type are also included in the descriptions shown on the site, which students can practice identifying within a lesson; paying close attention to elements such as the use of particular nouns, action verbs to describe activities and behaviours, as well as different types of adjectives and the use of adverbials to provide detail about where, how, what and more (Droga & Humphrey, 2003, p. 133). The Odyssey Online website is an effective resource in helping build children’s understanding of the Factual Description text type by using the provided examples as a tool in working toward the creation of the final multimodal text. Not only do the examples follow the appropriate structure and contain the key grammatical features of the chosen text type, they also deal with content relevant to the unit within a context that is engaging for young students.

__**References **__


 * Board of Studies NSW (2007). Human society and its environment k-6 syllabus. Sydney: Author.
 * Droga, L., & Humphrey, S. (2003). //Grammar and meaning: An introduction for primary teachers.// Sydney: Target Texts.
 * Emory University (2007). Stories of gods, goddesses and heroes. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from[| http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/GREECE/home.html]


 * Shelah Mary Magtibay**