The Odyssey Activity: Creative Writing, Epic Poem Assessment

Looking for a fun alternative assessment for The Odyssey or The Iliad?

When they complete this innovative creative writing assignment, students will demonstrate their understanding of the characteristics of an epic poem, as well as of the world view and tone of the epic poems, by writing an original short story.

They might not be battling real gods or monsters, but any students who have battled for the last sandwich in the lunch line or struggled to get to first period before the bell know that high school is like an epic poem! Now they’ll have the chance to tell their story that way.

Included in this packet are

—a prompt for students

—questions on the characteristics of epic poems with an answer key

—prewriting questions to inspire students to get creative

—and a rubric to grade their final product.

Students will love the chance to get creative with their writing, and you will love the fun-to-read and easy-to-grade assignment.