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A Gilgamesh Play For Teen Readers: A Tale of the First Myth & Legend of Ancient Mesopotamia for Middle & High Schoolers | 
| Author: Jerry L Parks
Publisher: Weekly Reader Teacher's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $10.95
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 579912
Media: Paperback
Edition: 0
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 54
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.1 x 0.3
ISBN: 0595423493
EAN: 9780595423491
ASIN: 0595423493
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
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Condition: Brand New! Perfect Condition!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The oldest story known to man. In a teaching unit, performable play format, A Gilgamesh Play for Teen Readers tells the essence of the Gilgamesh story without the archaic (and often inappropriate) language. It is the only such format of the story, and furnishes teachers a thorough and interesting background regarding the world of young people in ancient Mesopotamia. The author is a National Board Certified Teacher, and has taught middle school for over twenty years.
Because there are so few plays on the story of Gilgamesh geared to teens, this play was created to fill the void. Although not an exact retelling of the story, the play furnishes a great deal of insight into the ancient Mesopotamian culture, as well insight into the story of Gilgamesh. The play features:
.Probing questions on various themes for teenage discussion
.Themes listed for the teacher use in a quick-reference
.A quick-reference Sumer-cabulary with keywords bolded in the play
.Pre-teaching suggestions for teachers
.A complete Sumerian 'further reference list' for teachers to utilize
The story is the legend of the great king Gilgamesh, and the eventual tragedy of his friendship with Enkidu--lord of the wild. It was written by a Sumerian, but was absorbed into later Babylonian culture. Because of Gilgamesh's arrogance and pride, the gods created Enkidu--a warrior as powerful as the king--in order to teach the king humility. The warriors became friends and had many adventures together. But the evil goddess Ishtar punished Enkidu with an untimely death sentence, and Gilgamesh undertook a long journey in search of Utnoa (Utnapishtim) the Faraway--survivor of the Great Flood--who possessed the secret of immortality. At the story's end, the fruit benefits neither the king nor his friend, but ironically, Gilgamesh--through his timeless story--has indeed become immortal.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
"My students loved the play; I loved the insightful questions which gave my students a week's worth of writing prompts!" September 15, 2008
K. Chettri (Maryland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Just finished (3 days) using this play with 8th graders. The kids enjoyed the play (though the 'surprise' ending was considered a bit too cute for them), while I was impressed with the many (many) insightful and analytical questions provided after each 'tablet'.
Also helpful to the teacher are the lists of topics which could lend themselves to a week's worth of class discussion. I would recommend 1-2 days using the 'Sumer-vocabulary' to prepare the students. About 3 days is right for reading aloud the play, although I had tryouts (kids loved this). There are too many questions to assign them all, but I had the kids do about a third of them.
Writing lends itself to predicting outcomes, reflecting, analysis, and (as mentioned) much topical discussion.
There is a dearth of performable material on Mesopotamia, and this whole book is very good. I just wish it were less expensive so that we could buy a classroom set instead of having to copy the script (legal, I hope!).
In short, I was amazed at how thoroughly this little book covered the stories, traditions, vocabulary, inventions, names, and parallel mythology of ancient Mesopotamia.
'Wonderful and performable play of the world's first great story" August 4, 2007
Dr. Elizabeth Delong
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Anyone teaching ancient history, especially the Sumerian culture, understands that the story of Gilgamesh is one of the first and greatest stories every told. But there are few teaching models which teens will enjoy as much as this performable play which covers most of the story without exposing younger teens to the sometimes inappropriate aspects of the epic.
The book includes a wonderfully helpful vocabulary of ancient Sumerian terms, as well as a (very) short history of the background of the story.
The finest inclusion is a long list of themes in the Gilgamesh story. Teachers can take these to infinite lesson-applications.
Teens learn best by doing--not by lecture--and although this is more of a reading of roles than actual performing, nevertheless, it is an excellent treatment of this wonderful story of friendship, pride, humility, and death.
Who knew ancient history could be this fun?!! March 2, 2007
Darcy C. (Kentucky)
"A Gilgamesh Play for Teen Readers" is a GREAT teaching resource! I've taught seventh grade social studies ancient history for a number of years, and this play exactly fits the bill! Written for teens, this play tells the classic story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu in language that middleschoolers can understand and learn from. Sumerian culture and history are embedded so subtly, that students won't realize how much they've learned!
For teachers, this book offers reading within the content areas, excellent higher level thinking questions, and enough open-ended questions to lead students to write at a deeper level than simple lecture would lend itself to. Students become engaged with the material, are active participants in learning, and become engaged and proactive learners through this play.
I hope the author writes more plays like this, his talent and understanding of middle schoolers certainly shines through! This is the same author as the book "Teacher Under Construction", a how-to book on teaching at this level. I highly recommend this book to all teachers, public, private, and home-schools, who work with students in this study.
Who knew ancient history could be so fun?
Fun and Education Together in One Well-Designed Work February 24, 2007
Alfred D. Byrd (Lexington, KY USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
When I read "A Gilgamesh Play for Teen Readers," I became jealous of today's middle-schoolers. I don't recall there being, when I was their age, anything both as fun and as informative as this play is. Dr. Parks has written a fast-paced entertainment that's also a masterpiece of education. While playing a variety of vivid and well-drawn characters, the students will learn, not only the main points of oldest epic poem still in existence, but also the heart of the world's first civilization.
In his play Dr. Parks does something brilliant and unexpected. He doesn't just retell the story of Gilgamesh; he sets it within a larger story in which all kinds of Sumerians go about their everyday lives of study, work, and play. Thus, the actors and the audience don't just relive the mythical friendship of Gilgmesh and Enkidu, and its tragic outcome at the hands of the jealous goddess Inanna, but they also see how the epic reflects the lives of the Sumerians who imagined it, and what it meant to them.
Beyond the play itself, Dr. Parks has filled his compact book with a number of valuable resources. His introduction gives an overview of Sumerian civilization and a summary of its greatest story, as well as a comprehensive list of themes and topics that one can teach from the play. Some of the scenes (or "tablets") of the play end in lists of questions that challenge the students to reach a deeper level of understanding of what they've acted. Finally, there's a "Sumer-cabulary" that clearly explains key terms highlighted in the play.
Too often, students miss the lessons of history because they're taught dully and dryly. Students who benefit from "A Gilgamesh Play for Teen Readers" will retain history's lessons as these come to life around them and become part of them.
"'A nice adaptation of the Gilgamesh story which can 'safely' be used in a public school classroom" February 23, 2007
Amira
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is nicely done in an 8 by 11 format, which made it easy for my high schoolers to follow the script in class. I have to say that even though it is listed for teen readers, it might be a little more middle school oriented. The script--though an excellent adaptation of the Gilgamesh story--appeared to be a little trite for older kids.
The play begins in a Sumerian classroom, and the setting is not a part of the Gilgamesh story. Only about halfway through does the actual Gilgamesh Epic begin. This is actually a nice touch, by giving students a more thorough exposure to Sumerian customs. The ending is a nice touch, reverting back to the setting.
The play is nice, but to be honest, the reflective questions at the end of the chapters are the strength of this little booklet. If you are teaching Sumerian life, they are probing, analytical, and insightful.
Since there's really nothing to compare this to, I guess I'd say it's excellent. It certainly is the finest adaptation of the Gilgamesh story which can `safely' be used in a public school classroom.
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