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Section 1: Overview

Greek Traditions, Tragedy, and Introductions in Antigone

We will explore background cultural information on Greek theater, traditions, and customs of the period, as well as the playwright Sophocles. We will begin reading Antigone, meet the main characters, and begin to discuss the major themes and topics of the play, which will frame our analysis as we support our claims and delve into the Central Question: To whom or what do we owe our loyalty?

  • Lesson 1:

    We will learn about the unit’s Central Question and complete an Anticipation Guide to activate prior knowledge and prepare for our reading. We will build background knowledge central to understanding the play Antigone by engaging in a jigsaw activity.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will continue to build background knowledge for Antigone and read the beginning of the play (Lines 1–116). We will also learn how to annotate text, acquire new vocabulary, and delineate arguments.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will continue to read and explore Antigone through new characters, speeches, and dialogue. We will also begin to look at character arguments, claims, and perspectives.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will read the end of the first section of Antigone and add to our understanding of Creon and Antigone’s characters. We will continue to add to our tools with appropriate textual evidence to scaffold to our Culminating Task.

  • Lesson 5:

    We have read historical context for Antigone and heard the beginnings of Antigone’s and Ismene’s argument regarding what to do with the body of their slain brother, Polynices. The new king, Creon, mandates that the body not be buried. To demonstrate our understanding of the arguments, we will write responses using specific details from the text that analyze why Creon has ordered that Polynices not be buried.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 7:

    We will commence an Independent Reading Program in which we choose texts to read independently as we progress through the unit. We will learn how to choose texts, what activities we may complete, about the final task, and about any materials we will use as we read our independent reading texts. We will begin by reading our texts, using tools to help us take notes and analyze important textual elements.