Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Antigone, Sophocles (translated by Robert Fagles), Penguin Books, 1984

• • “Unburied: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy,” Daniel Mendelsohn, The New Yorker, 2013

• • Excerpts from “The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times,” Dr. Evelyne Ender and Dr. David Steiner, Odell Education, 2020

Materials

Tools

• Excerpts from “The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times”

• Delineating Arguments Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide
• Argument Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Antigone: Section 4 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Delineating Arguments Tool

• Antigone: Section 4 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: View – Listen – Present

We will complete our group reenactments of crucial scenes in Antigone.

Your group will either present your dramatic reenactment of your chosen scene from Antigone, or you will be an audience member watching the reenactments.

As an audience member, consider the guiding questions as you watch other reenactments:

1. What makes the scene the group chose to reenact important?

2. What tone did the actors establish? For example, were they serious or comic? To what extent did the tone reflect that of the scene?

3. Did the group incorporate any movement or gestures to draw out details from the scene?

4. Did the group omit any important exchanges or details from the scene?

5. Did you feel any empathy, anger, or other emotions while the group portrayed the scene? What sparked the emotion?

After each performance, reflect in your Learning Log by responding to Questions 1 and 3 above.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will reread paragraphs of a scholarly essay on Antigone to write a written analysis of a claim made by the author.

Reread the Learning from Experience section from Excerpted Handout of "The Story of Antigone: A Play, a Text, a Myth for All Times." Review your Delineating Arguments Tool for this section.

With a partner, develop a written response to the following question:

1. What claim does Dr. Ender make about listening? Why is this so important in the context of Antigone? Use support from the text in your response.

Share your response with another pair and discuss where your responses differed.

Activity 3: Write – Listen

As a class, we will participate in a barometer activity prior to reading and delineating arguments in a newspaper article.

Step 1

Consider the following statement:

Everyone deserves to have a burial rite performed when they die.

In your Learning Log write down one word, phrase, or sentence that communicates how you feel about this statement.

Step 2

You will now share this word, phrase, or sentence with the class. Each class member will share, but this is not a time for debate or an attempt to persuade someone to your side. This is an activity that will let us, as a class, have an idea of our opinion at this time.

Step 3

In your Learning Log, complete a quick-write on the following question:

1. What trends did you notice in the responses of your classmates?

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will read “Unburied: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy” by Daniel Mendelsohn and delineate the arguments made in the article.

Step 1

Review the definitions and work completed previously in your Vocabulary Journal for the terms issue, perspective, position, supporting claim, and evidence.

Step 2

Listen as your teacher provides background information on the article.

On your own, read and annotate "Unburied: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy" by Daniel Mendelsohn.

Use the following questions to guide your reading:

1. Which character from Antigone would most likely say the opening quotation of the article? What evidence supports your thinking?

2. What arguments might the protesters have for Tsarnaev’s burial?

3. Would Tsarnaev be considered a soldier? Why or why not?

4. For what purpose does the author discuss Antigone?

5. Compare the intended audience of Antigone to the intended audience of Mendelsohn’s article. How does the intended audience of each text impact how each author delivers his message?

6. How do the topics in the article relate to the themes in Antigone?

7. In relation to Antigone, what alternate solution do Martha Mullen’s actions provide as a resolution?

8. In regard to Tsarnev, based on what you have read in the article, what is your response to the question: To bury or not to bury?

Step 3

In a small group, use the Delineating Arguments Tool to identify the issue, the author’s perspective, the author’s position, supporting claims and evidence, counterclaims, and the chain of reasoning.

Discuss the following questions:

9. How does the controversy over the Boston Marathon bomber's body reflect the issues in the play Antigone?

10. How does an understanding of Antigone help us understand the circumstance and controversy over Tsarnaev?

Share your group’s responses and thoughts in a class discussion.

Activity 5: Discuss

As a class we will discuss “Unburied: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy.”

Step 1

Revisit the word, phrase or statement that you wrote prior to reading "Unburied: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy."

Now that you have read the article, has your response to the statement below changed?

Everyone deserves to have a burial rite performed when they die.

In your Learning Log, write a reflection about why your response changed, or why it did not.

Step 2

In relation to the article about Tamerlan Tsarvaev, how has your thinking about the overall play changed or not changed as a result of reading the article? Write a response in your Learning Log.

Step 3

Follow your teacher’s directions on how to share your responses to the questions about the article.