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Lesson 1

We will prepare to write our Culminating Task by breaking down the prompt and organizing the information and tools we have gathered and used throughout the unit. We will also review our previous activities and begin gathering evidence, as we move toward developing a thesis statement in the following lesson.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I plan an argument for various purposes and audiences by generating ideas through a range of strategies such as brainstorming, journaling, and discussing?

  • Can I develop my Culminating Task draft into a focused, structured, and coherent argument by using an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, topic, and context?

  • Can I compose argumentative essays using genre characteristics and craft?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will discuss the Central Question to think about the thematic ideas in the play before reviewing the Culminating Task.

Consider the Central Question for this unit:

  1. To whom or what do we owe our loyalty?

With a partner, discuss how we defined loyalty and how the concept relates to the thematic ideas you studied throughout the unit. Review the important evidence you have studied and discussed regarding this concept. In your discussion, be sure to consider what it means to be loyal, drawing both from Antigone as well as the supplemental texts you have studied.

Share insights from your discussion with the class.

Activity 2: Write – Discuss

We will brainstorm and generate the position we will use to answer the Culminating Task prompt.

Step 1

Consider the Culminating Task prompt you will be answering:

Compose an argumentative essay in which you assert who was justified, Creon or Antigone, regarding the body and burial rites of Polynices. Consider at least one of the thematic ideas we have studied to frame your argument: dictates of gods versus man-made laws, family loyalty versus citizenship, gender, civil disobedience, or pride.

Review your notes in your Learning Log and in your Character Argument Note-Taking Tool, considering your responses to the activities in previous lessons, the guiding questions we used for each preceding Section Diagnostic, and the texts to which they applied.

Consider the thematic ideas you have studied throughout the unit: family, religious law, civil law, gender, citizenship, and pride. Begin to think about which key thematic idea you want to focus on as you develop your response to the Culminating Task prompt.

Take 2-3 minutes to write down some ideas of how you might answer this prompt as a way to generate some ideas. Try to come up with three to four ways to respond.

Step 2

Answer the following questions:

  1. What do you need to know and be able to do in order to be successful on this task?

  2. What questions do you have?

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will think about what position we will take and begin to organize our ideas in response to the Culminating Task prompt.

Step 1

Brainstorm to determine your position on this argument. Begin to organize your ideas for writing a response to the Culminating Task prompt. This might involve clustering around a central idea, making a list of ideas and evidence, developing an outline, or using an organizational tool.

You might use a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool or an Organizing Evidence Tool to support your thinking, drawing key details from the texts you have read, along with your notes and tools.

Step 2

As this is an argumentative prompt, you should begin by choosing your position and writing a claim in response to the question. Follow these steps as you form your central claim:

  1. Determine which position you would like to argue (Creon is justified or Antigone is justified), and review the tools and notes you have developed for this idea.

  2. Think about the claims, evidence, and counterclaims that will support your chosen position.

  3. Having done this thinking, write or revise your claim. Make sure that the claim states your position based on the review of your work throughout the unit and brainstorming activity.

Step 3

Draft a paragraph that introduces and explains your position, considering your purpose and audience as you determine the tone and language you will use.

Your statement of position, or thesis, might be presented at the start of your paragraph as a topic sentence but could also come in the middle or at the end of your position paragraph.

Work with a writing partner to review your position paragraph using questions or criteria to determine how well the paragraph works and in what ways it might be improved.

Activity 4: Write

For homework, we will work to complete the Organizing Evidence Tool in order to prepare to draft our paragraphs.

Read the Organizing Evidence Tool in order to outline your argumentative essay. Follow along as your teacher demonstrates how to use this tool.

For homework, complete the tool. You will be using the information on the tool to form and organize your claims, evidence, and analysis as you draft your essay.