Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan
Standard: RL.9-10.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other
characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Objective:
Students will understand the complexity that a character can contribute to the text in the form of plot development and character development.
Introduction:
The students will have already read the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and have already discussed the plot of the play. The students will have already understood the common theme of fate vs freewill. The lesson will begin with a classroom discussion where we begin with the question, “was it fate that drove Oedipus to fulfill the oracle or was it his own free will that drove him towards the fulfillment of the prophecy?”
Procedure:
The discussion will ensue between our students and us, leading them to our next activity. Within groups, they will need to come to a consensus of whether or not it was free will or fate that caused Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy. From there, in groups, the students will need to fill out a chart that shows how Oedipus interacted with the other characters and how the characters’ decisions pointed to the relationship being either free will or fate.
Conclusion of the lesson:
We will give them a handout to a song that summarizes the entirety of the play. Through this song, a summary will help to not only clear up plot line confusion
but to help the students to see how literature can be conveyed in a multitude of ways. Each of the groups will then present their ideas for their peers and following the last group, we would open it up to classroom discussion to talk about how each character contributes to the entirety of the free will vs fate theme. This classroom discussion would help students to discern the advancement of complexity that exists within characters and how they relate to each other.
characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Objective:
Students will understand the complexity that a character can contribute to the text in the form of plot development and character development.
Introduction:
The students will have already read the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and have already discussed the plot of the play. The students will have already understood the common theme of fate vs freewill. The lesson will begin with a classroom discussion where we begin with the question, “was it fate that drove Oedipus to fulfill the oracle or was it his own free will that drove him towards the fulfillment of the prophecy?”
Procedure:
The discussion will ensue between our students and us, leading them to our next activity. Within groups, they will need to come to a consensus of whether or not it was free will or fate that caused Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy. From there, in groups, the students will need to fill out a chart that shows how Oedipus interacted with the other characters and how the characters’ decisions pointed to the relationship being either free will or fate.
Conclusion of the lesson:
We will give them a handout to a song that summarizes the entirety of the play. Through this song, a summary will help to not only clear up plot line confusion
but to help the students to see how literature can be conveyed in a multitude of ways. Each of the groups will then present their ideas for their peers and following the last group, we would open it up to classroom discussion to talk about how each character contributes to the entirety of the free will vs fate theme. This classroom discussion would help students to discern the advancement of complexity that exists within characters and how they relate to each other.
Oedipus Rex by Tom Lehrer