Oedipus Rex
By: Sophocles
Bernadine Julius
South Park High School
Buffalo School District
Ms. J. Weber
Fall 2009
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This lesson was prepared for
a 12th grade Advance
Placement English class.
Class size consist of twentyfive students.
There were no students
classified as having a
learning disability, however
due to the high rate of
absenteeism some student
were continually behind.
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To ensure students gain an insight into Greek
tragedy and such concepts as fate, hubris, and
dramatic irony. The student will also learn the
origin and development of drama in Athens in
the 5th and 6th centuries BC.
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This 44 minute lesson
was part of a three
week unit plan on
Oedipus Rex.
Students who were
not in class was given
a daily synopsis of
the material
presented during
their absence.
1.0 The learners will be
able to list and give
examples of the
seven conventions of
a Greek tragedy.
2.0 The learners will be
able to defend their
interpretation of the
play Oedipus Rex in
the form of an essay.
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How is the
character’s tragic
flaw, both a burden
and a virtue?
What is a hero and
what does a hero
do?
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The students should understand the
conventions of classical tragedy as set
forth by Macedonian philosopher
Aristotle.
The students will understand that the
qualities that defines a hero are
timeless.
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How does the medieval concept of tragedy differ
from that of classical tragedy.
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Why is Oedipus considered a tragic hero?
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Why is Oedipus Rex considered a tragedy?
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How would you interpret the role of the chorus?
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The student will create a literary interpretive
essay using the NY State Regents Exam
Critical Lens as a guideline.
The students are to perform a modern day
interpretation of the text.
The students will read the text aloud and
make reasonable interpretations based on
the text.
NYS LEARNING STANDARD
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Level: Commencement (Grade12)
Learning Standard: ELA
Key Idea: Writing
Standard: (2) Literary Response and Expression
Performance Indicator: Use resources such as personal
experience, knowledge from other content areas and
independent reading to create literary, interpretive, and
responsive text.
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The NY State Regents Board (ELA – Writing)
Rubric
 Meaning – 6 points
 Development – 6 points
 Organization – 6 points
 Language Use -6 points
 Convention - 6 points
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Critical Lens Response
We may ask, what is the point of the Greek tragedies that have come
down to us if it is not that life is not one-sided and simple? To say,
furthermore, that life lacks the sunny optimism of the Greeks and is,
instead, marked with a sense of sin, is to ignore chorus after chorus in
the Greek tragedies, representing, in effect, the ideal spectator and the
author himself, in which we see a basically pessimistic view of life. One
thinks of the last lines of the most famous play of all, Sophocles'
Oedipus the King: "Here is the truth of each man's life: we must wait and
see his end, scrutinize his dying day, and refuse to call him happy till he
has crossed the border of his life without pain." That this was not an
isolated sentiment but one widely held and influential, may be seen from
its occurrence in Herodotus, who quotes it in the name of the revered
wise leader Solon, Euripides, Aristotle and many more. To judge a man
before his death will be judging him unjustly because only after death is
a person’s deed truly visible.
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“You can not judge how a person life is in the
present because it can always change in the
future. I agree with the quote because many
times in life a person’s position changes for
the worse. I will use two literary works that
support this quote.”
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Meaning=6
Development= 6
Organization= 6
Language Use= 5
Convention= 5
Total
28 out of 30
Comment: Very well written and thoughtful
essay. Good job in interpreting the actual
meaning of the quote.
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“No man can be happy in life if he endures
pain whether it is physical or emotional. I do
not agree with this quote.”
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Meaning=4
Development= 4
Organization= 5
Language Use= 5
Convention= 5
23 out of 30
Comment: Your essay was very detailed with
many supporting facts. The sentences were
clear and fluent. More implicit connections
between information in the text to the
assigned task needed to be made.
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“The story supports my opinion about the
statement by Oedipus because both White
Fang and The Outsider grow from their
person pain and is happy in the end.”
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Meaning=2
Development= 4
Organization= 6
Language Use= 5
Convention= 5
22 out of 30
Comment: I agree with what you wrote, but
the essay did not connect with the quote.
Provide more supporting details and
develop your ideas more thoroughly.
Instructional
Students were permitted to come during their
study hall and or the teacher’s prep time for
extra help or missing material.
Content
The teacher provides a synopsis of each act
for the students to review. Students can pick
one up only after the material has been
covered and discussed in class.
Task
Time will be allowed for any student who is
absent or need extra time to finish test,
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Show the theatrical version of the play
after reading portions of the text.
Give students more time to work on their
skit.
Have more student lead discussions.
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After asking the students, how I could improve on
the lesson, the students informed me that I could
have shown the movie after each act instead of
waiting until the end.
Review journals more frequently.
Put some of my management
procedures in my modifications.
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Thank you to my wonderful peer review
group: Yolanda, Jennifer, Shirley, Ashley and
Mr. Arnold. I could not have done this
without your guidance, recommendations and
thoughtful feedback.