Lesson Plan #1
Oedipus Rex Introduction
10th grade / 45 – 50 minutes
Goal
Goal 1: Literature Students will predict probable future outcomes supported by the text,
including foreshadowing clues. (EL.HS.LI.04)
Objective
Objective 1.1 Given a quotation from the text, students will write a half page journal entry
containing a personal response that includes two reasons why the quote is a significant
foreshadowing clue.
Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills
Students need to know what the term “foreshadowing” means.
Materials/Equipment/Supplies
Overhead projector
Transparency of “Typical Structure of a Tragedy”
Sphinx riddle prompt
Background summary on Oedipus' story
24 copies of “Agree/Disagree”
Chalkboard or whiteboard
Procedure
A. Anticipatory Set
10 minutes
Pass out copies of “Agree/Disagree” to students. Read each prompt aloud and inform students
to independently write an “A” for agree or a “D” for disagree next to each statement based on their
personal opinion. Tell them to pair up and share their similarities and differences. Ask for groups to
volunteer what they agreed and disagreed on to open up class discussion. Asking students to discuss
which statements they felt strongly about may be helpful.
B. Teaching
35 minutes
After students' interest is spiked, they will be taking notes on the typical structure of Greek
tragedy. Ask if students can identify any type of structural elements of a play before you introduce the
differences in structure between Greek dramatic tragedy and traditional plays. Using the overhead
transparency of “Typical Structure of a Tragedy,” inform the students of the structural term, the
definition of the term and an example of where it is found within the text. Give students time to write
before moving on to the next term. Look around the room while they write. Help those who may
struggle with the words.
Ask students, “are you familiar with the riddle of the Sphinx?” Introduce the background of the
Sphinx that allows Oedipus to take over as King of Thebes. Hand out paper slips with the Sphinx riddle
typed upon it. Let the students partner up and allow time to try and solve it. Write student answers on
the board. After a few minutes of guessing, tell the students the right answer. Further explain how the
Sphinx played a role in Oedipus' destiny. This is a good way to introduce the background history of
Oedipus and the prophecy of his fate. Read the short summary of Oedipus' history.
Now that students know more about the background, provide time for them to respond to a
quotation from the text. Read the quotation then provide students with the journal prompt. Briefly
explain what they are to write about (how this quote could be a foreshadowing clue). Providing an
example from your own life might help the students connect it to theirs.
C. Group Application
Students will get into pairs during the “Agree/Disagree” activity. Here they will exchange their
responses and comment on their partner's. They will work in groups to help solve the riddle of the
Sphinx.
D. Independent Application
Students will fill in the “Agree/Disagree” statements independently before sharing with a
partner. They will take notes independently and also provide a personal response in their journal
without the help or input of others.
E. Closure
5 minutes
To close the lesson, ask if a few students would share what they wrote for their journal entry.
This will allow students to share their ideas with others and provide some with a deeper level of
thinking. If there are no volunteers, pick out popsicle sticks to provide a random group of students
sharing.
Meeting Varying Needs
Some students may not be used to taking notes. This could pose a problem to those not trained
in note-taking or that have a short attention span. To counter this, the note-taking session should not be
more than 15 minutes, ten preferred. Go over each term thoroughly and allow time for students to write
everything given on the transparency. Also, as main components of notes are being addressed,
underline on overhead transparency important, specific words and phrases for them to record. The three
ELL's may not understand the vocabulary and word phrasings so break it down very clearly to them.
Provide extra support to those students to check their understanding of the vocabulary. There are two
students who have very short attention spans. Make sure the notes are short and concise so they will not
cause them to lose focus or cause behavioral issues.
Formative Assessment
As a formative assessment, students will write a half-page journal entry on the quotation being
used as a foreshadowing clue. To see that students have met this objective, they will need to complete
roughly a half-page and include two reasons why this quote works as a clue to infer what might happen
in the text of Oedipus Rex.
Assisting students one-on-one also allows assessment of their progress. Short class discussions
during the “Agree/Disagree” and sharing of personal responses can lead to an informal assessment of
comprehension level.
Reflection
I did not make many changes to this lesson while teaching it. Everything went smoothly and
according to plan in terms of what I had prepared. I credit this to my over-planning and organization
skills. What I did focus more on was the note-taking. I used an overhead marker and wrote some
helpful hints on the transparency for them. I also went through each structural element and highlighted
the important words, which is what my mentor has taught them in previous classes.
During the lesson, there were two students that distracted the learning environment by talking
often. The first time, I stopped and waited for their attention. The second, I asked them to be respectful
and not talk while others are learning. The third, and last time, I had to threaten to separate them from
their neighbors. They were fine during the rest of the period.
While reading the summary aloud of Oedipus' history and the riddle of the Sphinx, I feel that I
read too fast. Students seemed to understand, which I found out in the following discussion, but some
information might have slipped by them due to my rapid reading. Plus, my students are unfamiliar with
the material and it was unfair of me to move through it so quickly without thinking of their needs. I
think it was my nerves that caused me to read aloud so fast.
If I did this lesson over again, I would read the information slower to increase comprehension.
Also, I would do more with the material provided in the notes. Underlining what is important probably
isn't enough for them to carry it into the next lesson. Maybe I should incorporate an activity to get them
up, moving and working directly with the material in the notes. I have an open-note quiz planned for
the next lesson involving the notes, but offering them a way to study those notes might help them learn
the material better. The information is essential to understanding what is going on in the play while
they read.
Overall, students did learn the objective. Their responses were personal, yet explored the
possible outcomes in the text given some background knowledge of Oedipus' past. The responses
showed careful thought and themes that I noted to explore later during reading. Each student touched
upon the two themes, but only a few went into the depth that I was looking for. There were a few that
did not make it a half-page entry, but that always seems to be an issue with this group of students. Upon
further reflection, I wonder if the prompts might have been too hard to expand upon, or that they didn't
have enough background information to write something worth analyzing. Since there was a lack of
depth, maybe I could rephrase the prompts I gave or maybe chose a quote that they could better relate
to given the background knowledge I provided in the first lesson.
After this lesson, I learned to have confidence in myself as an educator. I was prepared, but
nervous. After the lesson was complete, I felt that I did well. I held myself well, was prepared and held
their attention.