M1: Antigone Powerpoint Presentation

See the Powerpoint document entitled M1 Antigone PPT.ppt.

M2: Relevant Background

Name _______________________

RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON GREECE & ANTIGONE

RELIGION

Religion was important to the ancient Greeks because they believed that it would make their lives better while they were living. They also believed the gods would take care of them when they died.

The ancient Greeks were polytheistic, they believed in many different gods and goddesses.

poly many, more than one the/o god -ist one who believes in -ic (-tic, -ical, -ac) having to do with

The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses controlled everything, from the waves in the ocean to the winner of a race. Each god or goddess controlled one or two major aspects of life. Greeks built temples in every town for one god or goddess. Temples were large and beautiful buildings where Greeks went to pray or sacrifice animals. The sacrificed animals were considered gifts to the gods. Greeks were especially likely to sacrifice animals at festivals in honor of the gods. The festivals included plays, music, dancing, and then a parade to the temple where they made their sacrifices and had a feast. One temple (below) still standing today is the Parthenon, built in honor of Athena, who was the goddess of wisdom and war.

The Greeks believed that all of the gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus. As mentioned earlier, all of the gods and goddesses had specific roles. For example, Zeus was the supreme leader of the gods, Hermes was the messenger of the gods, and Poseidon was the god of the sea. Later, the Romans also worshipped these gods and goddesses but gave them different names.

There were other places where they could go to pray. These holy sites were known as oracles. Here the Greeks and the priest of the temple would pray to the gods and ask a question about their futures. They believed the gods answered their questions using signs in nature. For example, at the oracle of Zeus at Dodona, you would write your question on a slab of lead then

give it to the priest, who listened to the rustling leaves of sacred oak trees to tell you the god's answer.

Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses

Romans borrowed their gods and goddesses from the Greeks and gave them new names. Below is a chart of the Greek and Roman names of the God or Goddess and a description of what they were believed to control.

Greek Name Roman Name Responsibilities

Aphrodite

Venus

goddess of beauty and love

Ares

Mars

god of war

Artemis

Diana goddess of hunting and

childbirth

Athena

Minerva goddess of war, wisdom, and

crafts

Demeter

Ceres

goddess of the harvest

Hera

Juno protector of women; wife of

Zeus/Jupiter

Hermes

Mercury

messenger of the gods

Hades

Pluto

god of the Underworld

Poseidon

Neptune

god of the sea

Zeus

Jupiter

king of the gods

RELIGION IN ANTIGONE

Both Creon’s and Antigone's actions are strongly guided by religion. The play takes place in the period just before the Trojan War, about 1250 BCE; this was not the Classical Greece of about 800 years later, when the play was written. This was a time when superstition was quite strong, and science was not yet a dream of the future.

GOVERNMENT

The Greeks had a lot of different kinds of governments, because there were many different city-states in ancient Greece, and they each had their own government. In addition, people's ideas about what made a good government changed over time.

Aristotle divided Greek governments into monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies and democracies, and most historians still use these same divisions. For the most part, Greece began by having monarchies, then oligarchies, then tyrannies and then democracies, but at each period there were plenty of city-states using a different system, and there were many which never did become democracies or tyrannies at all.

Ancient Greece was divided into many small areas called city-states. The above picture is of Athens, the largest city-state in ancient Greece. Since the land was very mountainous, city-states were separated from each other, and it was very difficult to travel from one to another. Although Greeks within the city-states had similar traditions and trusted the same gods, they often fought with one another. Everyone was stubborn and believed that their city-state was better than all other city-states.

Since city-states were separated from each other, each had its own government. When city-states were first formed, they were ruled by a few wealthy men. However, they moved toward democracy.

Democracy means rule by the people. In a democracy, the people vote on who they want to be their leaders. In Athens, the people were divided into three groups:

1. Upper class - male citizens of Athens since birth 2. Middle class - males who were not born in Athens 3. Lower class - slaves

Only men who were born in Athens were allowed to vote. They did this at public assemblies where upper class citizens discussed laws that might benefit Athens. These assembly meeting often got very noisy and led to many arguments between the men who were there.

GOVERNMENT IN ANTIGONE

Antigone takes place in Bronze Age Thebes, sometime during the 1200s B.C. Sophocles uses the legends of the family of Oedipus (Antigone’s father) in order to explore social and political issues of his time. Attending the theatre was a civic and religious duty in Sophocles’ time. By setting his play in a time period 800 years before his own, he could explore social and political issues without offending those currently in power. He uses the authoritarian rule of Creon and the strong-willed Antigone to warn against the dangers of dictatorship and to highlight the status of women in Greek society. Creon is the king: what the king says is law, and going against him is a punishable offense. Though he can create any laws he wants, he must still obey the gods.

FUNERAL RITES

As seen in the literature of ancient Greece, tombs and rituals of the wealthy were extravagant. Gold and jewels were essential grave offerings of respectable and honored tombs, perhaps used as a way to display wealth and status. It seems the wealthier you were the more elaborate your final resting place. The ancient Greeks had distinct methods of burial, and it was often believed if you were not provided a proper burial along with the appropriate rituals, you were destined to suffer between worlds until your rites of passage into the underworld were completed. The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the psyche, or spirit of the dead, left the body as a little breath or puff of wind. The deceased was then prepared for burial according to the time-honored rituals. Ancient literary sources emphasize the necessity of a proper burial and refer to the omission of burial rites as an insult to human dignity. Relatives of the deceased, primarily women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals that were customarily of three parts: the prothesis (laying out of the body), the ekphora (funeral procession), and the interment of the body or cremated remains of the deceased. After being washed and anointed with oil, the body was dressed and placed on a high bed within the house. During the prothesis, relatives and friends came to mourn and pay their respects. Lamentation of the dead is featured in early Greek art at least as early as the Geometric period, when vases were decorated with scenes portraying the deceased surrounded by mourners. Following the prothesis, the deceased was brought to the cemetery in a procession, the ekphora, which usually took place just before dawn. Very few objects were actually placed in the grave, but monumental earth mounds, rectangular built tombs, and elaborate marble stelai and statues were often erected to mark the grave and to ensure that the deceased would not be forgotten. Immortality lay in the continued remembrance of the dead by the living. From depictions on white-ground lekythoi, we know that the women of Classical Athens made regular visits to the grave with offerings that included small cakes and libations.

FUNERAL RITES IN ANTIGONE

Antigone takes drastic action, risking her own life, when her brother is not allowed a proper burial. The belief that he would suffer between two worlds without a proper burial would have been very strong for her.

ROLE OF WOMEN Greek women had virtually no political rights of any kind and were controlled by men at nearly every stage of their lives. The most important duties for a city-dwelling woman were to bear children--preferably male--and to run the household. Duties of a rural woman included some of the agricultural work: the harvesting of olives and fruit was their responsibility, as may have been the gathering of vegetables. Since men spent most of their time away from their houses, Greek home life was dominated by women. The wife was in charge of raising the children, spinning, weaving and sewing the family´s clothes. She supervised the daily running of the household. In a totally slave-based economy, plentiful numbers of female slaves were available to cook, clean, and carry water from the fountain. Only in the poorest homes was the wife expected to carry out all these duties by herself. A male slave´s responsibilities were for the most part limited to being door-keeper and tutor to the male children. Click here for women's dress. Custom dictated that a Greek woman limit her time outside the house to visiting with her nearest female neighbors. Exceptions to this rigid social convention were weddings, funerals and state religious festivals in which women were expected to play prominent public roles. Click here for women and goddesses. Vase scenes portraying women inside their houses tend to be sparing in specific details. The common presence of columns suggests that women spent much of their time in the courtyard of the house, the one place where they could regularly enjoy fresh air. Greek cooking equipment was small and light and could easily be set up there. In sunny weather, women probably sat in the roofed-over areas of the courtyard, for the ideal in female beauty was a pale complexion.

ROLE OF WOMEN IN ANTIGONE Antigone’s sister, Ismene, believes that women should respect their place in society. Antigone speaks and acts to the contrary. Her actions in the play, illegal in the first place, are perceived as that much more radical given that she is a woman.

Source: http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/greecerome/

ORACLE AT DELPHI Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all Greece, and in theory all Greeks respected its independence. Built around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the omphalos - the center (literally navel) of the world. People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions about the future answered by the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. And her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything from when a farmer planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared war. Arguments over the correct interpretation of an oracle were common, but the oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more gold was provided. A good example is the famous incident before the Battle of Salamis when the Pythia first predicted doom and later predicted that a 'wooden wall' (interpreted by the Athenians to mean their ships) would save them. The lack of a strict religious dogma associated with the worship of Greek gods also encouraged scholars to congregate at Delphi, and it became a focal point for intellectual enquiry, as well as an occasional meeting place where rivals could negotiate. Delphi became a fantastic showcase of art treasures and all Greek states would send rich gifts to keep the Oracle on their side. It finally came to an end in the 4th century AD when a newly Christian Rome proscribed its prophesying.

THE ORACLE IN ANTIGONE Though the oracle is not directly consulted in Antigone, it played a central role in her father’s story, Oedipus Rex, and the curse on his house remains, informing Antigone’s chapter.

http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/7_p1.html

THEATRE OF DIONYSUS

Although the earliest performances of tragedy probably took place in the Athenian marketplace

(agora), eventually a site on the SE slope of the Acropolis was chosen for a theater dedicated

to Dionysus. It should be noted that Greek theaters are not free-standing architecture, but are

built into hills. Do not, however, imagine that the ruins of the Theater of Dionysus that one

sees today are anything like the fifth century BC theater in which the plays of Aeschylus,

Sophocles, and Euripides were performed. There were many alterations to theater of Dionysus

down to late antiquity. It was not until the late fourth century BC that the theater of Dionysus

was rebuilt in stone. During the age of the three great tragedians, the audience sat on wooden

benches on the hillside and watched actors perform in front of a wooden stage building.

The Theater of Dionysus

The Theater of Dionysus, built into the natural hollow of the south slope of the Acropolis, was

the world's first theater built of stone and the birthplace of Greek tragedy. This is where the

dramatic contests in the Greater Dionysia were held. Originally a place to honor the god

Dionysus in dance and song, in the fifth century the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

and Aristophanes were performed here. By the middle of the fifth century there was scenery in

the background, usually in the form of a building. The theater was built in several phases, each

of which corresponded, essentially, to the developments in ancient drama. What remains

today dates to the Roman Empire and could seat 17,000 spectators. The classical Greek

theater would have had a circular "orchestra" (literally, "dancing space", the flat, paved area in

front of the stage where the chorus sang and danced) instead of the semi-circular orchestra

which remains today.

http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/comedy/intro7.htm

http://www.grisel.net/dionysus.htm

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M3: The Story of Oedipus

Name _______________________

THE STORY OF OEDIPUS The child Oedipus is born to the royal couple, Laius (LAYus) and Jocasta (jaKOSta, but a grim prophecy hangs over the Theban (Thebes (THEEBS) is where they live) palace. The old king is warned that his son will kill him. In order to thwart fate, Laius and Jocasta abandon the infant Oedipus, with his feet bound, to starve on a barren mountainside.

Rescued by the shepherd who was supposed to leave the baby to starve, and delivered to the royal palace at Corinth by a messenger, Oedipus is raised as the son of the royal house. Life there is good, until Oedipus learns that a prophecy has named him as the murderer of his father and the husband of his mother. Determined to outwit fate, the young man flees the only home—and the only father—he has known.

Soon, the wandering Oedipus meets and kills a stranger at a crossroads, and part of the oracle’s prophecy is fulfilled. Oedipus doesn’t know it, but the murdered stranger is Laius, his real father. The wanderer has committed one of the very acts he fled Corinth to avoid.

Continuing his journey, Oedipus enters Thebes—he no longer remembers that this is where he was born—as a hero, having solved the riddle of the murderous Sphinx. The evil creature murdered travelers who could not solve its riddle; “What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs at night?” Oedipus is the first person to figure out the answer: As crawling infants, people travel on four limbs in the mornings of their lives. As adults, they travel upright on two limbs in the bright middays of their lives. As frail and elderly people tapping canes before them, they travel on three limbs in the twilights of their days.

Oedipus’ reward for solving the riddle is marriage to Jocasta, the Queen of Thebes. She is the widow of the recently murdered king, Laius, whose slaying is an unsolved crime at the time. Unfortunately, Jocasta doesn’t recognize Oedipus as her abandoned son, and this ill-fated marriage goes forward.

The gods demand vengeance for the death of Laius as the price of lifting the city’s punishment. Oedipus, who has been a wise and just ruler of the people who made him their king, is determined to seek justice. Through his efforts, he discovers that he is the murderer of Laius.

Before this search for the truth is complete, Jocasta figures out the secret and kills herself. When he discovers her body, Oedipus puts out his own eyes. He mourns the destruction of his family, apologizes to his daughters, and begs Creon, the new king (Jocasta’s brother) for banishment. His wish is granted. The girls become their uncle Creon’s wards, but their ill-fated brothers are left to look out for themselves.

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M4: Values Survey

Name _______________________

SURVEY: WHAT ARE YOU VALUES?

For each pair of principles/values below, imagine that they are in conflict with each other, and cannot coexist. Decide which of the two is more important to you; circle that one.

As you are completing the survey, think about which of the principles you might be willing to fight for or make a sacrifice to uphold.

Loyalty/obligation to family vs. Protection of community or nation

Loyalty/obligation to family vs. Upholding personal beliefs

Protection of community or nation

vs. Upholding personal beliefs

Obedience to civil law vs. Protection of community or nation

Obedience to civil law vs. Freedom

Obedience to civil law vs. Loyalty/obligation to family

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M5: Historical Figures Research Activity

Name _______________________

History Speaks

Overview We will be examining and debating the ideologies, loyalties, and culpability of the central characters in Sophocles’ Antigone, as well as the merits of civil disobedience as a tool for social change. Rather than doing this as ourselves, you will be assigned one of a number of historical figures representing a spectrum of political, social, and moral ideologies. You and a partner will learn about your historical figure, you will develop opinions on the play’s central characters based on your understanding, and you will get a chance to discuss it in a Socratic seminar with the other historical figures. Step One You and a partner will be assigned an historical figure, and be given time in the computer lab to research, take notes, and develop an in-depth understanding of this person and his or her beliefs. You will create a bibliography of the sites you use to learn about your character – you must use at least three sites. Your research should answer the following questions (see attached note guide).

⇒ What was this person’s position (profession) in society, and how much power did s/he wield?

⇒ What were the hot topics of the day? What social and political conflicts defined the era in which this person lived?

⇒ What were this person’s political, social, and moral ideologies? ⇒ How did s/he form his/her ideologies? Was it action, or reaction? ⇒ What is his/her vision of an ideal leader? ⇒ What is his/her stance on political loyalty? Family loyalty? The merits of civil

disobedience?

Step Two You will then determine your historical figure’s opinions of the central characters in Antigone. With your partner, examine each character through the lens of your historical figure. How would s/he feel about the decisions each character made? About each character’s actions? Loyalties? Next, stepping outside the specific story of Antigone and Creon, what are your historical figure’s opinions on civil disobedience? Does s/he see it as a tool for progress, or a hindrance to effective government? Prepare notes to use in a Socratic seminar. Be ready with both questions to ask your seminar-mates, and information about your own historical figure for personal reference.

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Step Three We will have the Socratic seminars in class. Each will be set up in a “fishbowl,” with one circle inside, participating, and one outside, observing. Inside each fishbowl will be ONE OF EACH historical figure.

The first Socratic session will focus its discussion on the characters, choices, and actions of the central figures in Antigone, with a focus on Antigone and Creon.

The second session, partners will switch places, and will discuss the broader question of civil disobedience, and whether it is a catalyst for social and political change, or an impediment to government and progress, endangering a nation’s citizens.

Please refer to the Socratic Seminar Guidelines for expectations and grading guidelines. At the end of class, you will have a chance to reflect on the experience, and grade yourself according to how you think you did. You will staple your observation and rubric to your bibliography, and hand them both in at the end of class. Do not forget to bring a copy of your bibliography to class.

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Historical Persons to Research

Plato He was an Ancient Greek writer, mathematician and philosopher. In one of his most famous works, The Republic, Plato analyzes the nature of justice and the proper way to rule a city-state. Queen Elizabeth I

She ruled over England from 1558 to 1603 during England’s Golden Age. King Louis XIV He ruled France from 1643 to 1715. As a strong advocate of the theory of the “Divine right of Kings,” he worked hard to create a strong centralized government in France. Thomas Hobbes He was a English philosopher whose most lasting impact was his popular political theories. John Locke He was an English philosopher and is considered by many to be the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers. Mary Wollstonecraft She was a British writer, philosopher, and feminist. Her most famous work was A Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792. Alexander Hamilton He was a founding father of the United States and a strong advocate of the formation of a strong federal government. Thomas Jefferson He was a founding father of the United States, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.

Che Guevara

He was a Marxist revolutionary and one of the primary figures in the Cuban Revolution. His famous visage has become a symbol for countercultural reform movements.

Rafael Trujillo

He ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961 when he was assassinated. His last decade of rule was marked by tyranny ad bloodshed. Rosa Parks She was an African-American civil rights activist. She has been called the “Mother of the modern-day civil rights movement.”

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Research Note Guide

Directions: As you research, take notes on the following topics. Be sure to keep track of your sources!

Historical Person: 1. What was this person’s position (profession) in society and how much power did they

wield? 2. What were the hot topics of the day? What were the social and political conflicts which

defined the era in which this person lived? 3. What were this person’s political, social, and moral ideologies? 4. How did s/he form his/her ideologies? Was it action, or reaction? 5. What is his/her vision of an ideal leader? 6. What is his/her stance on political loyalty? Family loyalty? The merits of civil

disobedience?

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M6 Civil Dis- and Obedience Exercises

Name _______________________

Debating Civil Disobedience: Analyzing Historical Perspectives

Directions: Read each selection bellow. On your own, summarize each document in your own words. Then, with your group members, list the arguments for and/or against the use of civil disobedience each selection makes. Note: some excerpts may have both arguments for AND against civil disobedience, read carefully!

Plato, “Crito, ” 399 B.C.E

Note: In the Crito, Crito, a faithful friend of Socrates, makes one last effort to persuade Socrates who has been sentenced to death by the courts, to escape and live in exile outside the city. In this dialogue, Socrates considers Crito’s plea and ultimately reasons that he must obey the laws of the city and face his execution. In this passage, Socrates is personifying the laws of Athens and explaining his reasoning from their perspective.

Socrates: [The laws] would continue “…Do you think you have this right to retaliation against your country and its laws? That if we undertake to destroy you and think it right to do so, you can undertake to destroy us, as far as you can, in return? And will you say you are right to do so, you who truly care for virtue? Is your wisdom such as not to realize that your country is to be honored more than your mother, your father, and all your ancestors, that it is more to be revered and more sacred, and that it counts for more among the gods and sensible men, that you must worship it, yield to it, and placate its orders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure, whether blows or bonds, and if it leads you into war to be wounded or killed, you must obey. To do so is right, and one must not give way or retreat or leave one’s post, but both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade it was to the nature of injustice. It is impious to bring violence to bear against your mother or father; it is much more so to use it against your country.”

Plato, Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, 2nd ed. Trans. Bu G. M. A. Grube. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2002.

Excerpt Summary:

Pro Civil Disobedience Arguments: Con Civil Disobedience Arguments:

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Alexander Hamilton, selected quotes, ca. 1787

All Communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and the well-born; the other, the mass of the people. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct and permanent share in the government.

Our great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are. Our prevailing passions are ambition and interest; it will be the duty of a wise government to control these passions in order to make them subservient to the public good.

----

Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of man will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/alexander_hamilton/

Excerpt Summary:

Pro Civil Disobedience Arguments: Con Civil Disobedience Arguments:

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Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience,” 1849

Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them? Why does it always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washington and Franklin Rebels?

Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience,” The Thoreau Reader. 2009 http://thoreau.eserver.org/default.html

Excerpt Summary:

Pro Civil Disobedience Arguments: Con Civil Disobedience Arguments:

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Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963

I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and halftruths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood….

I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and wit a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

Excerpt Summary:

Pro Civil Disobedience Arguments: Con Civil Disobedience Arguments:

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M7: Socratic Seminar Guidelines and Rubric

Name _______________________

SOCRATIC SEMINARS

Socrates believed that the best way to attain knowledge was through practiced and disciplined conversation. Socrates would feign ignorance about a topic in order to get his students to discuss it in as great detail as they were capable. Alternatively, in lieu of feigning ignorance, the facilitator can remove him/herself from discussion completely, and allow for entirely student led conversation.

Socratic Seminars in our classroom SET-UP We will divide into two groups; the first group will create a small circle in the middle of the classroom; the second group will create a larger circle around them. This is called a “fishbowl”; those on the outside are observing. After a set period of time, the group members will switch – inner circle will go to the outside and vice versa. INNER CIRCLE The inner circle is having the discussion. You should always have with you any and all materials you have prepared for use in discussion, in order to make references, and support your argument. OUTER CIRCLE The outer circle is observing and observing ONLY. This means completely silent. Observation notes are a part of your grade. (You may have a “role” as an observer, and take notes in your assigned role.) GUIDELINES You must speak at least three times. Part of the purpose of Socratic Seminar is for you to facilitate your own discussion, and let every voice be heard. Make sure you are practicing “step forward/step back.” Your questions should be aimed at exploring the meaning of the text and topic. Your comments should help your peers gain a better understanding of the text and topic, and exploring it in more depth. You will not earn credit for off-topic comments, or comments that show you did not listen to others. GRADING This seminar will count as TWO GRADES. One grade will be given for your participation, and one for your observation notes. Both will assess the depth and thought present, and be recorded in the participation category of your grades. The sample rubric is on the back

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of this sheet. Note that there will be a chance for you to assign yourself the grade you think you deserve, and assess your own performance. The teacher will also assess you. Your self-assessment will help inform your teacher’s assessment of you.

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SOCRATIC SEMINAR RUBRIC

A Range B Range C Range D Range

Know

ledg

e/

Prep

arat

ion

• Thoughtfully & effectively uses relevant and meaningful evidence from text and/or history

• Able to extemporize with relevance and accuracy

• Works cited accurate, more than three sources consulted

• Uses relevant evidence from the text and/or history

• Effectively uses prepared, relevant statements

• Works cited accurate and complete

• Uses somewhat relevant evidence from text or history

• Relies on vaguely relevant prepared statements

• Works cited nearly accurate, but complete

• Offers little to no evidence, and/or evidence is not wholly relevant

• Does not have prepared statements

• Works cited inaccurate and/or incomplete, or missing

Que

stio

ns/

Dis

cuss

ion

• Asks level 2 and 3 questions that take the discussions to new depths

• Relates to relevant and meaningful broader themes and ideas

• Contributions add to depth of conversation and further discussion

• Asks thoughtful level 2 questions that aid discussion

• Contributions are relevant and meaningful

• Comments and questions further discussion

• Asks largely level 1 questions • Contributions are vaguely

relevant • Comments and questions a

related to discussion but may not deepen it

• Asks level 1 or no questions

• Contributions are barely relevant or repetitive

• Comments and questions are unrelated to discussion or unnecessary

Mem

bers

hip

• Contributes at least three times with meaningful comments and questions

• Solicits responses from other seminar members, aiding equal participation

• Behavior and responses demonstrate active listening

• Contributes three times with meaningful comments and/or questions

• Leaves room for other members to speak

• Behavior and responses demonstrate listening

• Contributes less than three times or contributions simple

• Does not leave room for others

• Behavior and responses inconsistently demonstrate listening

• Contributes less than three times or off topic

• Talks over others or cuts others off, and/or does not leave room

• Behavior and responses demonstrate lack of listening and/or disrespect

Obs

erva

tion/

R

efle

ctio

n

• Observes silently, with close attention

• Observation thoughtful, complete, and in depth

• Reflection thorough, honest, and thoughtful

• Observes silently, with attention • Observation thoughtful and

complete • Reflection thorough and honest

• Occasional side conversations or distractions

• Observation accurate but surface

• Reflection tends toward the superficial

• Side conversations and little attention to observation

• Observation minimal and incomplete

• Reflection superficial

SELF-ASSESSMENT:

TEACHER-ASSESSMENT:

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M8: Socratic Seminar Observation and Reflection

Name _______________________

ANTIGONE SOCRATIC SEMINAR OBSERVATION

You will conduct your observation of this Socratic seminar in role. When you are in the outside circle, you will remain in the role of your historical figure. Choose a figure inside the circle that you (as your historical figure) disagree with. Respond to the arguments they make (in writing, not verbally – you are an observer) below, explaining why you disagree, and making counter-arguments if necessary.

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VanBlaricum/Wegman

After participating in BOTH circles, speaking and observing, reflect on the Socratic seminar

process. What was it like to do the prep work for this activity? How was being in the inner

circle? Was it easier or harder to express your “opinions” when they were not your own?

Why? What was it like to observe the other group’s discussion? Has your thinking about

Antigone and or civil disobedience changed or evolved since the beginning of this unit?

How and why?

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