Oedipus 32-47: The drama!

1. 10 minutes to finish up T&O conversation. 3 groups present (10 mins).
2. I'll check books and vocab while you're working

Dramatic Exercise

Drama: The play is constructed as an investigation of the past. All irrational things have been completed and they are unalterable. This construct intensifies the inevitability of it all and the looming sense of fate. Therefore, the drama of the play is not about the act of killing the king but rather the process of Oedipus' self-realization.

Power: drama is all about power, about someone winning, someone gaining something over the other person. Think about power on a few levels: personal, social, supernatural.

Hamartia: mistake or error in the hero that leads to his downfall

Working in groups, you must select the FIVE most important lines/sentences from the text. For each line you must create a tableau (a frozen physical representation of what the line shows -- remember power and status and changing levels). One group member is the narrator and the other group members are involved in the tableau. Each group will present its five lines to the class and the narrator will narrate the tableau.

Questions to think about: What story of Oedipus did each group tell? Who won each scene? How has power in each scene?

A Block
1. Mia, Felix, Adam, Alexia
2. Nathan, Caroline, Cate, Delaney
3. Ryan, Nick, Lizzie, Duncan, Zoe

E Block
1. Maggie, Julia, Sierra, Sam
2. Grace, Danielle, Elly, Andy, Lane
3. Coco, Macie, Jack, Lauren, Emma
4. Joe, Justin, Nadav, Mackenzie

Oedipus 11-32 ... one more time

1. More insights into Oedipus' character --> how does he demonstrate his power thus far?
2. What's going on between Oedipus & Teiresias. Write your own version of the exchange.
3. What's up with the chorus? What are they telling us?

Oedipus 11-32

Group discussion questions:

1. How can your destiny be predicted? (tarot cards, fortune tellers, atrology, fortune cookie, etc)
How did ancient people prophesize the future? (animals, oracles, etc)
Do any of you believe in prophesies?
Do you think you would if you lived almost 2500 years ago?

--switch gears --

Intro the idea of Hubris!!! What is hubris? Can you think of any literary examples of hubris?

Now we're ready to start our study of Oedipus ...

A little bit of history, some characters and locations, that pesky Sphinx.

Group work: break down the priest's speech. What is the priest saying in each section? What imagery is employed? Who is mentioned? What's the story of the sphinx? What is the priest asking of Oedipus?

1. 14-24
2. 25-34
3. 35-45
4. 46-57

Imagery: sickness and pollution, ship of the state, blindness vs sight, light vs dark and then the text ...

Oedipus Begins ....

The goal: make a Google presentation that does the following:

Investigate a politician/celebrity who has made a mistake that cost him/her his/her job.

Assign one to each group

1. Richard Nixon
2. Marion Barry
3. Ray Rice
4. Tom DeLay
5. Martha Stewart
6. Donald Sterling

Slide 1: Who is this person? Short bio. Image required.

Slide 2: What mistake(s) did this person make? Be specific.

Slide 3: What motivated this person to make the mistake?

Slide 4: How did this mistake/these mistakes cost this person his/her job?

Slide 5: Your thoughts … Why do people in power often times make such big mistakes?

**All slides need citations (this can be in the form of urls).

**You need to have at least three sources.

**You will share your findings with the class in 2-3 minute presentations.

Work time: 45 minutes

Presentation time: 15-20 minutes

4. As time permits, engage the students in conversation about destiny. Can it be predicted?
5. Brainstorm ideas on board:

• How is it predicted (tarot cards, fortune tellers, astrology, fortune cookies, etc)?
• What is a prophecy?
• How did ancient people prophesize the future? (animals, oracles, weather, etc)
• Who in this room believes in prophesies?
• Do you think you would believe in prophesies if you lived almost 2500 years ago?

More workshopping

1. Set up a drobox account, create and share a folder with Mary, test sharing, high-5 neighbor for being so crafty!
2. How to submit:

1. Save the document as a PDF with the following file name: AlexieA/E_Name.pdf
1. Word users: FILE --> SAVE AS --> PDF (make sure to unclick the "hide extension" box)
2. Pages users: FILE --> EXPORT --> PDF (make sure to unclick the "hide extension" box)
3. Google users: FILE --> DOWNLOAD AS --> PDF
2. Go to dropitto.me/mcollie to send paper to Mary.
3. Password: EnglishRocks

Pre-workshop:
The handout

Groups:
A block

1. Caroline, Alexia, Ryan,
2. Cate, Zoe Nick
3. Delaney, Lizzie, Duncan
4. Adam, Mia, Felix, Nathan

E block

1. Emma, Justin, Joe
2. Macie, Nadav, Sam
3. Mackenzie, Jack, Maggie
4. Grace, Lane, Julia
5. Elly, Danielle, Lauren
6. Andy, Sierra, Coco

The process:
Work through the handout with your group mates. You must read each other's work and give feedback, edits, and suggestions for revision. This is a great time to learn that the more you put into this exercise, the more you get out.

The essay & workshopping

Review the writing assignment

Group work: Workshop Protocol (Please read protocol to students before you begin. Keep time to keep the discussions moving.)

1. Presenter gives an overview of the ideas/insights/writing for each grade. Start at Kindergarten and move through high school. Listeners are looking for overarching themes/ideas. Listeners don’t speak or respond at all, but they should take notes on what stands out, what they hear.. (5 mins)
2. Each listener summarizes what they heard the presenter say. (2-3 mins)
3. Listeners ask probing questions: These questions should be worded so that they help the presenter clarify and expand his/her thinking about the ideas presented. The goal here is to help the presenter refine each grade level story, and improve upon the style, voice, tone, and details. The presenter may respond to the group’s questions, but there is no discussion by the group of the presenter’s responses. (2-3 mins)
4. Presenter gets to ask questions. The goal here is to gain use your peers as a sounding board. What is missing? What needs elaboration?  (2-3 mins)

Workshop groups E

1. Emma, Coco, Sam

2. Macie, Lauren, Jack

3. Mackenzie, Grace, Joe

4. Danielle, Julia, Nadav

5. Sierra, Maggie, Lane

6. Elly, Andy, Justin

The Alexie Personal Essay

Here's the writing assignment.

"The Lone Ranger & Tonto ..." and "Witnesses, Secret & Not"

1. Some writing ... memories from 5th-8th grade. This should be a bit easier than K-4 memories.
1a. Check books and guiding question
2. Discussion Questions

Who is Tonto? Who is the Lone Ranger? TV show from 1950s.
Tonto comic book
Recent film
ABC story one some of the mascots

Good read on mascots from ESPN

The Lone Ranger & Tonto
1. What internal conflict is the narrator dealing with?
2. How does the narrator try to take advantage and ownership of Indian stereotypes?
3. Define the "new kind of warrior" the narrator is supposed to embody?
4. What conclusions does the narrator come to at the end of the story? What conclusions are the reading to draw on the evolution of the narrator?

Witnesses, Secret & Not
1. How does the narrator's view of his father change over the course of the story?
2. What's the main conflict of the story?
3. What's the relationship between Indian identity and the culture's obsession with the disappeared?

"Approximate size of my ..." & "Indian Education"

1. Some writing about the reading: how would you describe Alexie's style in Indian Education? What kinds of details does he include? How would you describe the tone?
1a. Check books and guiding questions
2. Some writing for yourself ... Modeling your structure after Indian Education, please brainstorm memories from kindergarten through fourth grade.
3. Discussion:

Approximate Size ...

1. This is a love story, why does the narrator fall in love with Norma?
2. How does humor help the narrator survive the struggles of every day life? What does humor allow the narrator to mask?

Indian Education

1. Your discussion questions ....

A Block

E Block

"Amusements" & "This is What It Means"

• Read "I remember ..." and write your own. Categories include: music, people, smells, tastes, places, advertisements, firsts, bruises/scars/broken bones, books, movies, vacations, and sayings.
• Book & guiding question check
• Discussion

Amusements (Internalized Oppression)
1. The plot of a story is the chain of major events. Summarize the plot of “Amusements”.

2. What does the plot tell you about Victor’s attitude towards Dirty Joe? Towards himself?

3. What is the significance of the title?

4. Sherman Alexie repeats the phrase “Crazy mirrors” three times at the end of the story. What is the significance of the crazy mirrors?


This is What It Means ... (the journey)

1. Think about Victor’s character. Describe him in the beginning of the story, the middle, and the end. Does he change? Explain.

2. Think about Thomas’ character. Compare him to Victor. How is he different? Similar?

3. Thomas Builds-the Fire has the ability to see things that others cannot. Why are his peers so unwilling to listen to his stories? What do his stories represent?

"Because My Father Always Said ..." & "The Only Traffic Signal on the Res"

1. Check books
2. What does it mean to annotate?
3. Discussion

Because My Father Always …

1. Describe Victor’s relationship with his father?

2. Why do you think Victor’s father was so adamant about saying he was the only Indian to see Hendrix play at Woodstock? What did it mean to Victor’s father to say he was there? What does Jimi Hendrix symbolize to the narrator?

3. By the end of the story, how has Hendrix's symbolism changed for the narrator? For his father?

The Only Traffic Signal …

1. What is the meaning, the value of basketball on the reservation?

2. Summarize what happens to Julius Windmaker in 3-5 sentences.

3. How does the broken traffic light serve as a metaphor for life on the reservation.