F - The one with the Gallery Walk, or more correctly, Gallery Stand.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: In a world of uncompromising convictions, who bears ultimate responsibility for tragedy: the defender of order or the champion of justice?

Learners reflected on the topics I asked them to consider whilst watching Antigone at Bard on the Beach last week. They noted their thoughts on questions about power, sympathy, spectacle, and modernity, then they all participated on a Gallery Walk/Stand, where they extended thinking on another learner's reflections. They used, "Yes, but..." and "Yes, and..."

I went over the assignment for preparing a Greek Tragedy adaptation of Galsworthy's short story "The Japanese Quince." Learners used the rest of the period to work on their adaptations.

READ: Antigone (see the link to the left)

NEXT CLASS: Creative Adaptations, The Choral Ode

B - The one that was a work period.

Learners used the period to outline and draft the essay on Anglo-Saxon ideals.

NEXT CLASS: Archetypes

F - The one with all the introverts. (The extroverts all went to prepare for mass.)

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Why must we consider varied perspectives in literature.

We shared briefly the the same "hot take" from last class: "what moment stood out for you in the play?"

I reviewed the Creative Adaptation assignment.

Learners used the rest of the period completing one of three tasks:

• the Post Viewing Reflection from last class
• the Creative Adaptation assignment
• reading Antigone

NEXT CLASS: Gallery Walk

B - The one with all the discussion and maybe being slightly annoyed at Antigone for not accepting Creon's counter-offer.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does the definition of "hero" evolve when the primary threat shifts from monster-in-the-dark to law-of-the-state?

I asked learners to share one memory of their experience watching Antigone at Bard on the Beach last week. We discussed how tragedy in general departs a little from Campbell's idea of the hero's journey:

• Beowulf's love of glory v. Antigone's battle of conscience
• wyrd (fate - Beowulf) v. hamartia (tragic flaw - Antigone)
• monster v. tyrant - threat to society
• epic (Beowulf) v. tragic arc (Antigone) - tragedy deliberately breaks Campbell's loop (Antigone doesn't return "transformed"

I introduced the Literary Essay on Anglo-Saxon Ideals and I reviewed the key differences between the literary essay and the expository essay.

Learners use the rest of the period to complete their notes on the excerpts from Beowulf and to begin outlining the essay.

READ: "The Battle with Grendel"

PRACTISE: Notes and annotations for "The Coming of Grendel," "The Coming of Beowulf," "Unferth's Taunt," "The Battle with Grendel"

NEXT CLASS: archetypes and essay prep

F - The one when it was the post viewing experience with Mrs. Graham.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do director's staging choice and actors' performances transform the static text of an ancient play into a dynamic relevant critique of modern power?

IN MY PLANS:

• Free Write - What was the single most memorable moment, visual image, or sound yesterday's performance of Antigone?
• Discuss with a partner what you saw/heard and explain your immediate feeling/reaction.
• Post viewing critical reflection responses via learners' e-folders

According to Mrs. Graham: "Learners did their free write respectfully and shared with a partner their response to the prompt. After the sharing, everyone settled down to write their critical reflection paragraphs. Currently, the learners are all working diligently and the learners know to add their responses to their digital folders by the end of class. Note: Two learners did not go to the play so I let them do other work but also reminded them to finish reading the play via the blog's link."

NEXT CLASS: Gallery Walk, Creative Adaptation

B - The one that was a prelude to the play.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does Campbell's Hero's Journey fit in with Greek tragedy?

Learners use the period to continue work on two graphic organizers:

• one for textual evidence of Anglo-Saxon ideals in "The Coming of Grendel," "The Coming of Beowulf," and "Unferth's Taunt"
• one for comparing Beowulf to Antigone with respect to "the hero's goal," "the obstacle," and "the role of fate"

Learners left at 11:15 to make their way to Bard on the Beach.

NEXT CLASS: archetypes

F - The one in your tableau era.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:  How do performance choices translate the literal text (on the page) into dynamic power and emotion (on stage)?

Learners stood up and discussed with different partners the questions I posted last day.

I asked learners to think back to Galsworthy's "The Japanese Quince," and consider the absurdity (in the philosophical sense: "human life has on inherent meaning and the universe is entirely indifferent to our search for purpose) of the characters and their how their desire for social conformity hides human vulnerability. I asked learners to also think back to their Grade 9 study of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, particularly the "mechanicals" - absurdity, contrast, art(ifice)/beauty - and to think about whether or not we can consider Mr. Nilson and Mr. Tandram as "mechanical."

We discussed the possible connections to Antigone. I reviewed "the backstory" in order to frame our viewing of the play tomorrow. Learners worked in groups of three to create tableaus from the backstory.

We discussed the importance The Role of the Chorus and I invited learners to view the play tomorrow with one of the lenses below:

• Power & Posture (actor movement, spatial hierarchy) - Groups 1, 3
• Sound & Energy (vocal layering, music, tension) - Groups 2, 4, 6
• Modern Resonance (language choices, contemporary relevance) - Groups 5, 7
• The Chorus (how public opinion is staged) - everyone!

NEXT CLASS: Parallelism, Creative Adaptations