Oedipus at Colonus

Directions: Re-read Oedipus at Colouns and answer the following comprehension questions based on your reading (note, if questions 11-16 are unrelated, then do not answer them.
Study Questions
1. What has Oedipus learned from his years of begging and wandering in exile?
2. Where do Oedipus and Antigone tread at the beginning of the play?
3. How does the Citizen react to the strangers in the sacred grove?
4. What prayer does Oedipus offer after the Citizen leaves?
5. How does the Chorus react at first to the news that someone has trespassed on the sacred grove?
6. How does the Chorus react when Oedipus, haggard and blind, reveals himself?
7. How does the Chorus react when Oedipus gives his name?
8. How does Oedipus shame the Chorus into accepting him?
9. What news does Ismene bring?
10. How does Oedipus react to Ismene’s news?Study Questions
11. What ceremony does the Leader of the Chorus explain to Oedipus?
12. How does Oedipus react when the Leader finishes explaining the ceremony?
13. What do Ismene and Antigone say after their father speaks to the Leader about the ceremony?
14. Why does the Chorus want Oedipus to recite the details of his life?
15. Why does Oedipus yield to the curiosity of the Chorus when the men press him for the details of his life?
16. Why does Theseus offer protection and the full rights of citizenship to Oedipus?

AP English Literature

I placed the study questions on my blog to acquaint you with blogs. Click on some of the links below to visit student blogs. Then return to my blog to obtain your study questions and homework assignment.
Homework: Read Oedipus up to the end of the second episode (And honor to Apollo) are last words. Answer study questions that follow. Study your notes on tragedy, and the function of the chorus/outline. Complete your independent reading journals and your literature circle role sheet. Remember-- extra credit Job assignments are due on Monday. Quiz on Thursday after Literature Circle Meetings. 1. What similarities do you notice between Oedipus and the character Job in terms of behavior or disposition thus far in your reading?
2. In the first Episode beginning with the words--You Pray! Then listen: and ending with the words "the whole of heaven help." Oedipus lays out a plan to stop the plague gripping Thebes. Summarize his statement/plan presented here.
3. Of what does Oedipus accuse the blind seer Tiresias? Why does Tiresias not speak?
4. Of what does Oedipus accuse his brother in law, Creon (Kreon)?
5. Of what does Oedipus intend to do? What does his wife, Jocaste (Iocaste) tell him?
6. The oracle had prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and beget children by his mother. Is Oedipus therefore made to do these things? Is Oedipus bound or free--the puppet of fate, or the creator of his own fate? Of some of each?
7. When in the play was Oedipus a braggart? arrogant? insolent? presumptuous?

Blogging Over Break!

Social networking sites and blogging can revolutionize classroom teaching by providing students yet another vehicle for communication and thinking richly about the texts they read. This semester, I intend to make use of blogging as a way for students to yet again engage in literature circles (AP English Literature) and Non-fiction circles (AP English Language). Students will have the opportunity to post journal entries, pose and respond to questions, and engage in their independent reading texts with an online peer group. I will also ask them to explore other blogs and to follow those of their artistic and academic interests. Get ready for break (but not from reading and writing)!
Guy

Boys and Blogging

To use a colloquialism- my boys blogs' are "off the chain"! It is interesting to see the creativity that has gone into their blog designs and layouts, even if their posts have not fully fulfilled the written requirements, I am very excited about the possibilities of using blogging as a teaching tool in my all male AP English Language Class as well as all of my courses. I would like to arrange a large blogging session in which students in my fifth period class can blog with their peers in sixth period AP Language on the same text... I am sure that I will make this happen upon return to King/Drew...

The Fruits of Your Labor!

In terms of teaching, this year has been a wonderful year in seeing the fruits of my hard work as a teacher, and the hard work of parents reap numerous benefits! I was wonderfully pleased to graduate with a Master's Degree in Education this June, along side a former student I taught who graduated from King/Drew Magnet High School in 2003! Talk about being pleased. This year I witnessed another former student, Justin, class of 2003 King/Drew Magnet High School, and UC Berkeley grad, launch his own business, destined for success. Another former student, Mr. Morton, graduate of King/Drew, and Stanford University, returned to join the ranks of young, innovative teachers. As I sat at commencement, watching my student, Javon Brown graduate with me from Cal State Los Angeles, and as I witnessed another graduation ceremony from King/Drew Magnet High School, I was overcome by happiness and a renewed sense of purpose. Whether I make $75,000 or $17,000 nothing beats seeing your students and their family overcome with happiness from their graduation to the next academic level. Nothing beats hearing students thank you for your hard work. Nothing beats hearing a racous bunch of students, intelligent and personable tell you that, although tough, they felt well prepared for the AP English Language Exam. Nothing beats having former students return and tell you that they still use the notes and handouts from the class you taught in their classes at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cal Sate L.A. and Xavier. So, I thought it would be fitting to give myself a little pat on the back, as well as all those teachers who labor to see the smile of a student when they understand a concept, and I say to both parent, student and teacher alike--job well done!

Reflection and Rejuvenation!

Thank God for a three week Winter vacation! I am definitely enjoying break, and after one week of rest, I am settling into planning, reading and grading mode. I have three novels I would like to finish before school resumes: Love in the Time of Cholera, Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Have to catch up on my reading of the LA Times and New Yorker, and I would like to check out a few movies: The Great Debaters, No Country for Old Men, and Juno. I wish all reaaders a prosperous New Year!

Students and Blogging

Today, my students in AP English Language created their own blogs. You would have thought that I gave them each a Christmas present. Students customized and shared and expressed genunine excitement about the possiblities of learning with blogs. I can't wait to see their educational blogs take shape. Until next time!