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"I was born to join in love, not hate—that is my nature": Civil Disobedience in Antigone
Students examine the central conflict in Antigone between loyalty to one's family and religion and loyalty to society and the law, exploring how characters use rhetorical appeals and devices to convey their stance about their allegiance.
ELA
Unit 3
10th Grade
Unit Summary
The core text Antigone fits within the year-long theme of the individual in society, as the play grapples with the question of whether an individual should prioritize their moral conscience over the law. Antigone, who is loyal to her family and divine law, practices civil disobedience by giving her brother a proper burial when King Creon has forbidden it. Her character invites students to make connections to other real-life figures who have practiced civil disobedience when faced with oppressive laws. Later in the unit, when students watch the Theater of War Productions's Antigone in Ferguson, students make further connections between the major themes of the play and contemporary issues of racism, police brutality, and misogyny.
Prior to reading the play, students build background knowledge about Greek theater and tragedy, and they read a summary of The Legend of Oedipus to understand how Antigone's tragic fate is largely a consequence of the circumstances she was born into. Students continue to explore the theme of fate throughout the unit by making connections between choral odes in Antigone and contemporary texts such as the Radiolab podcast episode "Death Interrupted" and excerpts from Sam Harris's talk "Free Will." Additionally, students examine the theme of civil disobedience in the play by analyzing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and by performing research on other global figures who broke unjust laws.
As students read Antigone and other unit texts, they examine how characters and real-life speakers use rhetorical appeals and devices to persuade an audience. For the unit's Performance Task, students use the rhetorical appeals and devices analyzed throughout the unit to write a persuasive speech about a personal, social, or political issue that they feel passionately about. On the final day of the unit, students employ effective delivery techniques as they deliver their speech to their classmates.
Please Note: In October 2025, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. The unit is now 24 instructional days (previously 23 days). Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for updated pacing, sequencing, and content.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Play: Antigone by Sophocles; translated by Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics)
Supporting Materials
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Video: “An Introduction to Greek Theatre” by the National Theatre (YouTube)
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Video: “An Introduction to Greek Tragedy” by the National Theatre (YouTube)
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Article: “The Legend of Oedipus” by Fishtank Staff
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Podcast: “Death Interrupted” by Radiolab (YouTube)
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Letter: “Excerpt of 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail'” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Video: “Free Will” by Sam Harris (YouTube)
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Video: “How to Lead in a Crisis” by Amy Edmondson (TED)
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Speech: “Emma Watson at the HeForShe Campaign 2014” by the United Nations (YouTube)
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Video: “Antigone in Ferguson” by Theater of War Productions (PBS)
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Resource: Antigone's Family Tree (G10, U3, L2)
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Resource: Research Mentor Text (G10, U3, L8)
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Resource: Tragic Hero Graphic Organizer (G10, U3)
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Resource: Sentence Stems for Academic Discourse
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Resource: Speech Mentor Text (G10, U3)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Assessment
These assessments accompany Unit 3 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
Socratic Seminar
The Socratic Seminar assesses students on their ability to push themselves and their peers to think critically and participate meaningfully in conversation by collecting and evaluating evidence, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully. Socratic Seminar assessments may occur mid-unit as a way to synthesize the ideas of the text/unit to that point or summative, taking place at the end of a unit.
Performance Task
The Performance Task is the culminating assessment of the unit in which students have the opportunity to show the skills and content they have learned.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
Essential Questions
- Should we obey laws that we believe are unjust?
- What makes a good leader?
- To what extent does fate dictate our lives?
Vocabulary
Text-based
decreedegradeextremistgalvanizeinfallibleprecipitaterevileretributionrecklesssubordinatesubmit
Literary Terms
Greek tragedyad hominemantithesisbandwagonemphasisethosfalse dilemmahasty generalizationlogoslogical fallaciesparadospathosred herringrhetorical appealsstraw mansyllogism
Root/Affix
ordin
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3, view our 10th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.