"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 to convey their stance about their allegiance.

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ELA

Unit 3

10th Grade

Unit Summary


Please Note: In July 2026, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. This unit is now 25 instructional days (previously 24 instructional days). The writing projects of the unit have been adjusted significantly and additional assessment options have been added. Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updates.

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 explore the theme of civil disobedience in the play by analyzing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and researching other global figures who defied unjust laws, using their findings to write a persuasive letter.

As students read Antigone and other unit texts, they examine how characters and real-life speakers use rhetorical appeals to persuade an audience. For the unit's Performance Task, students use the rhetorical appeals analyzed throughout the unit to write a persuasive speech about a personal, social, or political issue that they feel passionately about.

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Texts and Materials


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Core Texts

  • Play: Antigone by Sophocles; translated by Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics)

Supporting Texts

Resources for Lessons and Projects

Assessment


The following assessments accompany Unit 3. For more guidance, see the Summative Assessments Teacher Tool.

Authentic Assessments

The Socratic Seminar measures students' ability to think critically, engage meaningfully in discussion about key unit content, and support their ideas with evidence.

The Performance Task is the culminating assessment of the unit in which students have the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and content they have learned through an authentic task.

Optional Assessments

The Warm Read Assessment measures students' ability to apply the core reading standards and their knowledge from the unit to comprehend new, topically or thematically aligned texts. It includes multiple choice and an optional on-demand essay.

The Vocabulary Assessment measures students' acquisition of text-based vocabulary words from the unit.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

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

decreedegradeextremistgalvanizeinfallibleprecipitateretributionrevilerecklesssubordinatesubmit

Literary Terms

Greek tragedyethoslogosparadospathosrhetorical appeals

Root/Affix

ordin

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3, view our 10th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Core Standards

RI.9-10.2
RI.9-10.3
RI.9-10.5
RI.9-10.6
RI.9-10.9
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.3
RL.9-10.4
RL.9-10.5
RL.9-10.6
RL.9-10.7
W.9-10.1
W.9-10.1.a
W.9-10.2
W.9-10.4
W.9-10.5
W.9-10.7
W.9-10.8
L.9-10.1.a
L.9-10.3
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.1.a
SL.9-10.1.b
SL.9-10.1.c
SL.9-10.1.d
SL.9-10.3
SL.9-10.4
SL.9-10.6

Supporting Standards

RI.9-10.1
RI.9-10.4
RI.9-10.8
RI.9-10.10
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.9
W.9-10.1.b
W.9-10.1.d
W.9-10.1.e
W.9-10.9
W.9-10.10
L.9-10.1
L.9-10.5
L.9-10.6
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