Embedded Files
Text Sets are an intentional collection of sources made by teachers that provide access, background knowledge, and engagement for students to assist them to build schema to approach a target complex text/task.
Through the texts I have chosen as supplements to Antigone, I aim to make the play more accessible and engaging yet still challenging for my students. The unit’s essential question links these texts: who should a person be loyal to? These texts get students to think about power and obedience, our allegiance to the law/civic duty versus personal morals, resistance, and agency.
The visual and informational texts both help students develop background knowledge about the play and the social/political context during which it was written -- they help set the stage for students. Having this background knowledge sparks students’ interest, giving them just enough information to understand what is going on but leaving them curious and motivated to read more. Additionally, texts such as the video summary can help dependent readers as they navigate through the text because they already have a brief understanding of what’s going on. These texts allow multiple entry points for students and guide them on what is most important to focus on.
The accessible texts I have chosen (Antigone in Ferguson and the accompanying video) contribute to a culturally responsive classroom. They, too, highlight issues relating to loyalty to law enforcement and family. Whereas a play written 2400 years ago might seem far removed for students (and therefore, uninteresting), this adaptation connects the ancient play to issues relevant to students' daily lives. This connection allows students to draw from their own experiences and funds of knowledge as they explore the implications of the tensions in the play. They can build opinions on what is ethically right and wrong in the play as they think about what is right and wrong in our society. Getting students to understand the large themes in the play and seeing how they are transferable also encourages deeper meaning-making and engagement. Connecting content to students’ funds of knowledge is an important aspect of culturally responsive teaching.
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