Unit
Four - Script Analysis
Module 2: Text
Lesson 1 - "Medea" and Text Understanding
Introduction:
In order to
be able to play a character well, you need to be able to understand
the meaning of the lines and the context in which a story takes
place. The purpose of this lesson is to give students practice
at doing both.
Objectives:
-
to
understand the historical and cultural influences on a play
-
to understand
how plays are made
-
to
understand the relation of script
to performance
-
to
attempt script
analysis
(not curriculum objective)
Resources:
text analysis evaluation
(pdf)
CELs:
IL, TL, C, CCT
Components:
Cultural/Historical, Critical/Responsive
Activities:
Activity
1 - Reading for Meaning
Medea, by Euripides, is a Greek tragedy. As discussed
in the lesson on play types, Greek tragedy tended to have lots
of segments when we learn background history. When modern actors
tackle a play like Medea, they must first spend time researching
the events, then go through the lines one by one so they understand
what is happening. Using the links provided and the copies of
the speeches by Medea or the nurse, the students should
determine what events happen before the play and during it, then
translate what is happening in their scenes line by line into
their own words. They should copy and paste the text of the speech
into the left side of a word document. Then students should type
their own translations into the right hand side, and include a
summary of the events in the play.
Instructional
Strategies: computer assisted instruction, research project
Evaluation:
text analysis rubric out
of 20 (pdf)
On-line
Activity Alternatives: This lesson requires no on-line adaptation.
Finished assignments may be e-mailed to the teacher.
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