Oedipus is my Hero

Is it seriously almost October!? I feel like September came and went in less than five minutes!  My Honors English II Classes have been working on one of my favorite pieces - "Oedipus The King" by Sophocles! There's nothing like a little incest, murder, and blindness (a triple threat!) to add zest to the classroom.  
While teaching the play, we discuss the history, time, and author.  This always brings up a discussion on timeless literature and themes - which leads right into one of my favorite things to talk about: ARCHETYPES!  It's always fun to see my students totally amazed by ancient story patterns and how almost everything we currently read/watch follows the same outline! We talk about the hero's journey and even play archetype Go Fish, but my FAVORITE activity is The Hero's Journey Map.  I play a GREAT TED Ed video to introduce the archetypal hero's journey - really breaks it down into "common" language and gives students a modern example to view.  You can check it out here: 

We fill in a blank pie chart with the steps of the journey and even use Disney's The Lion King as an example! I give them a chart of character archetypes and they work in groups to locate examples in literature and film.  Here's what their notebooks look like after our discussion:

Then, I give students a blank pie chart with 9 "slices".  They have to choose a book or a film that accurately depicts the Hero's Journey.  They fill in the pie chart with illustrations, quotes, and symbols that reflect the journey in that particular piece.  I also have them write a constructed response which forces them to examine HOW the steps fit (did they have to force the steps, or did they happen naturally) and how at least one character in the tale is an example of an archetype.  Here are some of their examples of The Hero's Journey:

This always leads into a discussion about how Oedipus follows the steps of the hero's journey - and also how he is an example of an important character archetype: the tragic hero!

We just ended the play and completed one of my favorite projects: Foil Character Fun! I'll post those treasures later in the week.  As always, it's been fun, Oedipus! :)