Unfortuntely, positive learning environments don't just happen on their own–they must be created. Positivity is a key component a positive learning environment. The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. Below, we've collected teacher-tips on creating a positive classroom from Edutopia's online community. … They consider the physical environment to be "another teacher." She’s the author of more than 100 journal articles, several books, chapters, and state and district policies. 10 Characteristics of a Highly Effective Environment The students ask the question – good questions Questions are valued over answers Ideas come from a variety of sources A variety of instructional design methods are used Classroom learning “empties” into an authentic community Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria Assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and … She also routinely uses positive, affirming language such as: That’s an excellent use of logic. Ask An Expert: Should Teachers Give Spelling ... How to Save Time Lesson Planning, Grading ... Survey: Workload makes 3 in 4 new teachers want to quit, How to Make Math Learning Fun — and Effective, Research Shows That 1:1, Teacher-Led Classrooms Increase Student Engagement, Building professional learning communities: Social media, ed camps, and meetups, 10 Ways Parents Can Help Reform Education, How EdTech Companies Can Sell to the Higher Education Market. The physical environment must be safe, and welcoming, and must support learning. – Christine'sBlog, TCSTEM Delivers STEM Education to Underprivileged Students – FLHS News, Effects of Music Education on Academic Achievement – IndiePulse Music Magazine, 5 Ed Tech Trends Redefine the Connected Campus - The Tech Edvocate, Pelemahan Daya Argumentasi: Catatan Empiris untuk Esai Ben K. C. Laksana [Bagian 2] « IndoPROGRESS. In addition to these academic learning activities, state-mandated drills are held to learn school procedures for fire safety, inclement weather, and other emergency situations. Spread the loveAfrican Africans have a long history of being mistreated in the United States, starting with slavery. Enabling eLearning: ePortfolios Learn about e-portfolios. The classroom physical environment responds to students’ learning preferences. Know STEM. 10 Characteristics of a Highly Effective Learning Environment 1. She has students complete a series of questions on their first day of class. Enhanced learning. We are never too old for a story. Spread the loveEducation is a collaborative process, as it takes many stakeholders working in unison to help students succeed academically. She explains that the tracks are welded together using a chemical reaction to form miles of runway for trains. School climate is a broad, multifaceted concept that involves many aspects of the student’s educational experience. Storytelling. Spread the loveAccess to education is a basic human right and a subject of importance in every part of the world. Almost all of us have spent a great deal of time in the classroom, beginning in kindergarten and extending for years beyond. Choose STEM. Approaches to education emerge based on political and social structures and are replete with heroes, values, symbols, rituals, and norms. That reorganization, though, and the underlying effort, will have much to do with reviving the American education system, and reviving a national love of learning. If they’re too hot, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, or surrounded by distractions, they’re not going to be able to concentrate on what they’re learning. Janetta designs lab assignments around routines and practices that students must follow. As a result, it is crucial for the school and the classroom culture to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate diversity.Schools must recognize not only the diversity evident between broad ethnic groups (e.g., Asian or Hispanic) but also the diversity within these groups. Copyright (c) 2021 Matthew Lynch. Inservice is the official blog of ASCD. Routines and practices have a predictable rhythm. Most school systems implement a district-wide policy controlling disciplinary infractions with guidelines for truancy, suspension, and other serious infringements. Each of these processes and procedures reflect certain values of American society, such as the need for structure and order, the desire to maximize potential, the desire to recognize achievement, and the importance of multiple opportunities for individual success. These realities are important for every educator to consider – particularly as we honor Mental Health Awareness Month. Further, characters and their actions can be discussed at great length to help students learn what others have done to overcome challenges. They help students to reclaim normalcy and control by supporting a downshift from a fearful state to a calmer and more positive one. In a World of Artificial Intelligence, Where Does Emotional Intelligence Fit In? The organization of your classroom is another element that will impact a positive learning environment. To find out more about teaching students living with adversity, see Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress, written by Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes. This type of environment fosters a sense of belonging and of feeling valued, competent, and safe. Was it colorful posters, clear and consistent rules, and fun and interesting teaching methods? Signup for The Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in P-20 education news and opinion delivered to your email address! Because each group is creating a poster of their choice about the process of a chemical reaction, they are involved in more than designing the location of their seats, they also define what is needed on the walls of their classroom to help guide them in this task. By Terry Roberts Spread the loveBeing a teacher is a tough job. When we do this, we intentionally look for, honor, and acknowledge the values, attributes, and strengths that make every student unique. According to experts in the field of education, well-planned, quality school facilities … Schools which implement the PBL framework make sure all students are explicitly taught the expected behaviours and establish clear and consistent boundaries. Which Countries Provide Free Education At A University Level? Educators share their strategies for connecting at a distance. Increased self-esteem. Lessons are made relevant by connecting the curriculum to students’ lives. For example, linking literary characters and literature to students’ personal, cultural, social, and world experiences can validate students’ strengths and interests. Music. Students today will live as adults in a society more accepting of diversity, and one where global influences are more apparent. As students enter your classroom, greet each one at the door. There are many components that go into making a positive learning environment for students. Creating a Positive Learning Environment at Home can have a big impact of your child’s development. Those human beings that seem larger than life and almost achieve Godlike status. Its findings show that students who learn in positive environments effectively receive a month and a half more math instruction than those in poor learning environments. You may be able to create an e-portfolio using your school’s Learning Management System or LMS (for … Spread the loveCluster grouping is a method educators utilize to meet gifted kids’ educational needs. Let's further define the characteristics found in a positive learning environment: Students feel physically and emotionally safe. Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is a whole-school framework that promotes positive behaviour across a school and helps schools develop safe and supportive learning environments. The physical environment must be safe, and welcoming, and must support learning. A positive environment is one in which students feel a sense of belonging, trust others, and feel encouraged to tackle challenges, take risks, and ask questions (Bucholz & Sheffler, 2009). Progress reports are frequent. Physical Safety. Emotional Environment. Partnering with school districts and nonprofit organizations, she has lead reform initiatives targeted to improving opportunities and outcomes for underserved populations. Spread the loveWhile most in the education field believe they are underpaid for the work they do, there are many people who argue that teachers’ pay is fair. For example, knowing that her students see or hear a train traveling by their school every day, she takes her class on a short walk to the railroad tracks. Contemporary Leadership Styles, […] https://www.theedadvocate.org/7-benefits-of-stem-education/ […], Why Low-income Kids Are Nowhere to be Found in STEM. Judie Haynes is a widely known ESL teacher with 28 years’ experience. Here are practices that Janetta Wallace, a high school chemistry teacher, uses to implement the five elements of a strengths-based classroom environment. An example is a routine opening meeting to describe the day’s schedule and discuss how students will transition from one activity to another. One example of this relationship-building practice is greeting individual students as they enter the classroom. They need to recognize how unique each student is. Research suggests that the learning environment has a significant effect on student achievement. 106 Experts Share Their Thoughts on the Future of Education, Part 1: PreK-12, How Dumbed Down Education Is Creating a National Security Crisis, 21 Inspirational Quotes That Nelson Mandela Made About Education, The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 7: How Digital Age Teachers Can Win Over Parents, The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 6: 8 Ways That Digital Age Teachers Avoid Burning Out, The Edvocate Podcast, Episode 5: The Archetype of a Great Teacher. Start building a learner profile (paper based or digital) for each student. Positive asset-based relationships are visible among all in the classroom. Schools emphasize particular topics and fields of study and use mastery of these subjects to determine grade progression and the ability to gain admission to college. It begins with getting to know them and building trusting relationships. They must be prepared to live in that world. Students living in adverse conditions are more likely to experience a loss of control and feelings of powerlessness. However, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health, almost half of all U.S. children have experienced one or more types of serious adversity such as abuse, neglect, parental loss, or mental illness. Academic Support. The importance of our relationship with students cannot be overstated. The academic environment must be conducive to learning and achievement for all students. At the beginning of the school year, think carefully about what resources and materials your students will need as part of their lessons. Some argue that the feelings and attitudes of teachers, students, staff, and parents are influenced by a school climate that is based on intangibles. She provides professional development to educators through workshops for ASCD and International TESOL and their affiliates. Dr. Debbie Zacarian is known for her expertise in responsive leadership, instructional practices, family-school partnerships, and educational policy with diverse populations. Creating a positive classroom environment is an important aspect of effective teaching. Spread the loveOne of the questions that I am frequently asked is, what does a good teacher look like? Extensive research is being conducted to identify characteristics of positive learning environments for boys and methods for introducing those findings into schools across America. Being outdoors allows them to move around without many of the restrictions of being inside. She models how she wants pairs and then groups of students to work together to discuss possible solutions. ... that clear evidence was finally pinned down showing that differences in the physical characteristics of 153 classrooms accounted for 16% of the variation in the learning progress of the 3766 children in those spaces. And, she supports them to affirm each other in the same manner. 1. Janetta takes time to build relationships with her students. We call for a relatively radical and certainly quite comprehensive reorganization of American’s P-20 system. Stronger bonds with their teachers and the school. Schools also use age-level grouping, along with periodic assessment of students’ skills and knowledge, to regulate class sizes and progressions through a structured system of learning. This encourages students to recognize themselves and others as individuals. The teacher in a healthy classroom works continually to “tame” students in this way: to see who they really are, what makes them unique in the world. To that end, creating the right physical learning environment is essential. There is no such Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects—the fiber of … Researchers have found that a positive school climate can help solve a lot of those problems. How Can We Improve Teacher Training in the World’s Poorest Countries? A classroom is a haven for many students living with adversity. Students have voice and choice in matters that pertain to them. Making your classroom a positive learning environment is essential in today's education. 05 December, 2018 In a school or home setting, a positive learning environment is crucial for a child. By creating positive classroom environments, teachers are provided the opportunity for better classroom discipline and management. Educators have debated about the definition of school climate but haven’t developed a single, accepted definition. For instance, students should have input in the arrangement and design of their classroom including desks and wall space to facilitate collaboration, discussion, and individual work. When students arrive back in the classroom, she tells them to work in small groups to discuss how they think the tracks are welded together without engineers having to haul tons of metal to the location where the tracks are laid. She involves students in designing the classroom environment for paired and group discussions. Positive, productive learning environments are key to students' academic, emotional and social success in school. Gathering information about students is a good way to build and strengthen our relationships and personalize our interactions with them. For students to learn, they must feel safe, engaged, connected, and supported in their classrooms and schools. When we ask this question throughout the U.S., few educators raise their hand. According to large bodies of trauma-related research, this relational approach is more effective when it occurs in an environment that fosters a sense of belonging and of feeling valued, competent, and safe. To establish trust that leads to true participation and engagement in learning, you first need to set the stage by establishing a learning environment in which all students feel valued, safe, and supported. Spread the loveSome learners struggle to keep up in class. How is Technology Revolutionizing Campus Libraries? Even though the widely accepted values, norms, assessments, and practices described here are indicators of school culture, schools may have individual school climates. How could your students share their profiles with their families? She is also the co-founder and co-moderator of #ELLCHAT, a widely known Twitter chat for teachers of ELLs. Spread the loveEducational leadership is vital in any school whether it is elementary, middle, or high school. Social Relationships. A first step for supporting such students’ academic and socio-emotional development is to embrace a strong belief in them and their personal assets and strengths. These conditions for learning are the elements of a schools climate that students experience personally. American schools attempt to monitor learning through nationally standardized assessment instruments such as the Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT), American College Testing (ACT), and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Greet Students at the Door Every Day. Creating a positive learning environment has overwhelmingly beneficial outcomes. How can we create a classroom environment that reflects these characteristics and capitalizes on our students’ individual strengths? It’s a climate where students are encouraged to be leaders and positive role models speaking up … A child’s development is affected by a variety of things such as parent attitudes, inspirations, education level, home learning environment, school influences, child’s characteristics and personal qualities. A positive school climate exists when all members of the school community feel safe, included, and accepted, and actively promote positive behaviours and interactions. Spread the loveTeachers need to realize that at home, in their neighborhoods, and in school, many students face difficulties that can interfere with learning. Now, boys are an average of 1.5 years behind girls in reading ability, a gap that persists through college and even upon entering the workforce. Creating a positive learning environment has overwhelmingly beneficial outcomes. Ideally they should have access to outdoor space on a daily basis – regardless of all except the worst weather. If so, you were lucky to have a teacher who paid close attention to the learning environment, or the It also parallels the values of a largely Protestant, capitalist population, with an emphasis on individual accomplishments, competition, and equality. A positive learning environment not only consists of the physical setting, but it also encompasses how the child feels or responds to the setting. Spread the loveWhile the novel coronavirus has brought the entire world to a standstill, it’s the education sector that will suffer the most consequences. You have entered an incorrect email address! Teachers’ Pay Must Be at the Heart of Global Education Reform, Innovative Approaches to Global Education Challenges, 40 Questions to Ask When Choosing Your Child’s Preschool. Plentiful reading opportunities. Student Characteristics. Studies find that it decreases absenteeism, suspensions, substance abuse, and bullying, and increases students’ academic achievement, motivation to learn, and psychological well-being. By creating positive classroom environments, teachers are provided the opportunity for better classroom discipline and management. 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Dalit art evolved as a mode of resistance and protest. It tires to historically trace the origin and the seriousness of caste discrimination from the past till present. Dalit artists across India have picked up themes, which invoke a deep sense of contemplation in the minds of the onlooker. Dalit art is a representation of critical issues of domination, discrimination, and oppression encompassing along the triple oppression faced by Dalit woman. Dalit women’s problems encompass not only gender and economic deprivation but also discrimination associated with religion, caste and untouchability which in turn results in the denial of their social, economic, cultural and political rights, One such artist from Maharashtra named Savindra Savi has successfully done so, through his art he has a created a mode of protest and also tries to track the interplay between meaning and power within hierarchical structures of religion, caste, gender, and politics.
As Y.S. Alone puts it, Dalit art needs to create a social space for itself, which is associated with hegemony and monopoly. The native hegemony of dominant castes. Adherence to social reality in the pictorial space was a major shift affected by Indian Painters. They succeeded in legitimizing their own culture and social environment through their art practice.
As Gopal Guru aptly explains that the evolution of Dalit art varying from folklores to paintings to folk poetry has provided Dalit’s with an intellectual platform for creation as well as articulation for laboring Dalit’s women self perception of emancipation. He very well states that Dalit emancipation is not only possible through government policies as they are temporal in nature but through cultural and intellectual stimulation which will create a language of resistance and fully loaded with meanings and have a story of their subordination and suppression.
Evolution of Dalit style of Mithila Paintings
In the region of Mithila, there were particularly women from two sub-castes among the Dalit community had mastered the art of Mithila painting which was different from paintings by an upper castes women. These women belonging to Dusadh and Chamar community had developed their own distinct style of paintings and various new themes were included. The credit to Dalit inclusion in Mithila Paintings goes to a German anthropologist, Erika Moser, having inspired and guided Dusadh women back in 1978 to embrace the art and start writing a new chapter of their social recognition and economic independence. The German anthropologist film-maker and social activist Erika Moser persuaded the impoverished Dusadh community to paint. The result was the Dusadh captured their oral history (such as the adventures of Raja Salhesh, and depictions of their primary deity, Rahu) — typified by bold compositions and figures based on traditional tattoo patterns called Godna locally. This added another distinctive new style to the region’s flourishing art scene. With the financial support of Moser and Raymond Lee Owens along with land in Jitwarpur donated by Anthropologist Erika Moser, the likes of Dr. Gauri Mishra spearheaded the setting up of the Master Craftsmen Association of Mithila in 1977. This association was very active during the lifetime of Owens and worked in tandem with Ethnic Arts Foundation of USA.
Dusadh women were very receptive to her ideas of starting a profession in Mithila Paintings but at the same time were apprehensive of their awareness and strength against the much-established Brahmin women leading the art. These apprehensions were born around the lack of their knowledge for elaborated painting styles like Kohbhar and Aripana, Hindu customs, deities, Gods and goddesses over which the Brahmins has created a complete dominance and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata making them doubt their ability to translate the same on paper in form of beautiful paintings with meaningful message. Erika Moser guided these women to rather focus on their own rich customs and folklore, their own deities and idols, culture and rituals instead of high Hindu castes and paint in their own thematic style.
Empowered by the words of an educated European woman and her other operational help, Dusadh women started to embark on their own journey of Mithila paintings and its rewarding experience. In coming days this art and its practice would give a lot of confidence to hitherto downtrodden members of Dusadh community raising their self-esteem to participate in more empowering political movements and discourses. Thanks to their political mobilization and social awareness, Dusadh community today is an active force in Mithila and Bihar Due to unfortunate absence of Dusadh paintings in photograph collections of William Archer and his wife Mildred, the available account of it comes from various short films by Erika Moser in 1970 and few photographs by Mary Lanius. In 1980, Given their technical constraints of painting on mud or cow dung plastered walls, Dusadh paintings, to some extent have a similarity with that from Brahmins and Kayastha, however, they were immediately distinguishable from more popular kachni and bharni paintings of the same era. Dusadh women in this period mainly painted trees, creepers, flowers, and molded low relief clay figures of deities and animals on external walls of their homes. Dusadh women created three major distinct painting style and techniques. The most popular and important one among these is the tattoo style paintings or Godana on limbs and chest of people. They include an auspicious and protective image on the human body mostly having rows and concentric circles of flowers, fields’ animals and deities done initially by bamboo pen and lampblack ink. Many painters emulated this form of paintings and very soon tattooed paintings started to proliferate in this region. People started to use bamboo pens and gradually started using organic colors as well made from flowers, grains, harvest, turmeric etc. As Dusadh women started to use colors in their paintings, their scope of content and subjects to make their paintings also increased significantly. They now started to include other gods and goddesses like Suriya (the sun goddess), their cultural hero Raja Salheshand his adventurous escapades, the tree of life, and Rahu. Though these paintings used colors and broads elements they substantially differed from existing Bharni and kachni paintings of that time. The second form of paintings was innovated by Jamuna Devi, a local woman belonging to Chamar caste, and was somewhat similar to bharni paintings. They abundantly used natural and synthetic colors besides using large images of deities, gods, human beings and other anthropomorphic forms. However, these paintings were distinguished by bharni paintings by the use of a double line of cow dung and lampblack dots between the lines and other places around depicted figures.
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One additional form of paintings was also innovated by Jamuna Devi when she started washing the paper with cow dung to give it a sullying texture and appearance. Initially, the idea of washing the drawing paper with cow dung dint go quite well with the artist community but the inspiring response from the market and huge subsequent demand for same established the use of cow dung washed papers as a mark of superior paintings imbibed by Brahmin and Kayastha women as well. Eventually the papers which were smeared by cow dung became very popular among the people and the artists began artists such as called Siban Paswan and Rajesh Paswan from Jitwarpur does that very frequently creating a distinct style of coloring for themselves, the smearing of paper gives it a distinct smell when it is fresh and adds an earthly hue to the paper making it more visually appealing.
Geru (brown) included big figures of gods and goddess, animals and fields largely painted in light brown along with few more bright color objects on the paper. Resembling low relief figures on the walls of homes of Mithila inhabitants, these paintings dint take off too well and couldn’t attract many buyers. The fact to ponder upon here is that none of these Dusadh paintings or High caste paintings from Brahmins and kayastha women has remained stagnant from the times of their inception to today. Mithila Art is under a state of constant evolution and also intermixing of styles among its subcategories. That is to say, not only the theme of Bharni Paintings or Kachni Paintings has changed slightly over time but also elements of Dusadh Paintings have penetrated in the same. This could be studied by taking examples of Brahmin painters who now abundantly use cow dung wash papers to add sullying beauty to their bharni paintings and the Dalit painters who use a lot of colors and broad figures in their paintings resembling bharni Style and often depicting kohbhar images also in their creations. The art of Mithila Painting has facilitated an exchange of quality styles among the artists of all castes and aesthetic signs of one could be well appreciated in the other. This being said the overall ambit of Mithila Painting includes paintings with some distinct broad identifiers like the repeated image of the subject of the painting, Single plain, no use of perspective or shading, full face representation of gods and goddesses. The skills of Dusadh painters increased manifolds in around last 4 decades.
Now they are not only drawing images of Shiva and Krishna but also expanding their content base. They are depicting the adventures of Raja Salhesh, Rahu (Dusadh community Sun God), besides current social and rural life issues to give a contemporary appeal to their work. One major element of their paintings is the life tree, a huge tree with images of animals, flowers, regular day-to-day household items, gods and human forms in various stages young to old etc. These trees of life have been thoughtfully used by Dusadh painters to depict intellectually stimulating concepts of cosmological inference such as Raas to a more regular depiction of the nomadic journey of migrant workers assembling in Jitwarpur and nearby areas during the harvest time in order to find work. Though upper caste painters have used small trees, leaves and other related images repetitively as fillers in their paintings; they haven’t been very explicit and thought to apply with the tree of life which is popular in India and Europe.
This style of Painting was started by Jamuna Devi, by basically giving the paper a light Gobar (Cow dung slurry) wash to give it a beautiful sullying look and feel on which bright colors often come out very beautifully. From the caste perspective, it’s important to note that unlike other scheduled castes of Jitwarpur village like the Malis, the Pasis, Doms, and Dhobiwho all stuck to their traditional professions, the Chamars and the Dusadhs have forayed into a full-time profession of Mithila Painting. At this point, it’s helpful to probe the socioeconomic background and status of these two castes before studying the evolution of their art and its modern significance. Even today these castes The Chamars and The Dusadhs by a majority of residents in the same region are considered inferiors and untouchables and discriminated openly in social transactions and exchanges. There are various sources and studies done on history and background of these castes at the bottom of the pyramid and they unanimously bring forth the plight of being a low born by birth. Dusadhs and Chamars are among the most devoid of castes and denied the basic human rights. These included restriction on them using the village well, expected to not cross high borns daytime during their walks in fields and villages, couldn’t eat or participate in village social affair, feasts and gatherings and most primitively above all “ cast of impurity on a higher caste person if a Dalit’s shadow falls on him or her. Neel Rekha a renowned sociologist in her article ‘Salhesa iconography in Madhubani Paintings: A case of Harijan assertion’ throws light on this “ Mithila was basically an agricultural economy. The feudalistic pattern of society and economy, which originated in the pre-medieval Mithila, continued till the present century and only a small section of Maithil Population was economically well off on account of either education or through the landed property. With the region witnessing a series of droughts in the 50’s and 60’s, the meager income derived from agriculture also came to an end. It resulted in a large-scale exodus of men and women belonging to the lower caste communities to the cities. Many painters from the Dusadh caste of Jitwarpur revealed that they were earning their living by pulling rickshaws in Madhubani.
The Chamars, also known as Ravidas, were by occupation makers of footwear, cultivators or laborers. Their traditional occupation was the disposal of dead animals and to prepare different objects out of the skin of dead animals. Their caste occupation also included dealing in other objects obtained from the body of dead animals such as horns, bones, and flesh. However, their main work was the processing of skin and making of footwear. Even today in some villages, they still have the right to the hides of the dead livestock. In the past, they were often suspected of poisoning the cattle. The Dusadhs were one of the useful castes in the area owing to their value as agricultural laborers. They reared cattle, pigs etc. and supported themselves mostly by labor and cultivation. They also monopolized the post of village chowkidars or watchmen in the district.
of the titles among the Dusadhs was Paswan, which means a watchman or a guard. Their women supplemented the income of the family by working as laborers. The Dusadhs were enlisted among the criminal castes of the district. Poverty and social incompatibility seemed to be the immediate environmental factors responsible for leading to criminal acts “ The scheduled castes also from an early time had the culture of decorating their houses, kothis, storage other broad surfaces with figures of animals like horses and elephants but these were simple images devoid of any aesthetic or ornamental qualities. Making mud wall frescoes was very popular with them. However, the growing popularity of Brahmanical and Kayastha Paintings more precisely known as Bharni and Kachni, started to inspire lower caste Dusadhs and Chamar women as well and they wanted to learn the art behind these paintings. This was however not easy as Dalit Painters devoid of any knowledge of rich and ornamental Brahamanical or high caste rituals, deities, and gods; found themselves clueless about imitating Bharni and kachni painting styles.
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Lower caste women mostly caught in village hard physical work and domestic chores had little awareness of accounts of uncountable Hindu gods and deities and expecting guiding hand and time from their high caste counterpart women seemed difficult owing to social differences. This is where the motivation and skill specific advisory from the likes of Bhaskar Kulkarni, Raymond Lee Owens, an American anthropologist, and Erika Moser, a German folklorist comes as a savior for the evolution of Dalit Paintings in its current form. Bhaskar Kulkarni gave Jamuna Devi, one of the first Harijan women to start commercialized painting, the idea to wash the drawing paper with a light Gobar wash thus laying the foundation for Gobar or Geru Paintings. Jamuna Devi thus started a new and distinctive style of painting, which in coming times attain huge recognition and demand in commercial markets besides being emulated by painters from upper caste as well. Holi colors on cow- dung paper imparted an unusual brightness to her paintings making Jamuna Devi shot into prominence with her mud frescos and paintings reserving a place in big exhibitions of Japan, New Delhi, Patna, and Varanasi. Roudi Paswan, Jitwarpur husband of artist Chano Devi played a significant role in the evolution of Godana paintings. Introduction of natural colors, stories of local deities such as Rahu, Govinda and Salhes, Gobar style, tattoo motifs and contemporary themes by the Dusadhs gave a huge distinctive appeal and beauty to. Men from the region were also instrumental in helping women folks to produce the masterpieces. Ramvilas Paswan from village Laheriagunj and Roudi Paswan of village Jitwarpur were forces behind these innovations in Dalit paintings. Their occupation as the local priests of the Dusadhs helped Dalit women get a hang of their own cultural history and know the gods like Salhesa and Rahu better. Another pioneer credited with popularizing community legends in Dalit Paintings was Shanti Devi who learned the art from her mother- in -law Kushuma Devi. She worked her husband Seewan and they were inspired by the efforts of Raymond Lee Owens urging them to depict legends from their own community into their paintings. She was distinctive from Jamuna Devi in the manner of making large panels with natural colors in Gobar outlines. Another major form of Dalit Paintings to mention here are Godana paintings by pioneered by Chano Devi the wife of Roudi Paswan’s. Eric Moser saw tattoos on Chano’s body and suggested her to get the tattoos on paper. Her partner in evolving this style of paintings was Palti Devi – a Natin who had performed these tattoos on Chano’s body. They worked together in isolation of a mango grove for two months and evolved this new painting style.
Evolution of Tattoo Paintings can be traced back by studying the ritual and habits of Nat Community. Natins, the women folks of this community have been master tattooers since a long time. Dalit women from Bihar have used Godna as an idiom to make an elevated sense of Dalit emancipation, which they explain in terms of the annihilation of caste and the restoration of manuski [dignity to themselves]. Gopal Guru in his work draws light towards intellectual expression in forms of work undertaken or forced on Dalit women. The nature of work remains demeaning and is further trivialized by the internal paradox of a patriarchal Dalit imagination. The hierarchical space within which Dalit women worked, has also been the sight of ‘distinctive subjectivities’ that women expressed in response to the nature of the work. Guru opines that Dalit women have been expressive and created their own forms of deliberation in response to the exploitative conditions of work imposed upon them. He categorises Dalit women into two, first the ones who are involved in a particular kind of labour that helps them to articulate through forms such as paintings, tattoos and folk poetry and relate to Ambedkar and the second category of women which do not have any formal education seem to resonate with his ideology and become a voice in articulating to Ambedkar’s recourse on the basis of trust. Example Guru highlights how women self-assertion came through unmediated language with a sense of individual creativity and purely through experience in the field of work. Gopal guru illustrates the ways in which women deliberate a feminist articulation situated in a particular kind of work. Taking the case of Godna Painting, Dalit women in the Madhubani district of Bihar express their pain through the idiom of Godna to Dalit emancipation, which they explain in ‘annihilation of caste and restoration of mansuki (Dignity to themselves). Godna originally meaning the art of tattooing was adopted particularly in the provinces in Bihar and Bengal, to imprint the prisoners as well as demonstrate an upper caste distinction. Historian Claire Anderson, researched and claimed that most of these tattoos were made by lower caste illiterate women who use to draw creative patterns and number on upper caste bodies, ordered by the imperial authorities. However, the history Godna lies in the discrimination suffered by the Dalit women when they were forced to wear ornaments of iron and inferior materials as prescribed by the Manu code. Tattooing was thus seen as an inversion of that prescription that marked distinction from the lower caste in the public. Godna, was not only seen as the inversion of markers of identification for the Dalit women but was also viewed as an attractive alternative to forms of subaltern expression for these women. Guru opines that the form of deliberation has considerably shifted from ‘body as being the base for cultural imagination’ with decorative tattooing to penal tattooing to a gradual shift to paintings on Ambedkar on paper. Even though this recent form of intellectualism is appreciated for a more institutionalized grounding and visible recognition, what remains a pertinent concern is the fading away of such subaltern intellectualism, like the practice of Godna art conveying a vital form of expression among the subaltern women laborers. The small size of the Godana images made them popular with Textile designers and they started to be a popular marketing advantage for the textile industry. Godana paintings started dominating the Marketing field. The early designs of tattoo paintings were simple black & white figure like the way on human bodies and they mostly revolved around auspicious image and onuses thought to be lucky in Nat Community. However overall these tattoo paintings did not carry deep meaning or storytelling within them. This is where the contribution of Chano Devi, the early star of Godan (Tattoo) Paintings is remarkable. Under her husband’s guidance, she started depicting the life histories of Salhesa to add meanings to the tattooShanti and Chano Devi also started to experiment with natural colors in order to create more distinctive style. These colors later became the main identifier of Dalit Godana paintings. Falling in line other painters started to abandon the use of Holi colors in favor of natural colors and thus a new full-fledged style of Colorful Godana (tattoo) paintings came into limelight. These natural colors mostly came from cow-dung base and leaves, flowers, vegetables, barks, and roots. The journey of Dalit Paintings from Gobar Paintings to the Godana Paintings finally established Dusadhs and Chamar Caste women in the field of folk art. Dalits started from imbibing early popular high caste painting style and themes focusing on Stories of Rama, Sita, Krishna, and other Hindu legends. However, not only Dalit Painters were less versed with these elaborate Hindu rituals and thus ordinary translators of same on their paintings; they also were only seen as followers of already established trends. There was definitely a need for original style creation from Dalits to put them in the league of High caste Brahmins and Kayastha women who were reputed to be the creator of the art.
There was a need for Dalit owned story and elaboration of their own culture on painting papers. The depiction of God Salhesa in Dalit paintings, thus giving it a major shift from ongoing paintings on day-to-day life, nature, and chores of Dalit women, marked the beginning of Dalit Clout in the world of Mithila Paintings. A new style was born and this time in the humble homes of The Dalits. An analysis of Shanti Devi’s (The pioneer of Dalit paintings besides Channo Devi and Jamuna Devi) work reveals that Govinda, A god for Halwais also remained her favorite besides Salhesa. It is also to be noted that the number of Dusadh painters eventually outnumbered other scheduled castes especially the Chamars who came even before them. The followership of Salhesa Paintings among the artists as well as the market made it the most popular theme under the overall category of Dalit Paintings and Salhesa was chosen to represent all the scheduled castes.
Evolution of Dalit art came as a mode of resistance as it is evident, it marks the creation of social space for themselves in the cultural hierarchy of the society. Dulari Devi, Rajesh Paswan, Shivan Paswan, Channu Devi, and Roudi Paswan are some of the individuals who despite belonging to the low caste did work for their cultural upliftment and are successful to a greater extent. In the contemporary era, Godana paintings are very famous and popular in the market but due to consumer demand and the paintings have become highly commercialized we see an intermixing of Godana art with other styles of Mithila paintings which are a deviation from their original art form since its inception. Among the Dalits in Bihar Dusadhs and Chamar have led the way in evolving their own style of painting and asserting their identity by creating their social space.
– By Aditi Narayani, Aditi is a Research Scholar at Centre for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion, JNU.
*Some of these aspects at length and in detail have been covered in M.Phil. Dissertation entitled “Folk Art of Mithila: Understanding Paintings and its Intersectionalities”, submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in 2017*


Sophocles (c. 496 B.C.E. – 406 B.C.E.) (Ancient Greek: Σοφοκλης) was one of the three great ancient Greek tragedians who, with Aeschylus and Euripides, defined the forms of drama and theater, establishing a literary tradition that influenced not only the drama of the ancient world but of the Western literary tradition to the present day. Every major dramatist—from Seneca to William Shakespeare, from Jean-Baptiste Molière to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe—has been influenced in some degree by Sophocles' conception of tragedy.
The tragedies of Sophocles are less derivative of Homeric fate or the implacable will of the gods than of inherent human limitations. Prefiguring Shakepearean tragedy, Sophocles explores human fallibility, the limits of knowledge, and the susceptibility of the human condition within the cosmic order. In Sophoclean tragedy, the violation of natural law entails its own consequences, but suffering also provides a means of redemption.
Sophocles' protagonists were admired by Aristotle as being "like ourselves only nobler." The plays express deep piety, without superstition. Arrogance, pride, impiety, and the urge for revenge lead men and women into actions that violate the divine order, yet heroic figure surmounts obstacles and injustice through virtues of reverence, courage, and deference to the gods.
Of Sophocles' more than 120 plays, eighteen won first prize in competitions, although only seven have survived. The plots which Sophocles devised have been adapted and re-envisioned countless times throughout history and across the Western world, from Grecian and Roman tragedians, to medieval and Renaissance playwrights, to adaptations of Sophocles which continue to be produced today. He is one of the most influential writers of ancient Greece and among the greatest dramatists in history.
What little is known of Sophocles' life can be gleaned from fragments of other ancient writers, whose works largely have been lost. According to the Suda, Sophocles wrote 123 plays in the dramatic competitions of the Festival of Dionysus (where each submission by one playwright consisted of four plays; three tragedies and a satyr play, a sort of ancient Greek burlesque put on after a series of tragedies to relieve the audience of grief). Sophocles won more first prizes (around 20) than any other playwright, and placed second in all others he participated in (Lloyd-Jones 1994, 8). His first victory was in 468 B.C.E., although scholars are no longer certain that this was the first time that he competed (Scullion 2002).
Only seven of his tragedies have survived complete in the medieval manuscript tradition. The most famous are the three tragedies concerning Oedipus and Antigone: These are often known as the Theban plays or The Oedipus Cycle, although they do not make up a single trilogy. Discoveries of papyri from the late nineteenth century onwards, especially at Oxyrhynchus, have greatly added to our knowledge of Sophocles' works. The most substantial fragment that has so far appeared contains approximately half of a satyr play, The Tracking Satyrs.
Sophocles was born about a mile northwest of Athens in the rural deme (small community) of Colonus Hippius in Attica. His birth took place a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.E.: The exact year is unclear, although 497 or 496 is perhaps most likely (Lloyd-Jones 1994, 7). The nature of his family life is disputed; it is unknown whether his father, Sophillus, was a carpenter, smith, or swordmaker, of if he owned slaves who pursued such occupations. Young Sophocles won awards in wrestling and music, and was graceful and handsome. He led the chorus of boys (paean) at the Athenian celebration of the victory against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C.E.
Sophocles enjoyed a public profile outside the theater. In 443/442 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai or treasurers of Athena. The Athenian people elected him as one of the ten generals for 441/440, during which he participated in crushing the revolt of Samos Island. There is some evidence that he was one of the commissioners appointed in 413 B.C.E. as a response to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily (Lloyd-Jones 1994, 12-13). Sophocles also served as a priest for a time.
Like many ancient Greek names, that of Sophocles (Σοφοκλης) has a meaning. A compound of σόφος (sophos) "wise" and κλέος (kleos) "glory," Sophocles' name translates to "famous for wisdom;" considering that his words continue to be studied some 2,500 years after his death, his name has proven to be quite apt.
The Theban Plays
The three Theban Plays, or the Oedipus cycle, Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus), Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, were written across thirty-six years of Sophocles' career and were not composed in chronological order, but instead were written in the order Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus.
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex and Oedipus Tyrannos, Oι̉δίπoυς τύραννoς in Greek) is often considered Sophocles’ masterpiece, written in 425 B.C.E., the play was the second of Sophocles' three Theban plays to be produced, but comes first in the internal chronology of the plays, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. The play was highly esteemed in its time, and has gone on to be even more popular today, in part due to the significance attached to the Oedipus myth by Sigmund Freud.
Sophocles' play treats the myth of Oedipus, son of King Laius of Thebes and Queen Jocasta, also known as Iocaste. Oedipus was a figure from Greek mythology who as an infant was sent to be exposed and left for dead with his ankles bound on a mountainside in an effort to circumvent the oracle's prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. However, he was found and saved by a shepherd and raised in the court of King Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope. Hearing from an oracle that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, and believing Polybus and Merope to be his real parents, he left Corinth. Oedipus meets Laius by chance on a road, but does not recognize him; the two get into an argument that descends into a fight, and Oedipus accidentally kills him. Arriving in Thebes, he saves the city from the Sphinx by solving his riddle, "What uses four legs in the morning, two in the day, and three at night?" The answer, of course, is Man, who begins life crawling, then learns to walk, and in old age walks with the aid of a cane. For saving the city his reward is the kingdom of Thebes, including the hand of his mother, Queen Jocasta.
As the play begins, Sophocles joins the story in media res after Thebes has been struck with a plague by the gods in outrage over Oedipus' crimes, patricide and incest. The action of the play centers on Oedipus' investigation into the source of the plague, in which he curses and promises to exile those responsible. Although the blind prophet Tiresias explicitly tells Oedipus at the beginning of the play that he is the cause of the plague, Oedipus at first does not understand. Instead he accuses Tiresias of conspiring with Creon, Jocasta's brother, to overthrow him.
Oedipus then calls for a former servant of Laius, the only surviving witness of the murder, who fled the city when Oedipus became king. Soon a messenger from Corinth also arrives to inform Oedipus of the death of Polybus, whom Oedipus still believes is his real father, until the messenger informs him that he was in fact adopted. In the subsequent discussions between Oedipus, Jocasta, the servant, and the messenger, Jocasta discovers the truth and runs off-stage; Oedipus learns the truth more slowly, but later runs off-stage as well. The Greek chorus fills in the unseen details: Jocasta has hanged herself, and Oedipus, upon discovering her body, blinds himself with the brooches (long gold pins with a pointed end) of her dress. The play ends with Oedipus entrusting his children to Creon and going into exile, as he promised at the beginning.
The play depends heavily on dramatic irony. The irony works at several different levels. First, unlike Oedipus, the audience is already aware of the facts before the play begins. While Oedipus is searching for the cause of the plague, the audience is already aware that he is searching for himself. On another level, every step that Oedipus takes to avoid his fate brings him one step closer to fulfilling it. Then, after having already fulfilled the prophecy, Oedipus and Jocasta discuss the oracle, dismissing it as its prophecies have apparently not come to pass. Sophocles' dramatic technique, using the difference between the audience's awareness of events and those of the characters, have been deployed to create suspense by modern playwrights like Shakespeare and filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock.
Other themes in the play include the ineluctablility of fate and hubris. Oedipus' parents (and Oedipus himself) do everything in their power to avoid the prophecy of the oracle, only to have the very actions they take to avoid their destinies lead them to fulfill it. However, it is not just the capricious will of the gods that lead to Oedipus' downfall. He is a victim of his ignorance, a universal human limitation.
Oedipus at Colonus
In the timeline of the plays, the events of Oedipus at Colonus occur after Oedipus the King and before Antigone. The play describes the end of Oedipus' tragic life. Legends differ as to the site of Oedipus' death; Sophocles set the place at Colonus, a village near Athens and also Sophocles' own birthplace, where the blinded Oedipus has come with his daughters Antigone and Ismene as suppliants of the Eumenides and of Theseus, the king of Athens.
Exiled by Creon, with the collaboration of his sons Eteocles and Polyneices, Oedipus becomes a wandering beggar led by his daughter Antigone. Oedipus enters the village of Colonus and they are approached by a villager, who demands that they leave, because that ground is sacred to the Furies, or Eumenides. Oedipus recognizes this as a sign, for when he received the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, Apollo also revealed to him that at the end of his life he would die at a place sacred to the Furies, and be a blessing for the land in which he is buried.
The chorus of old men from the village enters, and although they promise not to harm Oedipus, they wish to expel him from their city, fearing that he will curse it. Oedipus answers by explaining that he is not morally responsible for his crimes, since he killed his father in self-defense. Furthermore, he asks to see their king, Theseus, saying, "I come as someone sacred, someone filled with piety and power, bearing a great gift for all your people." The chorus is amazed, and decides to reserve their judgment of Oedipus until Theseus, king of Athens, arrives.
Theseus arrives and sympathizes with Oedipus, and offers him unconditional aid, causing Oedipus to praise the king and offer him the gift of his burial site, which will ensure victory in a future conflict with Thebes. Theseus protests, saying that the two cities are friendly, and Oedipus responds with what is perhaps the most famous speech in the play. "Oh Theseus, dear friend, only the gods can never age, the gods can never die. All else in the world almighty Time obliterates, crushes all to nothing…" Creon then tries to remove Oedipus but is thwarted by Theseus. The arrival of his son, Polyneices, produces enrages Oedipus, who curses both sons despite the intercession of Antigone. Oedipus tells him that he deserves his fate, for he cast his father out and foretells that his two sons will kill each other in the coming battle. Oedipus soon senses his own impending death and allows only Theseus to witness the event by which he is transformed through his sufferings into a hero and a saint.
While the two other plays about Oedipus often bring up the theme of a person's moral responsibility for their destiny, and whether it is possible to rebel against destiny, Oedipus at Colonus is the only one to address it explicitly. Oedipus vehemently states that he is not responsible for the actions he was fated to commit. Despite being blinded and exiled and facing violence from Creon and his sons, in the end Oedipus is accepted and absolved by Zeus.
Oedipus at Colonus suggests that, in breaking divine law, a ruler’s limited understanding may lead him to believe himself fully innocent; however, his lack of awareness does not change the objective fact of his guilt.
Nevertheless, determination of guilt is far more complex than this, as illustrated by the dichotomy between the blessing and the curse upon Oedipus. He has committed two crimes which render him a sort of monster and outcast among men: Incest and patricide. His physical suffering, including his self-inflicted blindness, and lonely wandering, are his punishment. However, in death, he will be favored; the place in which he dies will be blessed. This suggests that willful action is in some part of guilt; the fact that Oedipus is “rationally innocent”—that he sinned unknowingly—decreases his guilt, allowing his earthly sufferings to serve as sufficient expiation for his sins.
In Sophocles’ drama Antigone, Oedipus’ daughter Antigone is faced with the choice of allowing her brother Polyneices’ body to get eaten by savage dogs or to bury him and face death. The king of the land, Creon, has forbidden the burial of Polyneices for he was a traitor to the city. Antigone decides to bury his body and face the consequences. Eventually, Creon is convinced to free Antigone from her sentence of death, but his decision comes too late and Antigone commits suicide. Her suicide triggers the suicide of two others close to King Creon, his son, Haemon, who loved Antigone, and his wife who commits suicide after losing her only son.
Antigone focuses on the conflicting duties of civic versus spiritual loyalties, the clash of values between Creon and Antigone. Creon advocates obedience to man-made laws while Antigone stresses the higher laws of duty to the gods and one's family. The play is thus one of the most commonly cited supports in Greek tragedy for the supremacy of Natural Law. Creon, the dramatic hero, realizes only after he loses the lives of all his family that he was mistaken to place the law of the state above the law of the gods.
Antigone's determination to bury Polynices arises from a desire to bring honor to her family, not just to the gods. She repeatedly declares that she must act to please "those that are dead" (An. 77), because they hold more weight than any ruler. In the opening scene, she makes an emotional appeal to her sister Ismene saying that they must protect their brother out of sisterly love, even if he did betray their state. Antigone makes very few references to the gods, and so it is very easy to interpret much of her reasoning for honoring higher laws as referencing laws of family honor, not divine laws.
While he rejects Antigone's actions based on family honor, Creon appears to value family heavily himself as well. This is one of the few areas where Creon and Antigone's values seem to align. When talking to Haemon, Creon demands of him not only obedience as a citizen, but also as a son. Creon even goes so far as to say "everything else shall be second to your father's decision" ("An." 640-641). This stance seems extreme, especially in light of the fact that Creon elsewhere advocates obedience to the state above all else. While it is not clear how he would handle these two values in conflict, it is clear that even for Creon, family occupies a place as high if not higher than the state.
Sophocles' plays Ajax, Electra, The Trachiniae, and Philoctetes were adapted from the Homeric cycle. Ajax and recounts the life of the Greek hero, second only to Achilles among the Achaeans who fight against the Trojans. Of heroic strength and valor, Ajax is stained by arrogance and impiety. Claiming that "any coward could win victories with the help of the gods," he dismisses the goddess Athene who comes to encourage him in battle. He is then enraged because the armor of the fallen Achilles armor is awarded to Odysseus. Planning vengeance, he is tricked by Athena into believing that sheep and cattle taken as spoil are the Greek leaders who disgraced him. He slaughters some of them before realizing his folly, and then takes his life out of his humiliation.
Electra is the story of the murders of Electra's father, the Greek king Agamemnon, and mother, Clytemnestra, both involved in treacherous personal betrayals. The story is was also presented by Aeschylus and Euripides, but Sophocles concentrates less on the dark and violent acts than on the character of Electra, whose desire for revenge for her father's murder leads her to conspire in her mother's murder. The Trachiniae concerns the jealousy of Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, but emphasizes her gentleness and devotion in contrast to the volcanic Heracles, who appears near madness in the mistaken belief that his wife sought to kill him.
Philoctetes is a psychological study of a relatively minor Homeric figure. The Greeks had abandoned Philoctetes on the island of Lemnos, because of an incurable wound to his foot. But they learn from an oracle that they cannot capture Troy without his assistance. Represented by Aeschylus as embittered by his sufferings and betrayal, Philoctetes for Sophocles is far more sympathetic, a figure of warmth and generosity who scorns deceit.
In Sophocles' time, the Greek art of the drama was undergoing rapid and profound change. It had begun with little more than a chorus, but earlier playwrights had added first one and then two actors and thereby shifted the action of the plays away from the chorus. Among Sophocles' earliest innovations was the addition of a third actor, further reducing the role of the chorus and creating greater opportunity for character development and conflict between characters. In fact, Aeschylus, who dominated Athenian theater during Sophocles' early career, adopted this third character into his own playwriting towards the end of his life. It was not until after the death of Aeschylus in 456 B.C.E. that Sophocles became the preeminent playwright in Athens. Thereafter, Sophocles emerged victorious in dramatic competitions at 18 Dionysia and 6 Lenaia festivals.
In addition to innovations in the structure of drama, Sophocles' work is known for deeper development of characters than earlier playwrights, whose characters are more two-dimensional and are therefore harder for an audience to relate to. His reputation was such that foreign rulers invited him to attend their courts, although unlike Aeschylus who died in Sicily, Sophocles never accepted any of these invitations. Aristotle used Sophocles's Oedipus the King as an example of perfect tragedy, which suggests the high esteem in which his work was held by later Greeks.
Throughout the The Theban cycle, Sophocles explores the inadequacy of knowledge, the baffling problem of evil visited on the just, and man's capacity to endure suffering. For Sophocles, the world is orderly and follows natural laws, and the violation of natural law necessitates punishment and suffering. Human knowledge is limited, and even the just violate natural law out of ignorance. Suffering follows from wrong actions, but through suffering man can achieve nobility and dignity.
Only two of the seven surviving plays have securely dated first or second performances: Philoctetes (409 B.C.E.) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 B.C.E., put on after Sophocles' death by his grandson). Of the others, Electra shows stylistic similarities to these two plays, and so was probably written in the latter part of his career. Ajax, Antigone, and The Trachiniae are generally thought to be among his early works, again based on stylistic elements, with Oedipus the King coming in Sophocles' middle period.
- The Tracking Satyrs
- The Progeny
- Aias Lokros (Ajax the Locrian)
- Akhaiôn Syllogos (The Gathering of the Achaeans)
- Nauplios Katapleon (Nauplius' Arrival)
- Nauplios Pyrkaeus (Nauplius' Fires)
- Poimenes (The Shepherds)
- Syndeipnoi (The Diners, or The Banqueters)
- Troilus and Phaedra
- Tyro Keiromene (Tyro Shorn)
- Tyro Anagnorizomene (Tyro Rediscovered)
Fragments of The Progeny (Epigonoi) were discovered in April 2005 by classicists at Oxford University with the help of infrared technology previously used for satellite imaging. The tragedy tells the story of the siege of Thebes.
- Sophocles, Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, 2nd ed., David Grene and Richard Lattimore (eds.) (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1991).
- Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays, trans. Robert Fagles (New York: Penguin Books, 1984).
- Freeman, 242-243.
- Aristotle, Ars Poetica.
- Lloyd-Jones, Sir Hugh (ed.). Sophocles. Ajax. Electra. Oedipus Tyrannus. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994.
- Scullion, Scott. “Tragic Dates.” Classical Quarterly new sequence 52 (2002): 81-101.
- Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1870.
All links retrieved November 16, 2019.
- Works by Sophocles. Project Gutenberg
- Studies in Sophoclean Fragments
- Films based on Sophocles plays
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This collection uses primary sources to explore The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.
In this unit, students read the core texts The Hundred Dresses and Garvey's Choice as a way of exploring what it means to be accepting and tolerant of themselves and others. The Hundred Dresses challenges students to think about the different roles associated with bullying through the eyes of the narrator, who struggles with her own involvement with a classmate who is bullied. Garvey's Choice illustrates the way others influence the way we see ourselves, both positively and negatively, and the power of accepting ourselves by tracing Garvey's path to self-discovery and acceptance. Both texts are full of moments and messages that are easily relatable for students at this grade level. Therefore, it is our hope that the experiences of the characters in both texts will serve as a neutral launching point for deeper discussions about bullying, tolerance, acceptance, and forgiveness.
In reading, the main focus of the unit is on identifying and tracing the central message across a longer text. Over the course of the text, students will develop a deep understanding of each character's thoughts, feelings, and motivations, which will help them identify and explain how the central message is developed and conveyed through the characters. Students will also begin to understand how successive parts of a text build on each other to push the plot forward. Particularly with Garvey's Choice, students will analyze the genre features of novels written in verse and how each part helps build and develop the central message. This unit also focused on point of view. Students will begin to notice the point of view in which a story is told and compare that with their own point of view.
This collection uses primary sources to explore The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.
In this unit, students will become familiar with fables and trickster tales from different cultural traditions and will see how stories change when transferred orally between generations and cultures. They will learn how both types of folktales employ various animals in different ways to portray human strengths and weaknesses and to pass down wisdom from one generation to the next. Use the following lessons to introduce students to world folklore and to explore how folktales convey the perspectives of different world cultures.
This course is a survey of American Literature from 1650 through 1820. It covers Early American and Puritan Literature, Enlightenment Literature, and Romantic Literature. It teaches in the context of American History and introduces the student to literary criticism and research.
In this unit students continue the exploration of factors that influence change by examining the events that led up to the American Revolution. Over the course of the unit, students will build a deeper understanding of the significant ideas and values at the heart of the American Revolution, what drove the colonists to seek independence, and how conflict between England and the colonists ultimately influenced change in our country. Students will see the American Revolution from multiple perspectives, starting with analyzing the difference in perspectives between the British and the colonists and how each side's actions often instigated each other. Students will also explore how class structure influenced colonists perspectives. Later in the unit, students will think about the perspectives of black people, women and Native Americans who were forced to choose a side and why they may have had a different point of view of the events of the revolution.
An important part of this unit is pushing students to focus on seeing history from multiple different perspectives. The core text Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began offers one perspective on events, however, the prespective is limited to that held by white elite colonists. Therefore, students also read excerpts from A Young People's History of the United States in order to build a deeper understanding of all sides of the Revolution.
In this unit, students explore ancient Egypt. Over the course of the unit students learn and explore different characteristics of ancient Egypt and what the ancient Egyptians valued. Through learning about the daily routines, structures, and rituals of ancient Egypt, students will be challenged to draw conclusions about what the civilization valued and how those values compare to society today. Students will also learn about the role that mummies and pyramids played in ancient Egyptian society and why archeologists and scientists have been intrigued by them ever since. In second and third grade, students will continue their exploration of ancient civilizations by learning more about ancient Greece and ancient Rome. It is our hope that this unit, in conjunction with the others in the sequence, will help students understand and appreciate early civilizations that have had a lasting impact on the world.
In reading, this unit focuses on understanding the reasons and evidence an author uses to support points in a text. Being able to determine the reasons and evidence an author uses to support a point requires a deep understanding of cause and effect, informational text features, using illustrations to learn new details, and identifying the main topic and key details. These strategies have been introduced and practiced in previous units and should be reinforced and highlighted as needed in order to synthesize and identify the reasons an author uses to support points in a text. An additional focus of this unit is on using details from two texts to build a deeper understanding of content. Students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between texts at the end of the unit but should be challenged to notice similarities and differences as they encounter new texts over the course of the unit.
In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. At this point students should be fluid in writing about the text in a structured way. Therefore, the focus of this unit is on pushing students to include the best and most accurate evidence and then to explain the evidence with inferences or critical thinking.
In this unit students explore ancient Greece. Over the course of the unit students learn and explore different characteristics of ancient Greece and its values. Through learning about the daily routines, structures, and rituals of ancient Greece, students will be challenged to draw conclusions about what the civilization valued and how those values compare to society today. Students will also learn about many different gods and analyze the role gods played in ancient Greek society. At the end of the unit students will be challenged to compare and contrast the role of the Olympics in ancient Greek society with the modern-day Olympics. It is our hope that this unit, in conjunction with others in the sequence, will help students understand early influences in the world.
The mentor text for this unit, Ancient Greece and the Olympics, allows students to practice multiple informational reading strategies independently and in partners. Over the course of the unit students will practice the spiraling strategies of determining the main topic and details, using context clues to figure out unknown words, analyzing illustrations, and using text features to deepen understanding of a text. An additional focus of this unit is on describing how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. Over the entire unit students should be challenged to think critically about the reasons authors include in a text to support a particular point and why those reasons support the point. Another focus of this unit is on comparing and contrasting the most important points presented across two texts on the same topic. It is important to note that in order for students to successfully analyze authors' use of reasons and to compare and contrast across texts, students must be able to determine key details. Plan small-group remediation or reteach for students who are still struggling with this concept.
In this unit students explore the rise and fall of the ancient Roman Empire. Over the course of the unit, students learn about different characteristics of the Roman Empire, what lead to the Empire's growth and success, and what eventually lead to the Empire's demise. Through learning about the daily routines, structures, and rituals of the Roman Empire, students will be challenged to draw conclusions about what the civilization valued and how those values compare to societal values today. This unit builds onto the 2nd grade nonfiction unit on ancient Greece, in which students began to think about how the daily routines, structures, and rituals of a civilization show what they value. This unit, in conjunction with the second grade unit on ancient Greece, will help students understand early influences in the world and the first republics.
The mentor texts for this unit, Ancient Rome and Pompeii: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House and Eye Wonder: Ancient Rome, allow students to practice multiple informational reading strategies in two very different text structures. In both texts, but predominately in Eye Wonder, students will practice using a multitude of text features and illustrations as a way of learning new information about a topic. Over the course of this unit, students will constantly be thinking about how the information from one text builds on and connects to the information in the other text. Then at the end of the unit, students will be asked to critically analyze the similarities and differences between the two texts.
Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.
In this science-based unit, students begin their exploration of animals and animal adaptations. Using next generation science standards as a guide, students explore three main topics: how different animals use their body parts and senses in different ways in order to survive, the ways in which the behavior of different animal parents and offspring help the offspring survive, and the similarities and differences among individual animals of the same kind. This unit is part of a larger progression on understanding animals and the animal kingdom. In kindergarten, students learn about how animals meet their basic needs for survival and how that varies depending on the season. In second grade, students learn about different habitats and how animals in the habitat rely on the environment for survival. Then in third grade, students study animal adaptations and the different ways animals adapt in order to survive, especially when threatened by environmental changes. It is our hope that this unit, in combination with others in the sequence, will help students develop a deeper understanding of the animal kingdom and life science.
This unit includes a mix of read-aloud texts and shared-reading texts. Students will focus on different skills depending on the method in which the text is consumed. During read aloud, students will refine their skills in describing the connection between ideas and pieces of information, figuring out the meaning of unknown words, distinguishing between information provided by the pictures and information in the text, and identifying the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. During shared reading, students will predominately focus on identifying the main topic of a section of a text, retelling key details that match the main topic, and using text features to locate key facts and information. Because the shared reading days are meant to be student driven, not teacher driven, the target tasks are at a more accessible, independent level for students. There are also not a lot of key questions already planned for shared reading days. Questions should be written and spiraled in based on student needs and student reading levels.
In writing, this unit builds on the work students did in unit one. Students will continue to write daily in response to the text, with a focus on correctly answering questions and adding an inference or critical thinking.
In this lesson plan, students will learn about the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. In the introductory first lesson, they will see how animals are often used as symbols. In the second lesson, they will hear one of several versions of how the 12 animals were chosen. They will then focus upon a few of the animals in the story and see how they can be used as symbols of certain human characteristics. In the third lesson, they will be introduced to the other animals of the zodiac, and they will be given a chart on which they will assign traits to each animal. Then they will consult a number of websites to find the traits traditionally associated with the animals, which they will add to their list. Then, they will come up with a number of ways to compare and contrast the animals in the list. In the third lesson, they will focus upon the animal associated with the year of their birth, learning about its traits and discussing whether or not these apply to themselves and their peers. Finally, each student will make an acrostic, combining the letters of his or her first name with adjectives that relate to his or her zodiac sign.
The purpose of this project is two-fold: first, to encourage students to make the reading of poetry a creative act; and, second, to help students appreciate particular literary devices in their functions as semaphores or interpretive signals. Those devices that are about the imagery of a poem (metaphor, simile, personification, description) can be thought of as magnifying glasses: we see most clearly that upon which the poet focuses our gaze. Similarly, those poetic devices that are about the sound of the poem (alliteration, consonance, enjambment, onomatopoeia, and repetition) can be thought of as volume buttons or amplifiers: we hear most clearly what the poet makes us listen to most attentively.
Drawing upon the online archives of the U.S. Holocaust Museum, this lesson helps students to put the events described by Anne Frank into historical perspective, and also serves as a broad overview of the Nazi conquest of Europe during World War II. After surveying the experiences of various countries under Nazi occupation, the lesson ends with activities related specifically to the Netherlands and Anne Frank.
The underlying theme of this unit is building a deeper understanding of families. The world we live in is increasingly diverse, even within family structures, so it is incredibly important for students to see that there are many different types of families. Nuclear families are no longer the predominate type of family in society; more children are being raised by single parents, same-sex parents, in blended families or in families with mixed race, religion, or ethnicity. While these differences are common, it does not mean that students are comfortable with their own family experience or the differences between their families and their peers'. Therefore, one of the goals of this unit is to help students notice the similarities among families. With that said, not every type of family is covered over the course of the unit. This unit does not cover being part of a blended family or families with mixed religions or race. It does not cover families in which a child may not know his or her mother or father, families in which a child has been put into foster care, or families separated by immigration issues. These topics are incredibly important and applicable to a lot of students' lives; however, there is not a wealth of children's literature that adequately addresses these topics. Therefore, there are writing days added in to this unit as a way for students to reflect and share about their own families or for the teacher to bring in additional materials to reflect what they see with their students. These days should be based in conversations from the text but could lead to students talking about aspects of their families that make them unique or special.
There are three main bends in this unit. Bend one focuses on the idea that all families are different, but no matter what, families show each other love and support. Bend two focuses on the idea that siblings are an important part of a family, even though they can sometimes be annoying. Finally, bend three talks about grandparents and how grandparents, both near and far, play an important role in families. Throughout each bend, students will continue to work on determining the central message of a text, describing characters in-depth using details from the text and illustrations, and identifying words and phrases that appeal to the senses. In this unit students also begin longer shared reading. On shared reading days, students will read a text at grade level and practice using the strategies they have learned from read aloud to deeply understand and engage with the text.
In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. At this point students should be fluid in writing about the text in a structured way. Therefore, the focus of this answer is on pushing students to include the best and most accurate evidence and then to explain the evidence with inferences or critical thinking.
The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form. Several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arabic cultures, you may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is considered a mark of intelligence and a badge of honor. Students will learn about the origins and structure of Arabic Poetry.
Australian Aboriginal art is one of the oldest continuing art traditions in the world. Much of the most important knowledge of aboriginal society was conveyed through different kinds of storytelling—including narratives that were spoken, performed as dances or songs, and those that were painted. In this lesson students will learn about the Aboriginal storytelling tradition through the spoken word and through visual culture. They will have the opportunity to hear stories of the Dreamtime told by the Aboriginal people, as well as to investigate Aboriginal storytelling in contemporary dot paintings.
Through studying Beatrix Potter's stories and illustrations from the early 1900s and learning about her childhood in Victorian England, students can compare/contrast these with their own world to understand why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than people.
In this unit, students begin a year-long exploration of the seasons and how weather, plants, and animals are different depending on the season by studying the beauties of fall and fall harvests. Students launch the unit by setting up an ongoing weather experiment in order to understand the patterns of fall and how weather changes during fall. While gathering on-going data about the changing weather in fall, students will learn and observe what happens to leaves in the fall and notice the difference between various types of leaves. In the second half of the unit, students explore the different harvests of fall, particularly apples and pumpkins, and discuss the basic life cycles of both. This unit is a chance for students to stop and think about the changes that are happening in the natural world around them and why the changes happen. It is our hope that by the end of the year, after studying winter and spring in subsequent units, students will have a deeper understanding of the unique features of each season.
In reading, this is students' first introduction to informational texts and reading to learn information. Students will continue to develop their inquisitive side by being challenged to ask and answer questions about the content and text they are interacting with. This unit exposes students to a subject matter that is present in their day-to-day lives; therefore, they should be challenged to ask questions and make connections between what they are reading and learning and what they are seeing outside. Additionally, while listening to stories, students will learn how to use the text and illustrations to determine the key details of a text and then use those details to retell what the text was mostly about. Students will also continue to understand the author's and illustrator's roles in writing texts and should be able to identify and explain both by the end of the unit. In this unit, students will also begin to explore the content in-depth by participating in labs and projects. These teacher-created projects will allow students to interact with and synthesize the material they are learning at an even deeper level.
In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. As with units 1 and 2, students are focusing on using correct details from the text to answer the question. Students should be using a combination of words and pictures, depending on the student's development as a writer. Daily teaching points, based on student data, should be included to ensure that students are progressing as writers.