Composition & Essays

Lord of the Flies

Other Studies

Poetry

Shakespeare

To Kill A Mockingbird

Angie Graham

Romeo and Juliet

Grade: 10

Rationale

This unit has been designed to focus on thematic understanding of relationships between characters. A large portion of class time is devoted to class discussion about what students have read in the play and seen in the film. Most discussions will be student driven and the focus of these discussions will center on student questions or concerns. The questions I have posed in the lesson plans are either prompts or questions to guide the class discussion. Explanation of poetic devises and intentions will also find a place within class discussion, but I do not want to focus too much of these discussions on the mechanical or technical aspects of the play.

I have deliberately kept the number of worksheets minimal in an attempt to keep students interested in the play rather than boring them with factual recall. For the same reason, I have not designed any quizzes or tests for the play. I think through discussion and group projects, students will understand the plot and learn new perspectives on what they have seen and heard. I have designed the unit project as a showcase for students to demonstrate their accumulated factual and critical knowledge of the themes and characters in the play.

Each class will be determined by how students have responded to presented activities. The class will read the text aloud in all classes (except one) and parts will be given either to those who volunteer, appointed “volunteers”, or names drawn from a list. All students will be required to participate in the reading and acting of the play.

I have chosen to teach the play in concert with Baz Lurhmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet. This modern version is very true to plot and textual events and will help students visualize what they have read. Many students may have already seen the film and be familiar with the characters and plots and will offer their knowledge to the class discussions and activities. Finally, I hope that by teaching the play with the film, the students will find learning Shakespeare an enjoyable experience.

I have chosen a variety of class and assessment activities which meet the English IRP requirements that: students learn to make generalizations supported by evidence, students use a variety of graphic forms to represent what they have seen, heard, or read, students identify connections between what they have seen, heard, or read, students consider more than one opinion, students will explain how media can influence emotional response.