Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a standard in most English 9 classrooms. Unfortunately, since it's a standard, many students don't get too excited since they have to read it. It's time to bring the fun back into Shakespeare.
Co-teacher Olivia Werderman and I created a Romeo and Juliet unit plan for English 9, giving each week a different focus. As the weeks continue, the material covered becomes less text-based and more global-based, thus allowing students to connect the literature to their personal lives.
Week 1: Language Development
Week 2: Character Development
Week 3: Motifs and Themes
Week 4: Identity
These week focuses support my philosophy as students become more curious about the play's performance, more confident in their understanding of Shakespeare, and more aware of societal issues that are common among teenagers. Students will also have the opportunity to bring their own experiences into the classroom in order to better understand the material.
A lesson plan that I have created for this unit is provided in the following link. It focuses on the prologue, but with the greater purpose of understanding the language and catching student interest. After reading Shakespeare's prologue, students will listen to Andy Griffith's version of the prologue. Then we will spend time finding similarities and differences between the two versions, with a focus on language. How do two very different styles and forms relay the same information? This will be used to break down the language barrier and to make the Shakespearean language more accessible to the students.
Co-teacher Olivia Werderman and I created a Romeo and Juliet unit plan for English 9, giving each week a different focus. As the weeks continue, the material covered becomes less text-based and more global-based, thus allowing students to connect the literature to their personal lives.
Week 1: Language Development
Week 2: Character Development
Week 3: Motifs and Themes
Week 4: Identity
These week focuses support my philosophy as students become more curious about the play's performance, more confident in their understanding of Shakespeare, and more aware of societal issues that are common among teenagers. Students will also have the opportunity to bring their own experiences into the classroom in order to better understand the material.
A lesson plan that I have created for this unit is provided in the following link. It focuses on the prologue, but with the greater purpose of understanding the language and catching student interest. After reading Shakespeare's prologue, students will listen to Andy Griffith's version of the prologue. Then we will spend time finding similarities and differences between the two versions, with a focus on language. How do two very different styles and forms relay the same information? This will be used to break down the language barrier and to make the Shakespearean language more accessible to the students.