TitleIII Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

NYS Standards to be Addressed:

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Essential Questions:

What are the risks and advantages of power?

How do those affected by someone in power feel?

Do individuals choose their fate?

Declarative Knowledge: What the students will know.

• The plot of Macbeth
• The main characters and their relationships in Macbeth
• Facts about theatre and history in Shakespeare’s England
• Major themes, power, fate, corruption, guilt in Macbeth

• Differences between and importance of soliloquy and dialogue in a play

Procedural Knowledge: What the students will know how to do.

• Analyze a Shakespeare soliloquy by writing a prose summary of it.
• Keep a character journal, following one character through the play and analyzing what the character does and says, as well as, might have done or said, in the play.
• Write dialogue between characters in a play in response to a main character’s action or speech.
• Analyze the "missing" action or emotion of a play.
• Predict character responses and actions
• Analyze the relationship between character and them in Macbeth
• Analyze choices made by a director in order to create a movie version of Macbeth, such as, lighting, costume, set design, rearrangement of text, cutting of text, casting, etc.
• Use a CD rom, scanner, digital camera and desktop publishing program
• Work in small groups to discuss character journals
• Work in small groups to produce a computer designed booklet of their own work.

Launch Activities

• Students will watch a video clip of Shakespeare in Love. Clip will show street life and actors on stage. With partners, students will do a T-chart comparing details they noticed about life in Shakespeare’s time with life today.
• Shakespearean Scavenger Hunt. With partners students use a Shakespeare CD-rom, encyclopedias, internet articles, their copy of Macbeth and other library sources to locate answers to questions about Shakespeare’s time and the history of Macbeth.

• Students will be randomly sorted into their character teams of 3 or 4 students after the initial launch activities.

Learning Experiences (Acquiring and Integrating)

• The primary teaching tool for this unit is a character journal which student will use in a variety of ways during all stages of reading, viewing and analyzing the play.
• Students are assigned a character or group of characters in the play, options are: Lady Macbeth, the Witches, Banquo and Ross and other Scottish Nobleman.
• Each class will have a group of three or four working on the same character.
• Journals will be used to respond to the play as their character would respond, in dialogue with other characters, in dialogue with students from other classes. (copy of blank journal at the end of the unit.)
• The play will be read sometimes in full class session, sometimes with partners, summarizing as they go, sometimes watching the video with character reflection after viewing. At various points during the play, students present their character’s commentary on events. For example- What would the witches have to say about Banquo’s murder? Students collaborate on these ideas in their small groups and present them to the class on a set day.
• During viewing and reading of the play, each group must explain the role of their character within any scene where they appear. If their character is not in the scene under consideration they must articulate the importance of the character’s absence and at times, predict what the character would think if present. This should have students thinking about choices made by Shakespeare and how the play might be different.
• Students analyze one long speech by their character and explain its relevance to the play (a full prose summary).
• Students analyze one of Macbeth’s soliloquies and explain its importance to the play. They must also explain their character’s opinion of the speech. For example, if Lady Macbeth was listening to Macbeth’s "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…" speech, what would her opinion be of Macbeth’s mental state?
• Vocabulary: key terms sheets for: Ambition, Power, Fate, Tragedy, Soliloquy and Theme.
• Fifty Words or Less Writings: scattered throughout the play- some in characters journal, others turned in as quizzes.

Thematic Quotations: "To be thrown upon one’s own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune." Ben Franklin; "A man’s worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes." T.H. Huxley; "Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor." Ben Franklin; "Behind every strong man is a strong woman." Author Unknown.

Triangulation: War, Macbeth, his success on the points of a triangle. Students write their own version using their character, an event and a thematic word.

Before/After: Macbeth’s sense of duty before meeting the witches/after meeting the witches.

Learning Experiences Continued (but moving into Extending/Refining)

These will begin during the second half of reading the play and carry on after the play is done.

• In journal, focus on a choice your character has had to make during the play. Compare this choice to a choice in your own life. Use open compare/ contrast graphic organizer after initial freewrite.
• Within the groups each student will have to pick one of the following four choices so that nobody does the same one and all of them get done within the group (except groups of three where one choice will be left out.)

-dress in a costume portraying your character, have your picture taken with the digital camera.

-do the newspaper skit as your character: look through a daily newspaper and pick out an article that your character would read. In character, respond to questions about the article from teacher and classmates.

-memorize a speech of at least ten lines said by your character. Speak the speech in front of the class then explain its significance to the play.

-respond to one of Macbeth’s soliloquies by writing a speech of 10-15 lines that might have been spoken by your character. Say the speech in front of the class, but you don’t have to memorize it.

• Character Study: Students will write an essay analyzing their character and explaining their character’s importance to the play. This is an analyzing perspectives activity, but students will use the constructing support graphic organizer to stress the importance of having at least 2 solid ways their character was important to the play. Will be assessed using the character study rubric from the "Effective Communicator 9-12 Book."
• As a final test for this play, students will write a critical lens essay using the following quote,

"Literature helps you imagine what it feels like to be somebody else…even somebody you don’t like." Paula Fox

Essay will only use Macbeth and students will be assessed using the Task

IV Regents Rubric.

Culminating Performance/Meaningful Use Task

Each students will create a creative written response to Macbeth in the voice of the character being studied throughout the play. Possibilities include: poem, short story, newpaper editorial, persuasive essay, ballad, other choices they propose.

These responses will be gathered in a booklet for which the larger group of 3 or 4 students must

• design a cover
• use pictures/art (as listed below) to blend with the text (graphically design the layout)
• use the digital picture from earlier in the unit
• use at least one scanned photo
• use at least one border
• use at least two pieces of clip art
• use at least one picture from a CD-rom

The artwork must be put together on the pages so the text and pictures work together to convey meaning.

Group members will help one another proof and edit their pieces to be included in the final booklet.

Technology being used

• Students will work in "Clarisworks" for the design, text and gathering of imported of images.
• "Ofoto" is the program being used with the scanner
• "Graphic Converter" and "Image Viewer" will also be used for clip art, digital images and CD-rom art.
• Students will also have used the digital camera to take the pictures.

Benchmarks for ELA Standard 2

• Students will present their interpretations of specific scenes in Macbeth
• Students will write a response piece in the voice of a character from Macbeth
• Students will discuss the impact of character on the themes in Macbeth

Benchmarks for ELA Standard 3

• Students will present an analysis of a character in Macbeth considering the character’s role in the play and what the play would be like without the character.
• Students will discuss opposing views of Macbeth’s actions by role playing assigned characters
• Students will recognize the multiple opinions that can be held of the same character’s actions.
• Students will analyze the role fate and choice play in the lives of characters and humans.

Modifications for Special Education

I rarely find it necessary to modify my assignments significantly for Special Ed students. The only exception to this is extended time which some students need for the longer projects. In this unit they spend so much time discussing in a group, students will inevitably "get" most of the play. And many of my IEP students surprise others in their group with astute observations of films and dialogue when read out loud in group settings.

Final Notes

In order to make this unit work, students must be already familiar with working collaboratively. If you do not have students work together on a regular basis, this kind of extended project is probably not the best place to begin. As students get used to groups for short periods of time, a project like this becomes more realistic. Most of the learning experiences could be done as individual lessons if you want to give students a test of collaborative groups. It is also important to "work the room" when students are working together. Those students not working must be coached and there will be frequent clarification needed on lines and sections of the play. I have always found the talking students do about the text to be much more valuable and longer lasting than any lecture I can provide for them.