UNIT PLAN SHAKESPEARE DRAMA 2

Jonathan Martin
Professor Leah Kirkpatrick
A. Title of activity
- Shakespeare Reading Workshop
B. Context of the activity
- My Theatre 2 class is going to begin a unit on Shakespeare and adaptations.
C. Concepts to be covered
- Students will learn how to approach and understand Shakespearean language.
D. Lesson Objectives
- Students will be able to understand the basic shortcuts to reading Shakespeare
and will improve their ability to analyze Shakespearean text.
E. SOLs
TII.16Thestudentwillanalyzeselectedworksofdramaticliteratureby1.summarizing
theplaywrightsintentionsandmessage;2.identifyingtheelementsofgenre,style,
structure,mood,language,andsymbolism;3.demonstratingresponsesvisually,orally,
kinesthetically,orinwriting,usingtheatreartsvocabulary;and4.relatingdramatic
themestopersonalexperienceorcurrentevents.

F. Materials needed
- For this lesson, I need my room and a copy of Mark Antonys Bleeding
Earth monologue from Julius Caesar.
G. Procedure
- Introduction (10 minutes) We will start by discussing the students prior
experiences with Shakespeare. I will ask which plays they have read, what
their impressions are, and what they find challenging.
- Segue/Start of Lesson (30 minutes) I will give the students a pre-test on
Shakespearean language and comprehension to assess where they are at the
start of this.
- Lesson/Wrap-up (50 minutes) We will then read through Antonys
monologue from Julius Caesar. I will teach them the first steps to reading
Shakespeare, or the shortcuts. These are: looking for the meter, counting
syllables and looking for the thesis on a monosyllabic line, searching for
alliteration and abutted consonants, and inflection. I will then have them
analyze the monologue on their own, counting syllables and marking
alliteration and abutted consonants. At the end of class, I will assign
homework of researching Twelfth Night and skimming through summaries on
Wikipedia or SparkNotes.

H. Modifications for students with special needs

- We will be reading the whole piece together before working alone, that way
the text all becomes familiar. We also have more time than necessary for this
to ensure students have ample time.
I. What could go wrong?
- Students sometimes give up quickly on Shakespeare, so I will need to ensure
that I continually reaffirm them as we go.
J. Assessing learning
- My main assessment will be the Shakespeare pre-test, as well as observing
and hearing them read aloud.
Jonathan Martin
Professor Leah Kirkpatrick
A. Title of activity
- Twelfth Night
B. Context of the activity
- My Theatre 2 class now has a better understanding of how to read
Shakespeare, so today we will begin reading Shakespeare in more depth.
C. Concepts to be covered
- Students will learn how to approach and understand Shakespearean text and
summarize Shakespeare.
D. Lesson Objectives
- Students will be able to pay accurately summarize Shakespeares plays and
work in small groups to read aloud.
E. SOLs
TII.16Thestudentwillanalyzeselectedworksofdramaticliteratureby1.summarizing
theplaywrightsintentionsandmessage;2.identifyingtheelementsofgenre,style,
structure,mood,language,andsymbolism;3.demonstratingresponsesvisually,orally,
kinesthetically,orinwriting,usingtheatreartsvocabulary;and4.relatingdramatic
themestopersonalexperienceorcurrentevents.

F. Materials needed
- For this lesson, I need my room and copies of Twelfth Night and printed
copies of the Wikipedia summary.
G. Procedure
- Introduction (15 minutes) We will read the Wikipedia summary of Twelfth
Night in order to understand the general overview of the play.

Lesson (55 minutes) The students will work in small groups. Each group
will read one act of the play and summarize it. Each group will write the key
characters and plot points from the act they read on the board.
Wrap-up (20 minutes) They will briefly explain what they wrote on the
board and explain their act in 5 minutes per group. Other groups will take
notes on these.

H. Modifications for students with special needs

- I will assign the groups in order to ensure balance of skill, ability, work ethic,
and any other needs to keep in mind. I will float around the class and work
with individual groups as needed.
I. What could go wrong?
- As with the previous lesson, students sometimes can end up giving up on
Shakespeare rather quickly. Again, I need to ensure the groups stay on task.
J. Assessing learning
- My main assessment will be participation grades based on my observations as
well as their class presentations at the end.
Jonathan Martin
Professor Leah Kirkpatrick
A. Title of activity
- Twelfth Night Scenes/Adaptations
B. Context of the activity
- My Theatre 2 class now has gotten through all of Twelfth Night as a class.
C. Concepts to be covered
- Students will learn how to approach and understand Shakespearean text and
summarize Shakespeare. They also will learn to plan for adaptations.
D. Lesson Objectives
- Students will be able to pay accurately summarize Shakespeares plays and
work in small groups to read aloud. They will also be able to begin work on
adaptations by knowing where to start and how to sort through preliminary
ideas.
E. SOLs
- TII.16Thestudentwillanalyzeselectedworksofdramaticliteratureby1.
summarizingtheplaywrightsintentionsandmessage;2.identifyingtheelementsof
genre,style,structure,mood,language,andsymbolism;3.demonstratingresponses
visually,orally,kinesthetically,orinwriting,usingtheatreartsvocabulary;and4.
relatingdramaticthemestopersonalexperienceorcurrentevents.

TIII.13Thestudentwillapplyacriticalmethodologytoplaywritingby1.comparingthe
componentsoftheworksofestablishedplaywrightstothosefoundinstudentworks;2.
revisingoriginalstudentscripts;and3.explainingwhytherewillbeavarietyofresponsesby
audiencemembers.

F. Materials needed
- For this lesson, I need my room and copies of the test. I also need copies of
the play.
G. Procedure
- Quiz (45 minutes) We will take the quiz on the play.
- Group Work Session (45 minutes) We will briefly chat about adaptations
and what is needed for their success. The students will work in small groups. I
will assign students their groups for this project. The remainder of class will
be spent selecting which scene(s) the group wants to adapt, and how they want
to adapt them.
H. Modifications for students with special needs
- I will assign the groups in order to ensure balance of skill, ability, work ethic,
and any other needs to keep in mind. I will float around the class and work
with individual groups as needed. I have allotted way more time than needed
for this quiz.
Jonathan Martin
Professor Leah Kirkpatrick
A. Title of activity
- Shakespeare Adaptations Continued: Hip-Hop & Shakespeare
B. Context of the activity
- My Theatre 2 class is currently working on a Shakespeare adaptation project.
They will shortly begin writing their own adaptations in groups, but I want
them to be exposed to more types of adaptations before that. They also started
a movie last class (an adaptation of Twelfth Night called Shes the Man).
C. Concepts to be covered
- Students will learn how to approach and understand Shakespearean
adaptations.
D. Lesson Objectives
- Students will be able to pay attention to details in an adaptation and compare
and contrast those changes to the original text/story. They will be able to
understand the commonalities between hip hop music and Shakespeare, and
they will better understand how to approach their own projects.
E. SOLs

TII.13Thestudentwillexplaintheimpactoftheatre,television,film,and/orcontemporary
mediaonthecultureinwhichtheyexist.
TII.15Thestudentwillgive,receive,andutilizeconstructivecriticismby1.critiquing
theatricalperformances,projects,plans,andideasobjectively;2.evaluatingtheartistic
choicesmadeininformalandformalproductions;3.evaluatingreviewsandcritiquesof
dramaticworks;and4.critiquingtheatricalperformancesoutsideoftheschoolenvironment.
TII.17Thestudentwillanalyzehowtheatreissimilartoanddifferentfromotherliterary
genresandotherartformsby1.comparingtheatretofilm,video,novels,shortstories,poetry,
dancearts,music,andthevisualarts;2.comparinghowcommonthemesareexpressedinthe
otherliterarygenresandartforms;3.comparingtheinterpretiveandemotionalnatureof
otherliterarygenresandartformsinspecificculturesand/orperiods;a

F. Materials needed
- For this lesson, I need my room, a projector, a DVD player, a copy of Shes
the Man, and access to the TED talk on YouTube.
G. Procedure
- Introduction (25 minutes) We will start by finishing Shes the Man from
where we left off last class. We will briefly discuss any other aspects of
adaptation that we noticed in the end of the film.
- Segue/Start of Lesson (25 minutes) The students will complete the
worksheet titled Hip-Hop or Shakespeare? This has twenty quotes I have
chosen from various hip hop songs and various Shakespeare plays. I will not
grade this, but we will discuss aloud why we chose the answers we did.
- Lesson/Wrap-up (25 minutes) We will then watch Akalas TED talk on hip
hop and Shakespeare. I will provide a guided reading handout for them to
complete and turn in as their participation grade for the class.
H. Modifications for students with special needs
- The worksheets will all be worked on quietly and alone, but then we will
review aloud and read the quotes out loud so everyone gets multiple
opportunities to hear and understand. I will have the students read each quote
twice to ensure comprehension and allow repetition to help any students with
reading or comprehension impairments. I also will provide a copy of
Shakespeares Sonnet 18 so they can follow along when he wraps this. I also
will stop the video before Akala performs his Shakespearean rap, and I will
pull up a lyric video of it online so the students can follow along with the
words they are hearing.
I. What could go wrong?
- It definitely will be a lot of watching videos today, which could get a bit
redundant for some students. However, I think the videos are entertaining
enough and different enough to hold this class attention.
J.

My main assessment will be the guided reading worksheet during the TED talk.
Last class, I had students turn in a written response on Shes the Man, and any

students that were absent on Tuesday will also complete this in order to receive
credit.
Jonathan Martin
Professor Leah Kirkpatrick
A. Title of activity
- Writing Shakespeare Adaptations
B. Context of the activity
- Now that my class has selected scenes to adapt in groups and has seen various
adaptations and knows what to expect, we will now begin writing the actual
adaptations.
C. Concepts to be covered
- Students will learn how to write adaptations.
D. Lesson Objectives
- Students will be able to write an adaptation and think through all of the details
surrounding an adaptation.
E. SOLs
- TII.13Thestudentwillexplaintheimpactoftheatre,television,film,and/orcontemporary
-

mediaonthecultureinwhichtheyexist.
TII.15Thestudentwillgive,receive,andutilizeconstructivecriticismby1.critiquing
theatricalperformances,projects,plans,andideasobjectively;2.evaluatingtheartistic
choicesmadeininformalandformalproductions;3.evaluatingreviewsandcritiquesof
dramaticworks;and4.critiquingtheatricalperformancesoutsideoftheschoolenvironment.
TIII.13Thestudentwillapplyacriticalmethodologytoplaywritingby1.comparingthe
componentsoftheworksofestablishedplaywrightstothosefoundinstudentworks;2.
revisingoriginalstudentscripts;and3.explainingwhytherewillbeavarietyofresponsesby
audiencemembers.
TIV.10Thestudentwillanalyzeandinterpretmeaninginpersonaltheatreprojects
TIV.13Thestudentwillevaluatethequalitiesofatheatricalproductionthatelicitanaudience
response,includingthedirectorsinterpretation

F. Procedure
- Introduction (15 minutes) We will start by reviewing everything we have
covered about reading Shakespeare and successful adaptations.
- Lesson (60 minutes) The students will work in their groups to write their
adaptations.
- Wrap-up (15 minutes) They will briefly share the ideas for their project
with the class.
G. Modifications for students with special needs
- I have intentionally selected the groups. I will help each group individually.

H. Assessing learning
- They will submit a copy of their script to me.