Section III

Goals and Objectives:

The goal of this mini-unit (during a larger unit of Romeo and Juliet was to get students really centered around
the idea of Shakespearean languageas well as other confusing languageand how they can effectively
analyze and handle it to have a better understanding of the text. There were several other goals and objectives
involved in the unit, but as students have a difficult time even reading the language, this was the most important
objective to hit early on in the unit.
Here are some of the goals and objectives that were reached in these lessons:

Students will have a basic understanding of Shakespearean grammar.

Students will have practice managing stage directions (to better understand plot in Romeo and Juliet).
Students will practice annotating a text to have a clearer understanding of the content.
Students will understand what questions they should be asking about the text and the language in the
text to comprehend meaning and plot.
Students will analyze different texts relating to the themes of Romeo and Juliet to make connections
and to further deal with analyzing language in a confusing context.
By rewriting and reimaging scenes or instances in the play, students will have practice delving into the
text and reworking the language to better fit their understandings.
Students will play with Shakespearean language, practicing using formal and informal tones in class.

A large part of the content standards incorporated in ninth-grade classrooms include the students needing to
learn more about texts from around the world and not just an American perspective, and Romeo and Juliet
effectively addressed that standard (Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work
of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. (CCSS: RL.9-10.6))
There are several other larger standards such as this one being addressedsomething that was discussed in the
Unit Topic and Rationale section of this teacher work sample. With this includes the fact that students are
addressing the standards where they must analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text
(CCSS: RL.9-10.3), how author choices concerning how to structure a text create mystery, tension, and surprise
by comparing them to characters actions (CCSS: RL.9-10.5), and by the end of the unit, they will have a new
type of text that they understand under their belt, satisfying the standard demanding for a comprehension of
plays and dramas (CCSS: RL.9-10.10).