Lesson Plan

Subject: English
Unit: Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet / Social Identity
Level: Secondary 3 I.B.
Group Size: 31 students
Guiding Question
What is the role of a name in the construction of ones social identity?
Objective(s) & Learning Goal(s)
Utilizing Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet as an anchor, students will understand the role
of a name in the construction of ones identity within society.
Materials Required
Students: Pen/Pencil, Paper, Romeo & Juliet playbook
Teacher: Pen/Pencil, Paper, Romeo & Juliet playbook, laptop, projector/screen,
chalk/chalkboard, bathrobe and gloves (For whoever will be playing Juliet)
Subject Competencies
1. Uses language/talk to communicate and learn.
a. This competency will be developed through our class and group
discussions. Further, students will be required to recite/reenact the play,
thus using oral skills to communicate the voices in the play.
b. The classroom will be characterized with a spirit of collaboration and
inquiry.
2. Reads and listens to written, spoken, and media texts.
a. This competency is to be assessed through the writing exercise to be
completed at the end of class and/or brought home to complete.
b. By addressing the guiding question of this lesson, students will recognize
the sociocultural values and beliefs of the time the text was written and
in turn make connections to modern day society.
c. By examining the social, cultural, and historical context in which this play
was written, students will exercise critical judgment while interpreting
the specific scene we are reading.
3. Produces texts for personal and social purposes
a. Students will elicit this competency through their writing assignment (see:
assessment). By interpreting what they have learned through the lesson
(the whole notion of the role of a name in the social construction of ones
identity), they will apply this knowledge to contemporary society.

Cross-Curricular Competencies & Broad Areas of Learning

1. Exercises Critical Judgment
a. Students will exercise critical judgment during our class discussions and
writing assignment. They will analyze, interpret, and understand the social
forces involved in the construction of ones identity through names.
b. Students will form and express their opinions concerning this issue while
justifying their positions.
2. Adopts effective work methods
a. Students will be asked to take notes while I am introducing the guiding
question and giving examples on how to answer the guiding question.
3. Cooperates with others
a. Students will respect the students who are performing the scene in front of
class.
b. During their writing assignment, students will be encouraged to work
together and share ideas.
4. Career planning and entrepreneurship
a. The whole purpose of this lesson is to make student more aware of some
of the social factors that play in the development of ones identity.
Learning and understanding these elements and the fact that a mere name
can have a grave influence on ones social identity will develop within the
students a broader social awareness. As a result, I would hope, students
will be able to adapt more fluently into adult society.
Step-by-step Procedure
Hook -10 minutes
Introduce guiding question: What is the role of a name in the construction of
ones social identity?
Power-point presentation
o Present students with pictures of people (Trump, Gates, Kardashian,
Crypts gang, Saputto, Capulet, Caillou, Montague, Shakespeare, and one
random person with a name that no one will recognize.
Explain how every one of these names conjures up a connotation.
Every name has a prefixed identity imposed onto them before we
even meet/get to know them.
Relate this concept to Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.
o Further relate this notion to the play.
Recap what happened before: Romeo just took a huge risk, ditched
his friends and jumped over the Capulets wall to see Juliet. He is
risking his life for love. I will emphasize the romanticism of the
scene I will be addressing in class (Act 2 scene 2: Balcony scene)
in order to get the students emotionally involved in the play.

Read / Act 20-25 minutes

I will ask two students to act and read Romeo and Juliets part in this scene. I have
decided on the students already as to avoid asking cold calling and potentially
asking someone very shy (because there are some in this class) to perform.
I am aiming to finish at line 60, though if time permits, we might keep reading.
Writing Activity -15 minutes
Chose one name that was not discussed in class and explain how society
associates an identity to that name? Is it accurate? Why or why not?
Assessment

(see assessment rubric)

Resources

Teacher, playbook, peers

Secondary 3 I.B. Assessment Rubric

Criteria
Main/Topic Idea
Sentence

Supporting Detail
Sentence(s)

Elaborating Detail
Sentence(s)

Legibility

Mechanics and
Grammar

Total

Points

Main/Topic idea
sentence is clear,
correctly placed, and
is restated in the
closing sentence.

Main/Topic idea sentence

is either unclear or
incorrectly placed, and is
restated in the closing
sentence.

Main/Topic idea sentence

is unclear and incorrectly
placed, and is restated in
the closing sentence.

Paragraph(s) have
three or more
supporting detail
sentences that relate
back to the main idea.

Paragraph(s) have two

supporting detail
sentences that relate back
to the main idea.

Paragraph(s) have one

supporting detail sentence
that relate back to the
main idea.

Each supporting detail

sentence has three or
more elaborating
detail sentences.

Each supporting detail

sentence has at least two
elaborating detail
sentences.

Each supporting detail

sentence has one
elaborating detail
sentence.

Each supporting detail

sentence has no elaborating
detail sentence.

Legible handwriting,
typing, or printing.

Marginally legible
handwriting, typing, or
printing.

Writing is not legible in

places

Writing is not legible.

Paragraph has one or two

punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling errors.

Paragraph has three to

five punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling errors.

Paragraph has no
errors in punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling.

Main/Topic idea sentence is

unclear and incorrectly
placed, and is not restated in
the closing sentence.
/4
Paragraph(s) have no
supporting detail sentences
that relate back to the main
idea.
/4

/4

/1
Paragraph has six or more
punctuation, capitalization,
and spelling errors.
/2
/18