Othello Unit Plan

“Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy.

It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.”
(3.3.179-181)

Danielle Bauman-Epstein
Dr. Todd DeStigter
English 481
Fall 2017
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Notes:
v All page numbers in the play are based on Othello: Texts and Contexts by William
Shakespeare, edited by Kim F. Hall, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.
v All lesson plans use the Google Slides presentation, “Othello Unit Plan,” viewable at:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hiFkRY4C1YYKGJ0VDcc3n6myPX1OvzC-
9l8rvguP3ik/edit?usp=sharing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page(s)
1. Unit Rationale 2-3
2. Essential Questions and Unit Mastery Objectives 4
3. Supplementary Materials 4
4. Five-Week Plan 5-9
5. Lesson Plans 10-33
v Lesson Plan A: “Iago, the Villain of Venice” Lecture 10-13
v Lesson Plan B: “‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: An Investigation” Cooperative 14-19
Learning Activity Part One
v Lesson Plan C: “‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: An Investigation” Cooperative 20-21
Learning Activity Part Two
v Lesson Plan D: “‘Dear Diary’: An Introduction to Journals and Diaries” 22-29
v Lesson Plan E: “‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ in Othello” Discussion 30-33
6. Final Project Description 33-34
7. Bibliography 35

1. UNIT RATIONALE

Education is often thought of as a form of improvement—the opportunity for students to

develop as thinkers, members of society, and individuals. As such, it can seem troubling to
attempt to reconcile teaching literature that focuses on the worst parts of humanity, such as in the
jealousy, revenge, malice, and violence of Shakespeare’s Othello, with a mission of helping
young people improve themselves. However, we can better understand this play’s value when
consider Arthur W. Foshay’s explanation of the purpose of education as “to bring people to as
full a realization as possible of what it is to be a human being” (277). Education, as Foshay
argues, is not only about intellectual and social development, but also about the exploration of
what it means to be human. A text that asks students to reflect on both the positive and negative
aspects of human nature and the human experience has the potential to help students develop as
people, and to better understand their position in the world—as well as the choices they (will)
make in life. This unit on Othello is about this very subject, centering on the themes of villainy
and jealousy, and exploring more humanizing ways we can respond to threats than the character
Iago chooses. This focus allows the unit to fulfill psychological and developmental needs of
adolescents encountering and responding to the world and determining their role in it, and thus
makes a text preoccupied with the dark side of humanity a positive learning opportunity.
 Bauman-Epstein 3

In reflecting on and responding to a plot that develops because of Iago’s villainy—his

deceit, malice, racism, and jealousy—and Othello’s fury—his distrust, suspicion, and (also)
jealousy—students will have the opportunity to consider the literary significance of these
emotions and responses. They will be able to examine the role of the darkest aspects of
humanity in literature, and explore how these elements contribute to the plot of the play. In
doing so, they will also reflect on the purposes of literature as a whole, considering questions
such as: How could it be beneficial for literature to represent the worst in humans? What can we
learn by viewing fictional representations of violence, racism, and manipulation? Why does so
much of literature focus on negative aspects of humanity?
Additionally, as a mode of thinking about “what it is to be a human being,” they will
encounter important questions about humanity at large and their own experience in particular,
such as: How do we respond to threats? What is jealousy, and how do we deal with this
emotion? What are more humanizing alternatives to embracing jealousy, as both Iago and
Othello do? Why do humans behave the way we do? To what extent are negative emotions such
as anger and jealousy part of the universal human experience? These questions, and the
corresponding activities that help guide students in approaching them, will provide the chance to
connect with the actions in Othello on a personal level, and to consider more positive ways of
being than we see represented in the play.
This unit is designed to draw on students’ personal experiences in order for them to
connect with and better understand the texts and its themes. Exploration of jealousy, motivation,
villainy, and good and evil asks students to reflect on their own lives as a way in to examining
the play. For example, even for a subject that may seem remote—the archetype of the villain—
students will enter the conversation by thinking about the “good guys” and “bad guys” in their
lives. By considering the ways we use these organizing concepts in our lives, students may find
this play to be far less remote than they may originally have imagined an early-seventeenth-
century text to be. This unit is based on students discovering relationships between their
personal experiences and knowledge and the villainy of the play, bringing them into
conversations about the ambiguities of this story that is at times “unbearable” in its cruelty (Hall
1).
I have planned this unit with sophomores in the IB Middle Years Program Year 5
Language and Literature class at Amundsen High School in mind. Considering these students’
self-motivation, dedication, and intellectual curiosity, I have sought to pair accessibility through
personal connection with deep textual debate and exploration. Ultimately, this unit asks the class
to consider the actions of the play from the perspective of one character, allowing students the
chance to embody a participant in this tragedy in order to discover nuances and attempt to
unearth characters’ motivations.
 Bauman-Epstein 4

2. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & UNIT MASTERY OBJECTIVES

Essential Questions
v What is a villain?
o What role do villains play in our stories?
v What motivates human behavior?
o How do we react to threats and why?
v What is jealousy?
o What are more humanizing alternatives to jealousy?
Mastery Objectives
v Students will be able to describe a villain in their own words by completing a worksheet
about the archetype of the villain
v Students will be able to identify and use inference to analyze six instances of textual
evidence that explain Iago’s motivations
v Students will identify the audience, purpose(s), and necessary elements of the
diary/journal genre by analyzing two supplementary texts
v Students will write a minimum of four journal entries (totaling four typed or five
handwritten pages) from the perspective of a character in Othello to provide insight into
the character’s motivations and emotions, using textual evidence as a foundation

3. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

“101 Dalmatians: Cruella de Vil’s Outburst Scene.” YouTube, uploaded by waltdisney512, 5

Mar. 2015, https://youtu.be/DbOAa7Tbil0.
“Batman Interrogates the Joker.” YouTube, uploaded by brucebale1, 19 Jun. 2012,
https://youtu.be/RWgyKDfFC_U.
Dole, Joseph. The Prison Diary of Joseph Dole. The Real Cost of Prisons Project, 2011,
http://www.realcostofprisons.org/writing/dole_prison_diary.pdf. Accessed 14 November
2017.
Drevich, Gary. “The Mystery of Motivation.” Psychology Today. 3 Jan. 2017,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201701/the-mystery-motivation. Accessed 2
November 2017.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. Edited by Otto H. Frank and
Mirjam Pressler, Translated by Susan Massotty. Penguin, 1995.
https://dl.previewtechs.net/multimedia/ebook-pdf/Anne-Frank-The-Diary-Of-A-Young-
Girl.pdf. Accessed 14 November 2017.
“‘Othello: The Remix’ Gives Shakespeare the Hip-Hop Treatment.” YouTube, upload by PBS
NewsHour, 24 Dec. 2016, https://youtu.be/eSD4_iNZCgQ.
Mean Girls. Directed by Mark Waters, performances by Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams,
Tina Fey, Time Meadows, Paramount Pictures, 2004. Excerpt: “How to Destroy Regina
George.”
“Top 5 Walter White Most Powerful Quotes,” YouTube, uploaded by Ni Ratings, 17 September
2014, https://youtu.be/6MMrDLW4XQw

4. FIVE-WEEK PLAN
WEEK ONE
Weekly Objective: Students will begin to connect the themes of the play to their own lives, and will work with the language of the play, Elizabethan English
Monday Tuesday
Homework for
today
What we’ll do 1. Free write and discussion:
today What motivates us and why?
2. Read excerpt of Gary
Drevitch, “The Mystery of
Motivation,” Psychology
Today (2017)
3. “Open mind” activity
(Burke) about Devitch’s article
and students’ feelings about
motivation
Why we are I want students to begin
doing this thinking about some of the
essential questions of this unit,
such as: What motivates
humans? How do we react to
threats? I hope that reading an
excerpt from Drevitch’s article
will help structure some of the
ways students talk about
motivators like stress, fear, and
confusion. At the same time,
I’d like them to bring their
personal experiences into this
conversation as much as
possible, so the article will
mostly provide language and
examples for students to use,
rather than serve as a
centerpiece of the discussion.
Wednesday
1. Free write and discussion:
Who are the “good guys” and
“bad guys” in your life? Are
you a “good guy” or “bad guy”
for someone else?
2. Watch short film excerpts
featuring villains: “Batman
Interrogates the Joker,” “101
Dalmatians: Cruella de Vil’s
Outburst Scene,” and parts of
“Top 5 Walter White Most
Powerful Quotes” (Breaking
Bad)
3. Discussion activity: What is
a villain?
The purpose of these activities
is to introduce students to the
subject of villains, and the way
we consume stories that use
the archetypes of “good guys”
and “bad guys.” I also want
students to connect the idea of
villains to their own lives—
thinking about who are the
“bad guys” in their life, even if
that means a difficult boss or
annoying relative. I hope
making this connection will
help them begin to examine
the characteristics we associate
with goodness and badness,
and more dramatically, with
villainy.
Thursday
1. Free write and discussion:
What languages do we speak?
What varieties of language do
we use in the course of our
day?
2. Mini lecture: Elizabethan
language
3. Activity: Elizabethan
language: making
Shakespearean language
modern and modern language
Shakespearean
I want students to begin
getting comfortable with
Elizabethan English and
Shakespearean style, which I
know will be an ongoing
process throughout the unit. I
would like to introduce the
subject of Elizabethan
language by asking students to
consider the various forms of
English (and other languages)
they use in their own lives.
Then, by focusing not on the
play to start, but instead on fun
constructions of language, I
hope to make this task more
approachable and less
intimidating.
Bauman-Epstein 5
Friday
Read: 1.2 (p. 53-57)
1. Analysis of Dramatis
Personae (p. 45)
2. Read (Start Othello): 1.1 (p.
45-54) in class and pause and
discuss/explain as we read
Examining the Dramatis
Personae will help students
become familiar with the
characters, and will open up to
discussion to the role of Iago
as “a villain.” Reading aloud
in class, including stopping to
look up words, ask questions,
and check for understanding
will help us ease into the play
and will allow the chance for
me to model reading for
understanding.
1. Discussion: forbidden love:
What do students know about
this storyline, from past
reading (Romeo and Juliet),
and from personal
experiences? What makes
forbidden love so compelling?
What are our expectations
about this subgenre? And, how
does race/racism play into
stories about forbidden love?
2. Read: Start 1.3 (p. 57-63)
Focusing on a theme familiar
from students’ previous
encounter with Shakespeare in
Romeo and Juliet may help
students activate their previous
knowledge. And considering
the meaning of Branbantio’s
resistance to Othello and
Desdemona’s relationship will
connect with students’ own
experiences of conflicts with
their parents, whether
regarding relationships or
other aspects of their lives.
Additionally, it may help lead
us to discuss the role of race in
this resistance. And again,
reading aloud in class will
model reading for
understanding.
 Bauman-Epstein 6

WEEK TWO
Weekly Objective: Students will examine the text to consider characters’ motivations and natures, as well as the role of the villain. They will also rework language in
the play to better understand it and take ownership over its meaning (and style).
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Homework for Read: finish 1.3 (p. 63-71) Read: 2.1 (p. 71-82) Read: 2.2 (p. 82) Read: 2.3 (p. 82-94)
today
What we’ll do Lesson Plan A: Lesson Plan B: Lesson Plan C: 1. Free write and discussion: 1. Discussion:
today “Iago, The Villain of Venice” “‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: “‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: When have you deceived Shakespearean language:
Lecture An Investigation” An Investigation” someone? Why? Do you think What we understand, what
Cooperative Learning Cooperative Learning it was justified? we don’t
Activity DAY ONE Activity DAY TWO 2. Interview activity: students 2. Show clip of Othello: The
will act out interviewing Iago Remix (5:00), a hip-hop
and Roderigo to show what version of the play.
each character knows and why 3. Activity: “remix” a scene
they are behaving as they are from the play so far in
another style—hip-hop,
opera, another rhyming style,
etc.

Why we are I want students to begin
doing this reflecting on Iago as the villain
in two ways. First, I’d like
them to think about the
uncertainties that come with
our usual understanding of
villains, such as whether they
are “all bad” or perhaps only
deeply flawed but redeemable.
Second, I want them to think
about the role villains play in
stories, and consider why we as
a culture seem to be entertained
by villains. This speculation
will help prepare students to
think through Iago’s
motivations and his
perspective.
As part of examining
characters, I want students to
begin to think deeply about
characters’ motivations. This
will help students better
understand why characters
behave the way they do and
make certain choices, and will
add complexity to later
discussions about characters
being “good” and “evil.”
Additionally, this activity asks
students to practice textual
analysis through inference,
which will become important
for extending the text to create
extra-textual journal entries for
the final project.
In this second day of “What
Makes Iago Tick?” I’d like
students to extend the textual
analysis they began the day
before to examine a scene they
pick independently. I hope this
will allow for them to become
more comfortable with
thinking about motivation
based on inferences from the
text. Allowing them a choice
about which scene to analyze
will hopefully give them
ownership over the work and
show them that readers can
make inferences in any text.
I want to connect Iago’s deceit
to the motivations that make us
all prone to deception for a
range of reasons. I aim to
show that while Iago is “a
villain,” he also shares human
traits with the rest of us.
Additionally, the interview
activity will allow students to
better understand what each
character believes and why,
preparing them to embody a
character in the journal project.
As a kind of break in moving
forward in the play, I want
students to revisit a scene
they found confusing or
compelling and think about
reworking it so that they can
both become experts in the
scene and take ownership of
its style. I hope this will
encourage students to feel
more comfortable
interpreting a scene based on
their own judgement.

WEEK THREE
Weekly Objective: Students will become familiar with the genre of journals/diaries to prepare to connect the text to first-person writing for the final project.
Monday Tuesday
Homework for Read: 3.1 (p. 94-96) and 3.2 (p. Read: start 3.3 (96-107)
today 96)
What we’ll do 1. Present remixes from
today previous class
2. Activity: Understanding
“Honesty”: examination of
Othello’s trust in Iago, and an
introduction to irony in the
play. Students will find and
analyze references to Iago’s
honesty throughout the play to
consider the effect this
characterization has based on
who calls him honest, and in
what context.
Why we are I know that irony can be
doing this challenging for students, so I
want us to work through why
Shakespeare has Othello call
Iago—the “villain”—“honest”
so often. I would like students
to consider why Shakespeare
made this choice, and how it
shapes how we see both
characters, and the plot that
will follow. This will prepare
students to consider the gaps
between the words on the page
and the action taking place.
Wednesday
Read: Journal B excerpt, from
Joseph Dole, The Prison Diary
Lesson Plan D: “‘Dear
Diary’: An Introduction to
Journals and Diaries”
This lesson is designed to
introduce students to the genre
of the diary/journal entries. I
hope that students will connect
their previous knowledge of
and experience with this kind
of writing with the final
project. Providing an example
from Anne Frank, The Diary of
a Young Girl, is intended to
allow students to begin to
examine closely the features of
this genre. This is in
preparation for the final
project, diary entries from the
perspective of one of the play’s
characters.
Thursday
Read: finish 3.3 (107-114)
of Joseph Dole (+ annotations)
1. Discussion of Dole excerpt
focusing on the information
communicated and the purpose
of the writing
2. Student writing: Students
will begin diary entries about
their own lives, reflecting on
something that has occurred in
the last few weeks. They will
need to describe an event and
explain their feelings and
reflections.
This lesson will serve as a
continuation of the subject of
the previous day’s introduction
to diary-writing. In discussing
the important content of Joseph
Dole’s diary entry, students
will identify and question
components integral to the
genre of diary-writing
including audience, purpose,
style, and other crucial
elements. Students will also
begin writing a journal entry
about their own lives so that
they can practice this form of
writing using a familiar
subject—themselves—and try
to experiment with using the
form.
Bauman-Epstein 7
Friday
Read: 3.4 (p. 114-122)
1. Free write and discussion:
What is jealousy? What kind
of emotion is jealousy? How is
it different from or similar to
other human responses? What
are our experiences with
jealousy?
2. Reader response group
activity (Burke): Analysis of
and reactions to 3.3 to
understand the role of jealousy
in this play.
I would like students to focus
on the role of jealousy in 3.3,
as Iago importantly introduces
jealousy into Othello’s
consciousness while
simultaneously warning him of
the threat of “the green-eyed
monster” (3.3.180). This
examination falls within the
larger discussion of what
motivates us as humans. This
activity will be based on both
textual analysis and reader
response so that students can
draw on their own experiences
in thinking about this theme.
1. Discussion: Jealousy
continued
2. Individual student work:
What speaks to us? Students
will begin to search the play
for a scene and/or character
that moves, perplexes,
annoys, intrigues, etc. them.
Students will have the option
to choose a passage that
connects to their journal
entries from Wednesday.
Students will complete a
worksheet to capture lines
from the text that produce
these responses.
This is in preparation for the
diary-writing project.
Students will begin to think
about the parts and
characters of the play that
are most moving, baffling,
upsetting, etc. to them to
hone in on the character they
would like to write about for
the final project. Identifying
specific lines in the text will,
I hope, begin to direct them
to the moments in the play
that are most meaningful to
them as readers.

WEEK FOUR
Weekly Objective: Students will continue to think about characterization and motivation, and will develop a plan for writing journal entries from the perspective of a
character in the play.
Monday Tuesday
Homework for Read: 4.1 (p. 122-132) Read: 4.2 (p. 132-141)
today
What we’ll do Lesson Plan E:
today Good and Evil Discussion
Lesson
Why we are In connection with an
doing this exploration of the theme of
villainy, I would like students
to consider their own
relationship to ideas of good
and evil from their personal,
cultural, and religious
backgrounds. My hope is that
students will consider these
terms in their complexity,
seeing that even “a villain”
might not be all evil. This will
add nuance to students’
understanding of various
characters for the final project.
Wednesday
Read: 4.3 (p. 141-144) and 5.1 Read: 5.2 (p. 150-165)
(p. 145-160)
1. Model diary-writing based
on 4.2, completing a short
exercise as a class
2. Group activity: Writing a
diary entry based on another
section of 4.2. Students will
‘translate’ textual evidence to
descriptions from the first-
person perspective to practice
diary-writing.
This lesson is intended to
continue to allow students to
practice diary-writing, and to
have practice in ‘translating’
the action of the play into a
first-person reflection. The
modelling activity will allow
students to observe me doing
this kind of work, and to test
out ideas about how this can be
done. The group activity will
allow them to try doing this
themselves, supporting and
being supported by their peers
as they experiment with the
form.
Thursday
Select character for final
project
1. Free write: Why did you
choose the character you did?
What questions do you have
about this character and their
behavior?
2. Group activity based on
chosen character to discuss
their motivations and
decisions, and the resulting
consequences
I want students to think
through the motivations of the
characters they’ve chosen,
hopefully seeing more fully the
nuances in the character
through hearing their peers’
differing perspectives. While
the final project will be
individual, the issue of
characters’ motivations is
complex, and group work will
allow students who may not
have a strong handle on their
chosen character’s motivations
to continue to learn about and
reflect on the character.
Additionally, students who feel
certain about a character’s
motivations may benefit from
hearing differing views of the
same character.
Bauman-Epstein 8
Friday
Complete: graphic organizer
for a journal entry about a
scene in the play
1. Discussion of 5.2: How does 1. Partner and whole-class
this change our view of discussion about the graphic
characters? Is this a just or organizers
unjust conclusion? What 2. Individual work beginning
actions surprised us? to draft a journal entry based
2. Individual activity on scenes on the graphic organizer
students would like to write
about. Students will select
scenes and reflect on why they
are significant for the
character.
I would like students to have Before students begin a
the opportunity to discuss the journal entry, I want them to
final scene of the play based on check in with both a partner
their initial, emotional and me (via a whole-class
responses. Additionally, I discussion) to make sure
hope that the emotion of the they’re on the right track and
final scene will lead them to to address uncertainties or
think about the character confusions they may have.
they’ve chosen for their final Then, individual writing time
project, and consider if this will allow students to begin
changes their view of them. their final project with the
The individual activity is teacher present so that they
intended to support students in can ask questions or check
using textual evidence as the their work as they go.
basis of their journal entries.
While they will be allowed to
write about events we don’t see
or know about, the text of the
play should be the foundation
for their journal.
 Bauman-Epstein 9

WEEK FIVE
Weekly Objective: Students will develop and complete their final project, creating multiple journal entries from the perspective of a character in the play. They will give
and receive peer feedback.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Homework for Write: one page of a journal Write: another journal entry Write: another journal entry Revise: journal entries Complete: final project
today entry (continued from class)
What we’ll do 1. Individual work continuing 1. Individual work continuing 1. Individual work continuing 1. Group work: workshop 1. Class gallery walk of
today journal entry or entries journal entry or entries journal entry or entries journal entries journals. Students will share
2. Partner check-in about 2. Group work: workshop in- 2. Mini conferences with each their work with peers.
journal entry and class FAQ progress journal entries student
about form, difficulties,
challenges, etc.

Why we are Like the previous class, I want
doing this students to have the
opportunity to work on their
final project with support (from
peers and the teacher)
available. The peer check-in is
intended for students to answer
one other’s questions and see
one other’s progress. The FAQ
will allow peers to gather
questions they’d like to present
to the class and teacher about
their ongoing work.
After allowing students to
continue to work on their
journal entries, I’d like
students to work in groups to
give feedback on their drafts.
This will allow students a
greater range of feedback than
their previous partner work,
and will help students learn
from one another about
approaches to the project.
While students work on their
final project, I will meet with
each one to check in on their
progress, address questions and
concerns, and give
individualized feedback. This
will provide one-on-one
support for students and
provide an opportunity to
correct serious problems as
well as give encouragement.
After having revised their
journal entries, I hope that the
workshop will allow students
to ask questions and give
suggestions about directions
their peers have taken with the
journals. Meeting with the
same workshop groups as
previously, students can
comment on each other’s
progress and changes.
I hope this project allows
students opportunities for
creative interpretation, and I
want them to be able to share
their unique work with their
peers. The gallery walk will
allow each student the
chance to discuss their
completed project with
multiple classmates and to
see others’ approaches to the
assignment.
 Bauman-Epstein 10

5. LESSON PLANS

Lesson Plan A:
“Iago, the Villain of Venice” Lecture
Week Two, Monday
Central Focus:
Students will be introduced to the question of understanding Iago as a villain through
lecture and discussion. They will then broaden their examination of Iago’s traits to consider the
archetype of the villain more generally, discussing the topic and completing a worksheet on the
characteristics and the role of villains in order to demonstrate their understanding.

Objectives:
v Students will be able to identify and explore characteristics that define the archetype of
“the villain.”
v Students will identify five traits of a specific villain, and, using that villain as an example,
explain “villain” in their own words.
Common Core Standards:
v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.

Procedure:
Time Learning Activity
5 min. Warm-up
- Free write [projected]: Who is your favorite villain from TV, movies, comics,
literature, or oral stories?
- Discussion: Ask 5-6 students to share their response with the class
Ø Additional questions:
§ How do you know they’re a villain?
§ Could a character be both a hero and a villain, or a “good
guy” and a “bad guy”? How could that be possible?
§ Are there any common traits you notice about these villains?
§ Is that character a “good guy” or “bad guy”?
15 min. Lecture (Part A)
- Lecture: Focus on significance of Iago being named as “a villain” in the
Dramatis Personae
- Discussion: Introducing Iago as a villain—ask students to discuss effect of
this labeling.
Ø Additional questions:
§ Why is Iago described as a villain in the Dramatis Personae?
§ Did you believe that Iago was a villain because it said so in
the DP?
§ How did it affect your approach to this character when you
began reading Act 1, Scene 1? Did you believe Iago? Did
you trust him?
 Bauman-Epstein 11

§ Why is Iago is villain? What have you seen in the play so far
that would suggest he is a villain?
§ Do you agree with this characterization of Iago as a villain?
10 min. Partner work
- Worksheet: “What is a Villain?”
- Each student fills out a worksheet, working in pairs. The worksheet will
entail analyzing the characteristics that make a favorite villain villainous.
- Students will then begin brainstorming characteristics of villains more
broadly.
10 min. Class discussion
- Whole-class discussion: What is a villain?
- Discuss characteristics of students’ favorite villains
- Discuss characteristics of villains more generally
- Draw students’ attention to tensions in their definitions of a villain, such as
conflicting traits: pure “evil” versus traumatized, victimized, etc.; physically
versus psychologically violent; likeable versus unlikeable; capable of reform
versus permanently “bad”; relatable versus not relatable; kind to some people
versus at odds with the entire world; sensitive versus callous; cartoonish
versus truly frightening; etc.
- Ask students to compare Iago to the favorite villains they have discussed
Ø Additional questions:
§ What does it mean that that villain has contradictory
character traits?
§ Do you ever sympathize with / feel badly for that villain?
§ Do you like that villain at all? Why?
§ What do you hate about that villain?
§ Do all villains share that trait? / Is that a common trait for
villains?
§ What is the definition of “villain”?
§ Why do you think we’re identifying contradictory traits in
villains?
§ How can a villain be likable?
§ Do you ever root for the villain? Why?
§ What kind of villain is Iago?
§ What favorite villain is most similar to Iago? Which traits do
they share?
§ Which villain is least similar to Iago and why?
10 min. Lecture (Part B)
- Lecture: How does the villain drive the plot?
- Review of concepts of conflict and protagonist
- Introduction to the idea that Iago drives the plot of Othello
- Discussion: How do villains drive plots? Do stories need villains?
Ø Additional questions:
§ What is the role of the villain? What’s their “job” in the
story?
§ How does the villain affect the way we see the protagonist?
 Bauman-Epstein 12

§ Why does the villain usually want to hurt/ensnare/ruin/etc.

the protagonist?
§ How does a villain add to a story?
§ What motivates villains?
§ How do we know a villain is a villain (if they’re not called
one in the Dramatis Personae)?
§ Why do we sometimes love to hate the villain?
§ How do villains add tension to a story?
§ How might Iago drive the plot of Othello?
§ What effect do we see Iago having on Othello?

Assessments:
v Oral questioning: I will ask students questions during both the lecture and discussion
sections of this lesson, checking for understanding of both the text and the archetype of
the villain. I will pose questions about the meaning of Iago being identified as “a villain”
in the Dramatis Personae in Step 2 (lecture/discussion), the characteristics of Iago and of
villains more generally in Step 4 (discussion), and the role of the villain in stories/plots in
Step 5 (lecture/discussion).
v Directed paraphrasing : I will ask students to explain in their own words specific points
about the text, including the characteristics and role of a villain in Steps 4 and 5. This
will include asking students to paraphrase ideas put forth by peers.
v Worksheet: “What is a villain?” I will assess learning and fulfillment of the objective to
identify and explore characteristics of a villain by circulating while students address this
question with their partner and fill out the worksheet. I will listen to discussions and look
at what students write, asking questions and giving guidance where needed, in order to
assess understanding (Step 3). I will collect it to more closely assess their understanding
of the characteristics of a villain.
v Examples: I will ask students to return to their favorite villain after they have suggested
characteristics of a villain to confirm or deny that “their” villain demonstrates those traits,
questioning what it means if their villain does not match that description (Step 4). By
asking students to return to their examples, I will be able to assess if students are able to
extend the work of defining a villain to understanding the variations between the general
(informal) types of villains (i.e., villains we sympathize with, villains we hate, villains
who make us laugh, villains who disturb us, etc.)

Materials:
v Othello: Texts and Contexts by William Shakespeare (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007 edition)
v Google Slides “Othello Unit”
v Computer + adapter
v Projector
v Worksheet: “What is a Villain?” (one/student)
 Bauman-Epstein 13

Name ________________________
WORKSHEET: What Is a Villain?

Villain: _______________________________ from _______________________________

(book/movie/TV show/comic/ oral story/etc.)

Write a paragraph describing the villain, using at least 8 descriptors:

Which 5 of the traits you described above are most important to the character being a villain?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How is this villain like other villains? Give at least two examples of other villains to explain the
traits they share.

How is this villain different from other villains? Give at least two examples of other villains to
explain how they are different?

In your own words, explain the meaning of “villain”:

What trait do all villains share?

 Bauman-Epstein 14

Lesson Plan B:
“‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: An Investigation” Cooperative Learning Activity
PART ONE
Week Two, Tuesday
Central Focus:
As a class, students will analyze a passage of Othello to examine Iago’s motivations.
Then, working in groups and fulfilling specific roles, students will examine another scene of
Othello to identify motivations using textual evidence as support.

Objectives:
v Students will be able to identify and explain three pieces of textual evidence to interpret
the motivations for Iago’s actions in a scene by completing a graphic organizer
v Students will work cooperatively in groups to analyze and explain a scene of Othello

Common Core Standards:

v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.

Procedure:
Time Learning Activity
10 min. Video, free write, and discussion
- Watch 2-min. clip from the movie Mean Girls (2004), “How to Destroy
Regina George”
- Free write [project]: What motivates the characters Cady, Janice, and Damian
in this scene? Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, what parts of this scene
give you a clue about their motivations?
- Discuss (whole-class): What motivates these characters, and how do we
know? What evidence do we see in this scene?
- Introduce idea of inference [project]: definition (“drawing a conclusion from
known or assumed facts or statements”; “reasoning from something known or
assumed to something else which follows from it” [“Inference, n.”]) and
purpose

15 min. Introduction to activity (Part One)

- Hand out worksheet, read directions as a class, and explain: Students will
identify Iago’s motivations in Act 2, Scene 1, using two pieces of textual
evidence
- Model: Using Act 1, Scene 1, identifying specific motivations for Iago’s
motivations. Fill out graphic organizer (below) as a class [projected] [Since
 Bauman-Epstein 15

Time Learning Activity

students, understand the situation with Roderigo giving jewels to Iago by this
point, they’ll understand why Iago is manipulating Roderigo here.]
§ Model 1 example (project from
http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Oth.html and annotate on board)

1.1.7-34
Roderigo:
Thou toldst me thou didst hold him in thy hate
Iago:
Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp'd to him: and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war;
And, in conclusion,
Nonsuits my mediators; for, 'Certes,' says he,
'I have already chose my officer.'
And what was he?
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,
And I—God bless the mark!—his Moorship's ancient.

Ø Notes: Show what we can infer from the bolded lines above. Ex:
Iago has told Roderigo he hates Othello (which is true), because
only if Roderigo knows Iago hates Othello will he believe that
Iago would help him try to woo Desdemona
§ Complete analysis of above passage with students
Ø Notes: Questions to ask:
 Bauman-Epstein 16

Time Learning Activity

• Why would Iago attribute Othello’s unwillingness to listen
to the “three great ones of the city” (1.1.9) to Othello’s
“own pride and purposes” (1.1.13)? [He doesn’t want to
believe that Cassio is more qualified, that Othello prefers
Cassio over him, etc. He wants to believe that he is
objectively the best one for the job. If someone compliments
you (such as by recommending you for a job), you’d rather
believe them than consider evidence to the contrary (that
you weren’t hired).]
• Why would Othello call Cassio “A fellow almost damn’d in
a fair wife” (1.1.22)? Why might a man insult another
man’s masculinity (manliness), or say they are unworthy of
their partner? [Iago’s pride has been hurt, and he is now
trying to question Cassio’s masculinity in order to feel
better about himself.]
[project]
• How do we know what we know here?
• What can we infer?
• What makes you think that?
• What evidence from the text supports that?
• Why is Iago saying/doing that here? What does he want?
• How does Iago seem to feel here? What makes you think
that?
• How do we judge motivation? What clues do people give
about their motivation?

20 min. Group work

- Assign groups (of four) and roles; review role duties
- Instruct students to begin: students will work in groups as teacher circulates,
answering questions, listening, and helping guide groups that are struggling or
are off-task
- If a group finishes early, they can begin the same activity for Act 2, Scene 3
(use notebook paper—this isn’t included in worksheet)

5 min. Check in & wrap up

- Ask students to share their progress and predict how much time they will need
to finish up their analyses the next day
- Discuss questions from earlier about motivation (revisit): How do we judge
motivation? What clues do people give about their motivation? How much
can we infer in a text? What might remain unknown?
 Bauman-Epstein 17

Assessments:
v Free write about inferences of motivation in Mean Girls, shared with class during
discussion
v Class analysis of Act 1, Scene 1, completed as a group to model activity
v Group worksheet, completed by the scribe representing four students’ analysis of one
scene

Materials:
v Othello: Texts and Contexts by William Shakespeare (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007 edition)
v Video clip from Mean Girls (2004), “How to Destroy Regina George”
v Part One of Worksheet (below)
v Google Slides “Othello Unit,” computer + adapter, and projector
v Online version of Othello (to project): http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Oth.html
v Students’ notebooks and pen/pencil

Note: Some of the roles and role descriptions in the worksheet are direct quotes from:
Manis, Chad. “Cooperative Learning: How to Assign Meaningful Tasks to Group Members,”
Daily Teaching Tools, 2012, http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/cooperative-learning-
tasks.html. Accessed 8 November 2017.
 Bauman-Epstein 18

Group Members: ___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

What Makes Iago Tick?: An Investigation

Roles: Each student will be assigned a role, and will be responsible for fulfilling all parts of that
position.
Scribe
- Keeps a public record of
the team’s ideas and
progress
- Checks to be sure that
ideas are clear and
accurate
- Asks, “I think I heard you
say ____; is that correct?”
- Asks, “How would you
like me to write this?”
Spokesperson Word Guru Facilitator
- Presents the group’s - Leads exploration of the - Leads discussions;
finished work to the class meaning of the text; suggests solutions to
- Collaborates with the looks up unfamiliar team problems
scribe to be sure what is words - Helps members clarify
written and down and what - Asks, “Would you agree ideas
they plan to present that this word/phrase/line - Makes sure that every
matches means ______?” voice is heard
- Asks, “How would you - Asks, “How can we best - Says, “Let’s hear from
like this to sound?” explain this line?” ____ next.”
- Asks, “How much of what
we discussed should be
shared with the class?

PART ONE
Directions: Examine Act 2, Scene 1 of Othello to find at least two pieces of textual evidence that
support a claim about Iago’s motivation. Explain how this evidence supports that motivation (the
warrant).

Act 2, Scene 1
Textual evidence (including Meaning of quote Motivation it represents (and
act, scene, and lines) warrant)
 Bauman-Epstein 19

PART TWO
Directions: Choose a passage from another scene in Othello that shows something about Iago’s
motivations. Use at least two pieces of textual evidence to support a claim about his motivation.
Explain how this evidence supports that motivation (the warrant).

Act/scene: _________________
Textual evidence (including Meaning of quote Motivation it represents (and
act, scene, and lines) warrant)
 Bauman-Epstein 20

Lesson Plan C:
“‘What Makes Iago Tick?’: An Investigation” Cooperative Learning Activity
PART TWO
Week Two, Wednesday
Central Focus:
Students will present their groups’ findings of textual analysis from the previous day.
They will then choose their own passage to examine to complete the same exercise again.
Students will ultimately reflect on what they know about why Iago acts as he does, and what are
the limits of inference in this text.

Objectives:
v Students will be able to identify and explain three pieces of textual evidence to interpret
the motivations for Iago’s actions in a scene by completing a graphic organizer
v Students will work cooperatively in groups to analyze and explain a scene of Othello

Common Core Standards:

v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.

Procedure:
Time Learning Activity
10 min. Class discussion
- Share groups’ analyses from previous day (role: spokesperson)
- Project passage and annotate according to students’ ideas
- Conclude Part One of activity

5 min. Introduction to activity (Part Two)

- Explain: Groups will now choose their own passages from any act in which
to identify Iago’s motivations using two pieces of textual evidence; students
will be using Part Two of the worksheet above from the day before
- Review any areas of the activity that students seemed to struggle with in Part
One

20 min. Group work

- Instruct students to begin: students will work in groups as teacher circulates,
answering questions, listening, and helping guide groups that are struggling or
are off-task
If a group finishes early, they can begin the same activity for another scene of their
choosing (on notebook paper)
 Bauman-Epstein 21

15 min. Class discussion

- Share groups’ analysis (role: spokesperson)
- Project passages students chose; students will annotate (role: scribe)
- Discuss [project]: What have we learned about Iago? Why does he act the
way he does? Does understanding his motivations change the way we see
him? How much are we able to know about Iago and other characters in the
play?
Wrap-up [project]: The limits of Inference?: What questions do we still have
about Iago’s actions, motivations, and choices? What are we not able to infer from
the text, and why?

Assessments:
v Group worksheet, completed by the scribe representing four students’ analysis of two
scenes
v Presentation of and discussion about groups’ analysis of both the pre-selected passage
and the one they chose themselves
Materials:
v Othello: Texts and Contexts by William Shakespeare (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007 edition)
v Parts One and Two of Worksheet (above)
v Google Slides “Othello Unit,” computer + adapter, and projector
v Online version of Othello (to project): http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Oth.html
v Students’ notebooks and pen/pencil
 Bauman-Epstein 22

Lesson Plan D:
“‘Dear Diary’: An Introduction to Journals and Diaries”
Week Three, Tuesday

Central Focus:
Students will write about and discuss the genre of journal/diary entries to consider the
features of this genre. They will then read and annotate an entry from Anne Frank, The Diary of
a Young Girl, noting specific components of this example such as descriptions of events,
background information, and self-reflection. Students will also analyze this entry in a written
response and/or in discussion (depending on the time it takes them to read).

Objective:
v Students will be able to identify five components of a journal entry in an excerpt from
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl as part of becoming familiar with the
journal/diary entry genre

Common Core Standards:

v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of
specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion
differs from that of a newspaper).

Procedure:
Time Learning Activity
10 min. Free write and discussion
- Free write [project]: Do you write about your life outside of school?
o If so, what form does it take? Why do you do it?
o What other ways do you express yourself, including the problems you
face in life?
- Discuss (whole-class): Response to free write
o How do you express yourself? Does anyone use music, art, or other
forms to comment and reflect on their life?
o What are or might be the benefits of writing about your life in diary
form? What might be possible drawbacks?
10 min. Introduction to journal/diary genre
- Discuss (whole class) journal/diary by asking questions about the genre
[project]:
o Why do/have people keep/kept diaries?
o What can we learn from diaries?
o What information do people include in a diary entry?
 Bauman-Epstein 23

Time Learning Activity

o How are diary entries formatted?
o Who is the audience of a diary entry?

30 min. Reading activity

- Explain directions: Students will read and annotate Journal A from Anne
Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947). Annotations should be responses to
the text, underlining/highlighting of important lines, circling of unfamiliar
words/concepts, and questions. Students should also mark the following
content, identifying at least five components of the entry [project]:
o References to the possible purposes of writing a diary
o Explanation of who the writer and other “characters” are
o Self-reflection
o Descriptions of events that occurred
- Ask students about context of Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947),
providing background information where needed
o Who was Anne Frank?
o What is the significance of her diary?
- Distribute Journal A from Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947)
- Silently read Journal A with students, answering questions and offering
support where needed
- Students will respond to questions [projected] in writing if they finish early. If
they don’t finish early, they can answer them in discussion:
o Why is Anne Frank beginning a diary?
o Who is important in Anne’s life?
o What problems does Anne face in her life? How do you know?
o What do you think of the quote, “Paper has more patience than People?”
Do you agree or disagree, and why?
- Discuss annotations and student responses to questions, with students using
specific textual evidence to explain their answers

Assessments:
v Free write about journal/diary writing, shared with class during discussion, as a way to
gauge students’ knowledge of and familiarity with the genre
v Whole-class discussion of journal writing to assess familiarity with the genre, including
audience, purpose, and components
v Student annotations of Journal A
v Student written responses and discussion in response to Journal A
 Bauman-Epstein 24

Materials:
v Othello: Texts and Contexts by William Shakespeare (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007 edition)
v Google Slides “Othello Unit,” computer + adapter, and projector
v Students’ notebooks and pen/pencil
v Journal A, excerpt from Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947)
v Journal B, excerpt from Joseph Dole’s Anne Frank Center Prison Diary Project (2011)
(homework)
 Bauman-Epstein 25

Journal A
From Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947)

June 20, 1942

Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve
never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone
else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn’t
matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.

“Paper has more patience than people.” I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was
feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless,
wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I was, brooding. Yes, paper does
have more patience, and since I’m not planning to let anyone else read this stiff-backed notebook
grandly referred to as a “diary” unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won’t make a
bit of difference.

Now I’m back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don’t have a
friend.

Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely
alone in the world. And I’m not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there
are about thirty people I can call friends. I have a throng of admirers who can’t keep their
adoring eyes off me and who sometimes have to resort to using a broken pocket mirror to try and
catch a glimpse of me in the classroom. I have a family, loving aunts and a good home.

No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when
I’m with friends is having a good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary
everyday things. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s
my fault that we don’t confide in each other. In any case, that’s just how things are, and
unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This is why I’ve started the diary.

To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don’t want to jot down the
facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m
going to call this friend Kitty.

Since no one would understand a word of my stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in, I’d
better provide a brief sketch of my life, much as I dislike doing so.

My father, the most adorable father I’ve ever seen, didn’t marry my mother until he was thirty-
six and she was twenty-five. My sister Margot was born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in
1926. I was born on June 12, 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. Because we’re Jewish,
my father immigrated to Holland in 1933, when he became the Managing Director of the Dutch
Opekta Company, which manufactures products used in making jam. My mother, Edith
Holländer Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and I were sent to
Aachen to stay with our grandmother. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in
 Bauman-Epstein 26

February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.

I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which
time I started first grade. In sixth grade my teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the principal. At the end
of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell, because I’d been accepted
at the Jewish Lyceum, where Margot also went to school.

Our lives were not without anxiety, since our relatives in Germany were suffering under Hitler’s
anti-Jewish laws. After the pogroms in 1938 my two uncles (my mother’s brothers) fled
Germany, finding safe refuge in North America. My elderly grandmother came to live with
us. She was seventy-three years old at the time.

After May 1940 the good times were few and far between: first there was the war, then the
capitulation and then the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble started for the
Jews. Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were
required to wear a yellow star; Jews were required to turn in their bicycles; Jews were forbidden
to use streetcars; Jews were forbidden to ride in cars, even their own; Jews were required to do
their shopping between 3 and 5 P.M.; Jews were required to frequent only Jewish-owned
barbershops and beauty parlors; Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets between 8 P.M. and
6 A.M.; Jews were forbidden to go to theaters, movies or any other forms of entertainment; Jews
were forbidden to go rowing; Jews were forbidden to take part in any athletic activity in public;
Jews were forbidden to sit in their gardens or those of their friends after 8 P.M.; Jews were
forbidden to visit Christians in their homes. Jews were required to attend Jewish schools,
etc. You couldn’t do this and you couldn’t do that, but life went on. Jacque always said to me,
“I don’t dare do anything anymore, 'cause I’m afraid it’s not allowed.”

In the summer of 1941 Grandma got sick and had to have an operation, so my birthday passed
with little celebration. In the summer of 1940 we didn’t do much for my birthday either, since
the fighting had just ended in Holland. Grandma died in January 1942. No one knows how
often I think of her and still love her. This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up
for the others, and Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest.

The four of us are still doing well, and that brings me to the present date of June 20, 1942, and
the solemn dedication of my diary.
 Bauman-Epstein 27

Journal B
Joseph Dole, resident of Tamms Correctional Center, Tamms, Illinois
Part of the Anne Frank Center Prison Diary Project

Full text available at: http://www.realcostofprisons.org/writing/dole_prison_diary.pdf

Editor’s note from the Mississippi Review (2013): “At the Tamms Supermax Prison, in southern
Illinois, prisoners are kept in solitary confinement for twenty-three hours a day. When the
facility opened in 1998, officials claimed no inmate would stay longer than a year. Joe Dole
stayed for ten. In June 2012, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced he was closing Tamms for
good, but in September a judge blocked the closure, ruling it violated union contracts.”

March 14, 2011

I never imagined that I would be writing a diary, especially in prison. A friend had suggested it
once and I immediately dismissed the idea. I figured it would just be another item the guards
would steal to get a rise out of me, or that it would be lost during a transfer, etc. I only write one
now because I have been asked by The Anne Frank Center USA, as part of their Prison Diary
Project. I always try to encourage prisoners to write more and get their voices heard out in free
society to try and combat some of the tough-on-crime rhetoric and knee-jerk demonization of
prisoners. Therefore, passing up this opportunity would have made me a hypocrite.

The letter that accompanied the material from The Anne Frank Center stated that the goal of the
project was to educate people “on both sides of the wall.” I assume it means educate those on
the outside about what it is like to be in prison. Those of us on this side already know what it is
like. The hard part has always been trying to convey what it is like to someone who has never
experienced it before. I’ve tried numerous times and always feel incapable of articulating what it
is truly like.

How can I communicate what it is like to get arrested when you have one four-month-old
daughter and a second daughter on the way, and then be sentenced to a term of life without the
possibility of parole after your first felony conviction, by way of a theory of accountability, for a
crime you didn’t commit? How can I depict what it feels like now to have two daughters who
are twelve and thirteen years old whom I haven’t held in over nine years because I’m confined in
a supermax prison for my sole legitimate disciplinary infraction? A prison which Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and Tamms Year Ten all condemn because they consider
the conditions here as amounting to torture. The English language lacks adequate terminology
for such an endeavor.

The first time I ever really wrote anything was shortly after I arrived at Tamms (the supermax
prison where I’m currently confined). I wrote an essay. I had never written an essay before, not
even in school as far as I can remember. Yet desperate for money, I tried my hand at it. There
was an essay contest being put on by a death row inmate and a good Samaritan. The theme was
“Who Am I?” I learned of the contest from another prisoner who yelled out the details from
down the gallery. I had to send it in that night in order to make the deadline. I simply wrote
down the first thing that came to mind. Surprisingly I won first place and fifty bucks, even more
 Bauman-Epstein 28

than the ten dollars promised to every entrant. More than anything though, it inspired me to
learn how to write better. In prison good writing skills are essential for just about everything—
keeping in contact with your family (especially here in Tamms where they still won’t allow us to
make phone calls); presenting your appeals in concise, coherent arguments to the courts;
advocating for change; filing grievances; etc.

In that first essay I briefly touched upon what it is like in prison. I wrote: “Most people’s
conceptions of being locked up are completely wrong. It’s not the physical things that you’re
without that make it so hard to be incarcerated for life. It’s the fact that you’re helpless to take
care of your family when they’re sick, to raise your children, to help in their times of struggle,
and to give back to your community. Instead you’re a burden, a charity case, someone to pity. It
strips you of your self-esteem and your self-respect. That is what breaks a man, not the absence
of good food, alcohol, sex, or any of the other inconsequential thing we may often wish we had
to temporarily give us pleasure.”

I still find all of that true. Yet, after being confined and isolated for the past 9 years in a
supermax prison, I’ve also come to realize that the little things add up too. There are a million
little stressors and injustices that prisoners must endure on a daily basis that can also break a
man. These are what I will try to describe with this diary. Each one may seem minor, but the
cumulative effect of them all is what drives so many here insane. I’m not sure how accurate the
word “insane” is, but it definitely causes a variety of mental illnesses. A recent report by the
John Howard Association claims that 95% of inmates in Tamms suffer from a diagnosable
psychiatric problem. Up to a point I wonder if this figure is just rhetoric or propaganda put out
by the administration to further slander and stigmatize us in the eyes of the public, similar to how
they call us the “worst of the worst”. I can hear them now, “not only are they the worst of the
worst, but they’re all crazy sociopaths!” At the same time it disturbingly seems plausible to me
that so many here are mentally ill. Numerous studies have shown that as little as three months in
solitary confinement can cause deterioration in one’s mental health. I wonder what the past nine
years here have done to me? What psychiatric problem have they surreptitiously diagnosed me
with?

March 19, 2011 5:40 a.m.

I’m not sure how much I’ll have to say today. I really didn’t want to get out of bed this morning,
and I’m still half asleep waiting for the “mocha” to kick in. I’m not sure if “mocha” is the
correct word, it’s not in the dictionary and I never drank any coffee before coming to Tamms.
What I do is mix one spoon of Maxwell House coffee with 2 spoons of hot cocoa mix and 2
sugar substitutes. So whatever it is; “mocha,” “cappuccino,” etc., I’m not sure—it’s what helps
me stay awake when I can afford all the ingredients.

Yesterday I got my legal boxes by the skin of my teeth, and was just able to make my filing
deadline. First, in the morning the guard told me I had a pass to the satellite law library (a small
room the size of a walk-in closet with about a hundred outdated, half-destroyed legal books; it’s
also the only place we are allowed to access our excess legal property boxes) and that pass said I
was supposed to have my #1 and #2 boxes, but that no-one had brought them from the Personal
 Bauman-Epstein 29

Property department because there was no one working in that department. Luckily a halfway
decent guard was working and he did me a favor and called the watch commander who pulled
someone from the mailroom to get the boxes and bring them down here, at about ten or eleven
o’clock. (If I hadn’t gotten my boxes I would not have been able to make the filing deadline).

Then when I was supposed to be put in the law library at about eleven-thirty, someone acted out
and all the guards had to suit up and go in an inmate’s cell for some reason. So they stopped all
movement and there was no one to transfer me to the law library. Then when things settled
down I was told I’d be escorted out to the law library at 1:30, then at 2:30, then when they were
getting ready to move me one of the guards got called to an emergency on another pod and there
weren’t enough guards to transfer me. Then I had to wait until after shift change. They finally
transferred me to the law library at like 3:40. When I was trying to get back to my cell the
guards were again called to another pod twice right as they were about to transfer me back. Then
when I finally got back to my cell I had to scramble to write the petition, handwrite three extra
copies, and mail them out. Today I have to write yet another petition and 3 copies, and
tomorrow I have to write a reply to a Motion to Dismiss, plus a bunch of letters, an essay, an
article, this diary, etc. It’s never-ending.

Today is Saturday, which means tonight I usually only sleep from like 4:30 a.m. Sunday to 7:00
a.m. Sunday[, t]he reason being is that I stay up to watch Saturday Night Live, Stargate
Universe, and Stargate Atlantis. Then after sleeping for 2 ½ hours after breakfast I get up for the
news and political shows like This Week, Face The Nation, etc. There’s so much going on in the
world right now. I used to have a subscription to The Economist magazine but it ran out. The
group Tamms Year Ten has a good program to help us get a subscription. People can donate
airline frequent flyer miles which are used to buy each Tamms inmate one subscription. I got a
subscription to the Wall Street Journal newspaper which helps me stay up on the news and what
is going on around the world. I won’t go into all the stuff happening in Japan, North Africa, the
Middle East, etc. as that’s not the purpose of this diary, but, man, so much is happening right
now! It really makes one feel useless just sitting here unable to help anyone in Japan, or give
support to people fighting for democracy.
 Bauman-Epstein 30

Lesson Plan E:
“‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ in Othello” Discussion
Week Four, Monday

Central Focus: Students will explore the concepts of “good” and “evil” in relation to their
cultural, religious, and personal backgrounds, and as applied to our understanding of the
characters in Othello.

Objectives:
v Students will be able to explore the concepts of “good,” “evil,” and morality as a whole
in both familiar and unfamiliar ways
v Students will be able to explain in writing whether Iago is “good,” “evil,” or neither,
using at least one example of textual evidence and a warrant to support their claim.

Common Core Standards:

v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
v CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current
discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.

Procedure (50 min. period):

Time Learning Activity
5 min. Free write #1 (Definition): How
do you define “good” and “evil”?
[projected]
5 min. Discussion PART A
(Introduction of theme):
Responses to free write #1:
teacher calls on students, recaps
answers, encourages others to
respond and share [definitions of
“good” and “evil”; context of
these ideas]
7 min. Discussion PART B
(Development of theme): Do you
believe some people are “good”
and others are “evil”? Why or
Questions Posed
- Does anyone else think of “good” and “evil”
in a different/similar way as X?
- Did anyone define “good” or “evil”
differently/similarly?
- Do you think about these terms in your own
life?
- In what context do you usually hear “good”
and “evil”?
- Where have you heard these words used
before? [Have students heard “good” and
“evil” in biblical terms? How have they
heard these words used in a Judeo-
Christian-Muslim context?]
- Who do you consider “good”? Why?
- Who do you consider “evil”? Why?
- Are people all one or all the other?
- Do good people do bad things?

why not? If so, what makes a
person “good” or “evil”?
[projected] [questions of whether
people can be defined in terms of
good and evil; are people who do
horrible, violent things “evil”?;
does committing an act thought of
as “evil” make the person “evil”?;
are murderers, etc. “evil”?]
8 min. Discussion PART C (Context of
theme): Who determines what’s
morally right and wrong?
[projected]
10 min. Individual short writing
response (Application of theme):
Is Iago “good,” “evil,” or neither?
Why? Use at least one piece of
textual evidence from your
reading log (or from the text
itself) to support that answer, as
well as a warrant to explain why
the quote you choose supports
your argument. [projected]
Bauman-Epstein 31
- Do bad people do good things?
- Can one action define who a person is?
- If not, are some acts so horrible that they
define a person in their entirety?
Why do people do harmful, hurtful things?
- Should we consider someone’s
circumstances or point of view if they harm
others, or is that irrelevant?
- How much of our morals is influenced by
our religion? By our family? By our
culture?
- Moral questions:
• Is it morally right or wrong to steal
food if you are starving?
• Are we morally obligated to help
those in need?
• Are we morally obligated to interfere
if we see someone is being hurt?
- Response to moral questions:
• Why do we disagree about what is
morally right and wrong?
• How do we know if something is
morally right or wrong?
- How do our varying ideas of morality
affect our interpretation of “good” and
“evil”? [important to get to this question]
- Why do you think that?
- Tell me more about that idea.
- Where do you see that in the text?
- Why did you choose that passage?
- What does he say there that makes you think
that?
- Can you say that in other words?
- Where else do you see a similar idea in the
text?
 Bauman-Epstein 32

10 min. Discussion PART D (Application - Did anyone interpret that line

of theme, cont.): Students share differently/similarly?
their individual short writing - Did anyone come to a different/similar
responses, including their textual conclusion?
evidence. - What evidence did you find that supports
that idea?
- Why do you think he does/says that?
- What are Iago’s motivations there?
- What about that action seems “good”/“evil”
to you?
- Why can’t we categorize that action as
“good” or “evil”?
- What makes this action difficult to
understand?
5 min. Conclusion (Summary): Teacher - Am I correct in understanding your point
summarizes students’ ideas about that way?
the concepts of “good” and “evil,” - Is that how you phrased it?
their personal relationship to these - Was that the textual evidence you used to
ideas, the question of people support your point?
being “good” or “evil,” and - Can you repeat your response to that
characterization of Iago as one or question, X?
the other. Invites students to
remind each other of key points as
well.

Add-on if time (extension): How - To what extent is

does is alter our understanding of
the play if we think of Iago as
“good,” “evil,” or neither?
[projected]
Othello/Cassio/Roderigo/Emilia/Desdemona
responsible for being duped by Iago?
- If Iago isn’t evil, how else can we
understand his motivations in tricking
Othello? [Introducing idea of motivation for
later lessons on jealousy]

Assessments:
v Free write about “good” and “evil” as an indicator of knowledge students already possess
about the topic (glanced at while students are writing, shared by students during
discussion, reviewed in more detail after class)
v Student contributions to discussion about good, evil, and morality as a whole
v Students’ individual short writing responses (indication of understanding of themes of
good and evil in the novel and in relation to Iago’s character, indication of use of textual
evidence)
 Bauman-Epstein 33

Materials:
v Othello: Texts and Contexts by William Shakespeare (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007 edition)
v Students’ notebooks and pen/pencil
v Google Slides “Othello Unit,” computer + adapter, and projector

6. FINAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The final project for the study of Othello will be journal/diary entries from the
perspective of a character in the play. Students will choose the character whose perspective they
would like to adopt, and will be encouraged to base this decision on unresolved questions and
ambiguities they see in this character. Throughout the unit students will consider characters’
motivations for their actions and the larger essential question of what motivates humans, and will
therefore be expected to express these motivations in their writing. Students will write about
events that occur in the play from the perspective of a character reflecting on what has occurred
during their day, referring specifically to events and dialogue while providing a view into their
emotions and thoughts. Students may also choose to write about events that are implied but not
shown directly (such as Othello’s near-death experience at sea) or create events or conversations
that are absent in the play. These additions will be encouraged, but it will be important for
students’ creative supplements to be consistent with the textual evidence of the play. So,
alternative interpretations of events and characters represented in the play need to be supported
by textual evidence. (For example, if a student wants to show that Iago is actually less villainous
than we believe, they need to present information about the scenes where we see Iago’s
treacherous behavior in a way that supports this alternative view.)
This unit has been designed to support students in working toward this final project by
allowing the class to examine questions of motivation, good and evil, and emotional responses
such as jealousy. The first week focuses on students’ personal connections to themes of the play
and introduces questions of good and evil, and motivation as a whole. The second week allows
students to go deeper into these subjects by focusing more on the role of the villain and
examinations of Iago’s motivations. The third week introduces students to the genre of journals
and diaries through supplemental texts. The fourth week continues discussion of the concepts of
good and evil, and sets up students to choose and more fully examine a character from whose
perspective they would like to work. And, the end of the fourth week and the whole fifth week
scaffolds students’ work on their journal entries from the perspective of a character. This design,
I hope, will provide support for students to explore the unit themes in relation to the character
they choose for their final project, and then to use textual evidence as a foundation for their
character’s journal entries.
The final project will be assessed on the following criteria: character development,
explanation of motivations, meaningful reflection from the perspective of the character, and
textual support. (See rubric below.) Students may choose to type or handwrite the project, and
will be encouraged to add creative details such as pictures, notes, and the addition of scenes that
the audience/reader does not see directly in the play. Students will need to produce at least four
journal entries totaling five handwritten pages or four typed pages.

Final Project Rubric
Objectives Developing
2 3
Journal - Begins to prove new
demonstrates information about the
character character, but may rely too
development much on what is already known
about the character
- Begins to explain aspects of the
character that may be
ambiguous in the play, but may
not provide enough information
Journal - Begins to reveal some of the
explains characters’ motivations for
characters’ their behavior, but may leave
motivations most motivations unknown
- Begins to explain reasoning
behind some actions included
in the events of the journal, but
leaves most unaddressed
Journal shows - Begins to present some
meaningful meaningful reflection that
reflection from illuminates the characters’
the perspective thoughts and emotions, but
needs development to show
of the character
significant reflection
- Writing may be inconsistent
with the nature of the character,
and may need to be altered to
depict character’s thoughts and
emotions
Journal draws - May begin to address
on textual events/dialogue in the text, but
evidence may need to more thoroughly
(references to build off of these
events/dialogue to provide
events in the
additional perspective on what
play) to
support we already know from the play
- May diverge significantly from
character’s
textual evidence without
perspective explaining this difference
Understanding
- Provides some new information
about the character, but may
need development
- Explains aspects of the
character that may be
ambiguous in the play, but may
need development
- Reveals some of the characters’
motivations for their behavior,
but may leave some
motivations unknown
- Explains reasoning behind
some actions included in the
events of the journal, but leaves
some unaddressed
- Presents some meaningful
reflection that illuminates the
characters’ thoughts and
emotions, but may need
development
- Writing is at times consistent
with the nature of the character,
and at other times may
contradict what we know about
the character without
explanation
- Addresses and builds off of
some events/dialogue in the
text, but may need
development to provide
additional perspective on what
we already know from the play
- May at times leave divergences
from textual evidence
unexplained
Bauman-Epstein 34
Experienced
4
- Provides new information
about the character
- Explains aspects of the
character that may be
ambiguous in the play
- Thoroughly reveals the
characters’ motivations for
their behavior
- Explains reasoning behind all
actions included in the events
of the journal
- Presents meaningful reflection
that illuminates the characters’
thoughts and emotions
- Writing is consistent with the
nature of the character
- Addresses and builds off of
specific events/dialogue in the
text, providing additional
perspective on what we already
know from the play
- Convincingly explains any
divergences from textual
evidence
 Bauman-Epstein 35

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Othello Teacher Handbook, 2016,
https://d20szssgzbrkwr.cloudfront.net/res/education/Teacher%20Workshop%20handouts/
e1976_TeacherHandbook_OTHE_edit_compressed.pdf?pdf=OTHELLO1516handbook.
Accessed 10 October 2017.
de la Primaudaye, Pierre. “Love and Jealousy,” translated by Thomas Bowe, from The French
Academy (1586). In Othello: Texts and Contexts, by William Shakespeare, edited by
Kim F. Hall, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007, pp. 327-28.
Burke, Jim. “103 Things to Do Before, During, or After Reading.” Reading Rockets, 2017,
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/103-things-do-during-or-after-reading. Accessed:
10 November 2017.
Christenbury, Leila, and Ken Lindblom. Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of
English Language Arts. 4th ed., Heinemann, 2016.
Hall, Kim H. Introduction. Othello: Texts and Contexts, by William Shakespeare, edited by
Kim H. Hall, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007, pp. 1-42.
“Iago: The Ultimate Villain.” Shakespeare Uncovered, 2017. PBS Learning Media Illinois
Edition, https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/shak15.ela.lit.iago/iago-the-
ultimate-villain/#.WhmpB7Spn59. Accessed 12 October 2017.
“Inference, n.” Oxford English Dictionary Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017,
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/95308?redirectedFrom=inference#eid. Accessed 8
November 2017.
Iyasere, Solomon O. “Teaching Shakespeare’s Othello to a Group of Multiracial Students.”
Shakespeare in Southern Africa, vol. 16, 2004, pp. 59-63,
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.cc.uic.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=acca
8296-87ff-46aa-96d4-81b7d92a73d9%40sessionmgr103. Accessed 10 November 2017.
Manis, Chad. “Cooperative Learning: How to Assign Meaningful Tasks to Group Members,”
Daily Teaching Tools, 2012, http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/cooperative-learning-
tasks.html. Accessed 8 November 2017.
Mills, Dan. “Mind the Gap: Teaching Othello through Creative Responses.” Pedagogy, vol. 8,
no. 1, 2008, pp. 154-159, http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.cc.uic.edu/article/229013/pdf.
Accessed 8 November 2017.
Royal Shakespeare Theater. Teacher Pack: Othello, 2015.
https://cdn2.rsc.org.uk/sitefinity/education-pdfs/teacher-packs/edu-othello-teacherpack-
2015.pdf?sfvrsn=2. Accessed 10 October 2017.