Students finish the unit by engaging in a whole-class discussion about what A Lesson Before Dying and the other texts in the unit reveal about being human.
How can adaptations or reproductions enhance or detract from the theme of a text?
We will analyze the structure of a sentence from "After 450 Years, We Still Don't Know the True Value of Shakespeare" to determine how understanding the sentence deepens our understanding of the text.
Students build their knowledge of a text's setting by reading background information and answering questions to prepare to read Romeo and Juliet.
Students view minute 0:40 to minute 7:45 from Romeo and Juliet (Zeffirelli) to explore some choices that a director can make when he/she creates a film adaptation .
Students listen to lines 106-247 from Act I, scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet using Romeo and Juliet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition, to explore what emotion, other than hate, mentioned in the Prologue.
Students discover what Shakespeare uses in Romeo and Juliet: Act I, Scenes 2-3 to develop the theme.
Students gather and organize evidence to prepare for a discussion about themes that are developed in Act I, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet and various film adaptations.
Students read Act II of Romeo and Juliet and deepen their understanding about characters and themes in the play by examining Shakespeare's use of images.
Students analyze the structure of a sentence from the prologue of Act II of Romeo and Juliet to determine how understanding the sentence deepens our understanding of the text.
Students view minutes 0:40 to 0:52 from Romeo and Juliet (Zeffirelli) and explore the director's choices to develop themes within the film.
Students view minutes 0:35 to 0:45 from Romeo and Juliet (Luhrmann) and explore the director's choices to develop themes within the film.
Students compare Romeo and Juliet: Act II, Scene 2 from three different versions of the story.
Students read Act II, scene 3 from Romeo and Juliet and explore how Shakespeare develops Friar Lawrence's characteristics.
Students react to Act II, scene 4 from Romeo and Juliet and explore what events develop the plot.
Students will read Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet. They will also answer questions in order to analyze how Shakespeare uses characters, conflict, pacing, and images to develop themes in the play.
View minutes 0:57 to 1:13 from Romeo and Juliet (Luhrmann) and determine what details were changed, added, or removed from this adaptation of the scene.
Students read Act 4 and 5 of Romeo and Juliet and analyze how the author continues to develop themes within the play.
Read lines 1 - 175 of Act V, scene 3 from Romeo and Juliet together to determine how dramatic irony is used to develop the tragic tone of this play?
View minutes 1:59 to 2:12 from Romeo and Juliet (Zeffirelli) to determine what details were changed, added, or removed from this adaptation of the scene.