shakespearewebquest

William Shakespeare

Introduction

High school students all over the country are assigned to read works by William Shakespeare, but they often have difficulty making sense of what they read because the language is so different than what we are used to speaking.

In order to address this problem, a local company has hired you to design and publish a handbook that will help high school students understand Shakespeare's plays.

Your task [top]

Working in a group, you will create a user-friendly handbook for high school students that includes the following:

a cover page with an original title
a table of contents
a brief overview of Shakespeare's life and works (no more than 3 paragraphs)
descriptions of each form of dramatic literature (comedy, tragedy, and history) that include a definition and examples
explanations of the elements of plays (narrative, dialogue, soliloquy, acts, scenes, lines, etc.) illustrated by your orignal examples
6 strategies for approaching Shakespeare's plays using actual text from one of his works
a glossary containing 25 words that appear in Shakespeare's works that readers absolutely need to know in order to understand his plays (include definitions and source quotes referenced from his plays)
a list of the best 3 Shakespeare websites that you recommend for students (including a brief summary of what is on each site)
relevant graphics throughout that support your ideas
a bibliography of the sources you used during your research (use MLA format)

*Before you begin, remember that this handbook must be your own work! (See note on plagiarism.)

Getting Started[top]

Each group member will be responsible for a different role for this project. All of the roles are equally important to the creation of a professional product.

Once you have reviewed the following roles and assigned tasks as a group, decide who will fulfill each of the roles. (Note: The tasks not given to a specific role will be done as a group; this is explained in Steps)

Roles:

Word Processor:

Research Shakespeare's life and works
Create the glossary (work with the graphics artist)
Format the bibliography of sources (collected from each group member)
Type the information for the handbook

Editor:

Research the forms of dramatic literature (comedy, tragedy, and history)
Create a list of 3 of the best Shakespeare websites your group recommends for students with a brief summary of each site
Lead group meetings (see Steps)
Work with the rest of the group to make decisions on the format of the handbook, and proofread for errors

Graphics Artist:

Research the elements of plays (narrative, dialogue, soliloquy, acts, scenes, lines, etc.) that one would find in Shakespeare's works
Record notes at group meetings (see Steps)
Create the glossary (work with the Word Processor)
Find/create appropriate graphics for each section of the handout (including cover page)

Steps[top]

Now that you have chosen your roles, you are ready to proceed. Follow the steps listed below to complete your handbook. Good luck!

Week #1 1) Hold the first group meeting (see Meeting Notes to find a printable form for recording notes; you will need one of these forms for each group meeting). During this first meeting, you need to address the following:

clarify your roles so each person in the group knows what the others are doing
discuss what each group member plans to complete during this week
decide what each group member needs to bring completed to the next meeting (one week from now)
review the format for citing sources (see Resources)
address any questions the group members have (consult with the teacher if needed)

2) Print out forms for research notes, and begin work based on the group's meeting.

Week #2

1) Hold the second group meeting. During this meeting, you need to address the following:

review last week's work, giving all members the opportunity to report to the group
brainstorm what is most difficult about reading Shakespeare's plays (think about your experiences with reading Romeo and Juliet)
list ideas for possible strategies (e.g., using a dictionary) for addressing the challenges you just brainstormed
make the final decisions about which 6 strategies to include in your handbook, and divide these equally amongst group members
discuss what each group member will complete before the last group meeting (one week from now)

2) Work on any unfinished tasks assigned to your role.
3) Write explanations for the reading strategies you have been assigned, including examples of how to apply the strategies using text from one of Shakespeare's works to illustrate your explanation.

Week #3

1) Hold the third and final group meeting. During this meeting, you need to address the following:

review last week's work, giving all members the opportunity to report to the group
make decisions about the format of the handbook (how the sections will be ordered, the visual layout of the pages, the use of the graphics provided by the graphics artist, etc.)
address any unfinished business, as necessary

2) Create the handbook.
3) Proofread for errors.

Week #4

1) Turn in research notes and group meeting notes.
2) Complete peer evaluations for your group. (See Evaluation)
3) Turn in completed handbook.

Resources[top]
Use the following links to help complete your tasks:

William Shakespeare's life and times	Graphics
The plays of William Shakespeare	Online Dictionary
Timeline of William Shakespeare	Searching for websites
Creating a bibliography in MLA format	Reading Shakespeare

Evaluation [top]
To complete peer evaluations for your group, click on Peer Evaluations and print out the page you find.

To view the rubric on which your group will be evaluated, click on Rubric.

Standards [top]
This project addresses the following English Language Arts Standards for 9th grade:

Reading 1.0
Reading 1.1
Reading 2.0
Reading 2.1
Reading 3.1
Reading 3.7
Written Conventions 1.0
Written Conventions 1.3
Written Conventions 1.4
Writing 1.0
Writing 1.6

Steps

Created by
Lisa Lesley
Teacher, Mt.Diablo High School
[email protected]
Last updated July 24, 2003

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