English Lesson Plan: Introduction to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (10/29/99)
1. Brief introduction to this lesson - agenda (5 min.)
* Talk about my experience of learning Shakespeare for the first time.
* Why do you think Shakespeare is still well known today?
* Have you seen the most recent version of Romeo and Juliet movie?
* Talk about what we are going to do in class today (small group discussion, mini-presentation, taking notes, whole class discussion, etc.)
[I hope this introduction motivates students to learn a new lesson, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I will try to make this lesson interesting so that they can smoothly start reading the play with Mrs. Terburg.]
2. Form small groups randomly (5 min.)
* Use students' name cards that Mrs. Terburg often uses to form random
* Form 6 groups of 5 students.
* Call off their names in groups and tell them which group meets where.
* Let them move to their groups and sit in their new seats.
[This random grouping enables students to make new friends that they might never talked to before. It also emphasizes students to cooperate with other peers within their groups.]
3. "What do you know about Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet?" - small group discussion (10 min.)
* Walk around each group and give them hints to bring back their prior knowledge.
* Make sure they are focused on what they should be doing.
* Answer any instant quetions that they might have at this point.
* They should have a reporter (who comes up in front of the class and present what the group discussed) and a recorder (who takes notes while they are discussing).
* Make sure all students are participating equally.
* Set the alarm clock for 10 minutes.
[This part is to see their prior knowledge about Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. It is also important to see all students involved in this activity.]
4. Share what they have discusssed in their groups (10 min.)
* Let a representative (a reporter) from each group come up in front of the class and present what he/she discussed in the group.
* Encourage students to speak up in a loud voice.
* Try to solve any instant (simple) questions with the class.
* Give some feedback to each presentation.
[This part gives students a chance to share what they have discussed with their own group as well as to make students feel that their ideas are recognized and presented in the lesson.]
5. Teaching background information of the following topics: (20 min.)
a) William Shakespeare and his life
b) History of English drama
c) Introduction to the play, Romeo and Juliet
* Use overhead to make students feel comfortable with taking notes and to avoid spelling mistakes in their notes.
* Ask students to read out sentences with blanks. ** Please see hand-out sheet 1**
* Let students guess the answers for the blanks.
* Make this more interesting by drawing a diagram of the English drama theatre "The Globe" on a large piece of paper.
* Try to address a theme of the play, "love at first sight" naturally.
[This is the actual "teaching" in the lesson. But it is more like a student-centered learning style. Students will learn about Shakespeare and history of English drama from each other and be interested in the play, Romeo and Juliet.]
6. "Do you believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?" - pair discussion (5 min.)
* Break the class in pairs (and it should be easy, because students sit in pairs according to the seating chart).
* Encourage students to support their own thought and idea clearly. Why do you believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? Or why not?
* Walk around the classroom to make sure they are on task.
* Their experiences are always appreciated.
* There should be 3 possible discussions in pairs:
a) Believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT vs. believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
b) Believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT vs. doesn't believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
c) Doesn't believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT vs. doesn't believe in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
* Set the alarm clock for 10 minutes.
[This part focuses on a theme of the play. (1) LOVE is one of the interests that most high school students have. Since Romeo and Juliet are both teenagers too, students can feel close to the characters and share their feelings. (2) Another important point in this part of the lesson is that they will learn how to support their side or an idea. They shoudl be able to dig down what they think and insist on what they believe in an appropriate manner.]
7. Share what they have discussed in pairs with the class (5 min.)
* Let students speak up what they believe and think to the class.
* Make sure they can express why they think so in words.
* Students will learn to respect other peers' ideas.
* Try to create a small debate atmosphere.
[This part is to see how students think about LOVE and to tie it to a theme of the play. They need to be responsible to what they believe in by supporting the idea clearly to the class.]
8. Try to find a song that has the word either SHAKESPEARE or ROMEO AND JULIET in its lyric & conclusion to the lesson (5.min.)
* Share what I have found (lyric: LFO's SUMMER GIRLS).
* Since SUMMER GIRLS is a hip-hop plus a hit song of this summer, most students are very familiar with this song. Show them how they are unconsciously listening to those lyrics every day.
* Encourage students to pay more attention to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet in their everyday life.
* Why do you think Shakespeare or Romeo and Juliet is still famous and popular today?
* What does Shakespeare or Romeo and Juliet mean to us today? What does it represent or symbolize? (For example, Romeo and Juliet represents forever love, teenage love, love at first sight, etc.)
[It is very important to show students a connection between what they learn in school and what they experience in everyday life. Since music is a large part in high school students, it is more attractive and effective to connect Shakespeare's play and popular music.]
English Lesson Plan: Introduction to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (10/29/99)
