ROMEO AND JULIET: LESSON PLAN

Lesson plan

TARGET GROUP

This unit is aimed at students of 1st year of Bachillerato. Students of this year are supposed to have achieved an upper intermediate level. Students work individually, in pairs and in groups.


AIMS

• To get acquainted with Shakespeare’s times.
• To get familiarised with Shakesperare’s plays.
• To improve students’ writing skills.
• To write an ending for act 5, scene 3 in Romeo and Juliet.
• To analyse characters and their psychological insights.
• To be aware of the elements present in dialogues and drama.


CONTENTS

• Shakespeare’s times.
• Study of Shakespeare’s plays.
• Psychological analysis of characters.
• Dychotomy love vs violence.
• Drama dialogues.


SESSIONS

The unit is intended for 8 sessions of 55 minutes each.


MATERIALS

• The play Romeo and Juliet. This is a graded reading. The play is mainly kept but there are aspects related to language that are modified for students to understand better.
• The movie Shakespeare in Love.
• The web page www.sparknotes.com
• Different handouts for the activities.



METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this unit is to make students think about the way elements in a literary work are interwaved. They have to deal with elements present in the play such as love and violence and the way they affect characters’ behaviour. After analysing this in deep, they are given the opportunity to create their own piece of writing taking into account all the elements in the play such as characters’ roles and feelings, setting and symbols in order to modify them. The purpose of these activities is the representation of this play at the end of the term.

Session one

In the first session students watch some fragments of the movie Shakespeare in Love. These fragments correspond to the Elizabethan theater, to the Globe, the performance of some scenes, The purpose for watching this movie is that they get acquainted with Shakespeare’s times.

While they are watching the movie they have to pay attention to the following aspects:


• Sets and settings: description of the places showed in the movie.
• Study of non-verbal codes: dress, gestures, facial expressions...
• Representation: gender, nationality, heroes, heroins, villains, historical period.
• Narrative issues: use of characters and action in the narrative, audience engagement and identification.
• Values and ideology – who is being represented and in what way?
• Similarities in plot between the movie and the play

They have to answer all these questions as homework. For the development of this, they have to create a poster and hang it on the wall.

Session two

Activity 1

Students get acquainted with the plot and characters in the play.

1 Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo’s dead body. She stabs herself and dies.

2 Romeo arranges the wedding with Friar Lawrence.

3 Romeo and Juliet are married by Friar Lawrence.

4 Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a potion, which will make her appear to be dead for forty-two hours. The friar says that once she is laid in the family tomb, he will send word to Romeo to come and take her away to Mantua.

5 At the party Romeo meets Juliet, the Capulet’s thirteen year old daughter. They dance together and fall in love- not knowing each other’s identity.

6 Juliet sends her nurse to meet Romeo. She returns with the message that they will be married later that day by Friar Lawrence.

7 Romeo buys poison and gallops back to Verona. He fights Juliet lying in the tomb as if dead. He cannot live without her. He drinks the poison and dies.

8 Romeo and Juliet are married, and that same morning Romeo’s friend Mercutio, fights with Juliet’s cousin Tybalt and is killed by him.

9 The message from Friar Lawrence is delayed. Romeo hears from another source that Juliet is dead.

10 Two of the richest and most important families in Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a deadly feud. No – one can remember how it started, but it involves everyone, from the servants to the most distant relatives.

11 Because Tybalt has killed Mercutio, Romeo fights and kills Tybalt. Romeo is banished from Verona – on pain of death.

12 Romeo and Juliet meet secretly in the Capulet’s orchard after the party. Romeo proposes to Juliet. He says that he will make the arrangements for the wedding the next day.

13 They both part at the party. They then discover each other’s identity.

14 In the meantime, Juliet’s parents have arranged for her to marry Count Paris, a relative of Prince Escales, the ruler of Verona.

15 Juliet’s parents order her to prepare for her wedding to Paris in three days times. In despair she asks Friar Lawrence for help.

16 One day Romeo Montague finds out there is to be a masked ball that evening at the Capulet’s house. He decides to gatecrash the party in the hope of seeing the girl he loves from a distance – Rosaline.

17 Juliet swallows the potion the potion the Friar has given her. Her parents think she is dead and she is placed in the family tomb.

Sessions three and four

• After reading the play at home, in pairs students have to do the following activities related to violence in the play. Students can use the link www.sparknotes.com



Act 1, scene 1

In act 1, scene 1 different members of the Montague and Capulet households become involved in arguments in a public place in Verona and when they lose their tempers, swords are drawn.

Where does the scene take place?








1) Who is involved?

Samson and Gregory (Capulet) and Abraham and Balthasar (Montague).



Who are they?






How does the fight start? Find a quote.






2) Who is involved?

Tybalt tries to pick a fight with Benvolio.


Who are they?

Benvolio.....

Tybalt......


Find a quote that shows Tybalt trying to pick a fight.








3) Who is involved?

Lord Capulet and Lord Montague.









Who are they and why do they dislike each other so much?









How do they behave and what do they say?






What warning does the Prince give?







Act 3, scene 1

The second scene in which there is violence leads to the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio. The scene takes place on a street in Verona and happens soon after Romeo and Juliet get married.
Benvolio wants to avoid a fight with the Capulets and he suggests to Mercutio that they should go home. What exactly does he say?






This shows us that Benvolio is.........................................................................................




What kind of mood is Mercutio in?







When Tybalt arrives, Mercutio says, “..............................................................................

This shows us that he....................................................................................................




When Tybalt and Mercutio speak there is tension between them. What do they say?






How does Tybalt try to provoke Romeo into fighting and how does Romeo react?

Tybalt tries to start a fight with Romeo by saying “....................................” This is a great insult to Romeo who is of noble birth. Romeo tries to.............................................. Then Tybalt orders Romeo to take out this sword and fight. Tybalt wants to fight Romeo because............................


What do Tybalt and Mercutio say to each other that causes them to fight? Write the word or lines in the box below?







Write a few sentences describing Mercutio’s death.







When Romeo sees that his friends his dying his mood changes. He becomes...................... this is shown when he says “...................................” Then he..................... Romeo kills Tybalt because..................................................................

What are the consequences of the killings?

As a result of the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, the Prince........................................ He says, “.....................................................” These consequences are terrible for Romeo because it means that...........................................................


Who do you think is most to blame for the killings? Write your own ideas in the box below.



The following characters are all present in act 3, scene 1. The sentences below describe their attitude to violence and killing. Write each name beside a statment that suits them best.
Tybalt, Benvolio, Romeo, Lady Capulet, Mercutio, The Prince.

He knows that when the weather is very hot, people lose their tempers quickly. He would like to get off the streets so that they can avoid any trouble. _________________

He is responsible for keeping the peace in the city and his sentence on Romeo is severe. This is because he wants to stop the feud permanently. __________________________

She wants Romeo to be executed for having killed Capulet. ______________________

He refuses to leave the streets so that he can avoid the Capulets. He makes fun of Tybalt and is willing to fight him if provoked. _______________________________________

He wants to avoid figthing Tybalt and is extremely patient while Tybalt insults him. However, his passions take over when his friend is killed. ________________________

He has a short temper and is clearly looking for a fight.



Conclusions

Do you think this is a violent play? Give reasons.
What do you remember most from reading it? The hatred or the love? Is it a bit of both?
Which is your favourite scene? Give reasons.


Session five


All the characters in “Romeo and Juliet” love someone or something. What do you think these characters love? Some characters show us they love in more than one way. Choose the most accurate words to describe the different kinds of love you can find in the play.

CHARACTER WHAT OR WHO DO THEY LOVE? THEIR ACTIONS HOW DO WE SEE THIS IN THE PLAY? QUOTE FROM THE PLAY
ROMEO
JULIET
TYBALT
MERCUTIO
THE NURSE
PARIS
BENVOLIO
LORD AND LADY CAPULET
FRIAR LAWRENCE




Once Romeo and Juliet meet they both change. Think about the ways Romeo changes. Romeo changes inside (the way he thinks and feels). This changes the way he relates and responds to other characters. Fill in the table below, showing Romeo’s thoughts and feelings towards the other characters before and after he meets Juliet.



BEFORE MEETING JULIET ROMEO’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS... AFTER MEETING JULIET
BENVOLIO
MERCUTIO
LORD AND LADY MONTAGUE
ROSALINE
THE FRIAR
TYBALT
PRINCE ESCALES

Session six

After being acquainted with Shakespeare’s play, they have to make up a different ending for the play. In order to do this, they have to take into account character’s role in the play and the setting. They are allowed to change the time of the play, the language or the character’s role as long as the changes are justified and coherent..
They can also change parts in the play to fit the end. They are going to work in pairs. For the development of this task students are given a chart they have to complete in order make their work easier.


BEGINNING
Set the scene by describing a character or setting.





MIDDLE
Describe a problem




Describe attempts to solve this problem






MIDDLE
Describe a second problem




Describe attempts to solve this second problem





END

Explain how the problem is finally solved.

Session seven

The purpose of this activity is to show students that drama becomes alive when it is acted out. They have to think about drama elements such tone of voice, mood, pauses... This has to be reflected in the writing of the play.

As a warm – up activity the teacher arranges students in circle according to birthday order or alphabetical by first name.
With the piece of drama being rehearsed (act 5, scene 3 in Romeo and Juliet) in front of students and the roles assigned, some aspects in drama are braimstormed such as characters speaking and how they speak according to the explicit information given by the narrator or between brackets.
Students read the dialogues aloud. Once read, they act them out.
The scene is developed.
After this, students use different expressions or moods for the same conversation in order to pay attention to the effects achieved. We also use different strategies such as mime and students comment on effect.

Session eight

Students are given some ideas about the writing of the dialogues:

Write a paragraph saying how you would direct Act 5, scene 3.

• I would leave out the killing of Paris so that the audience could concentrate on how Romeo and Juliet show their grief.
• The stage would be set in a pretty church with flowers everywhere to create and peaceful and religious atmosphere OR
• The stage would be a dark and dusty tomb with dead bodies all around. This would give it a spooky and gloomy atmosphere.
• I would show how upset Juliet was by having her scream at the top of her voice when she sees Romeo dead. The audience would think she was going mad with grief.

For the creation of setting, students might have the following into account:

• The use of details based on senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.
• Base settings on a known place and then add invented details.
• Use real or invented names to bring places alive.
• Create atmosphere by writing about: what is hidden
What is dangerous
What looks unusual
What is out of place.
• Describe the weather, time of day, season, as well as the place.

ASSESSMENT

The fulfilment of the tasks developed in the classroom are going to serve to assess students’ performance in class. In the first session, the display of the poster in the classroom is going to count as 30% of the final mark. The activities is sessions three, four and five have to be handed in to the teacher. These activities are the 30% of the final mark. The rehearsal of the piece of drama is going to count 20% of the final mark. The writing, editing and performance of the new end for the play is going to count 40% of the final mark. Coherence as far as characters, environments, function of characters and symbols is going to be crucial for the highest mark.