By: Kristin Harrington

Background on the Life and Times of Shakespeare
Day 1

Purpose:

By the end of the class period, students will have knowledge of the background information of: Shakespeare’s life, the Globe Theater, his works, and the time period Shakespeare lived in.

Objective:

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of Internet searching skills, by participating in a Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt, and getting at least 80% of the responses correct.

Materials:

1.) Criteria sheet
2.) Grading rubric
3.) Computers with Internet connection
4.) Access to the Shakespeare Internet Scavenger Hunt website.



Initiation:

1.) Talk about background about the lesson. Explain to students that this project will lead up to the reading of Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet.


Procedure:


1.) Introduce the Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt assignment.
a. Students will be given the entire class period to complete the scavenger hunt.
2.) Let students know that the next class period they will be participating in a distance learning exercise, where they will be interacting online with a representative from the Globe Theater.
3.) Students will participate in a class discussion of what they learned from the Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt.

Closure:

Encourage students to prepare questions for the representative from the Globe Theater to answer, and bring them to class the next day. End the class by providing an opportunity for students to ask questions about the distance learning exercise they will be participating in the following day.


Background on the Life and Times of Shakespeare
Day 2

Purpose:

By the end of the class period, students will have knowledge of the background information of: Shakespeare’s life, the Globe Theater, and the time period Shakespeare lived in.

Objective:

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the life and times of Shakespeare by participating in a group discussion at the end of the period.

Materials:

1.) Criteria sheet
2.) Grading rubric
3.) Computers with Internet connections
4.) Computers with Distance Learning software (I-Visit). Teacher will have to subscribe ahead of time to the Globe Link service that the Globe Theater offers. http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

Initiation:

1.) Talk about background about the lesson. Remind students that this project will lead up to the reading of Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet.
2.) Introduce the different technologies that will be used to carry out the lesson.
3.) Introduce a representative from the Globe Theater using the I-visit software on a computer that is linked to the Internet. An example of one of David Marshall’s presentations about the Globe Theater can be heard at:
http://www.shakespeare-globe.org/exhibition/audio/david-q4.ram

Procedure:

1.) Representative from the Globe Theater, David Marshall, will give a presentation about Shakespeare’s life, The Globe Theater, and the time period Shakespeare lived in (Approximately 25 minutes).

2.) Introduce the assignment
a. A one page typed research paper about 4 different aspects of the history behind Shakespeare.
1. Shakespeare’s life
2. The time period he lived in
3. Talk about the 3 types of plays Shakespeare wrote (tragedies, comedies, and histories)
4. Costumes used in the production of the plays
b. Assign students to groups of four, with one student handling one of the four aspects each. Students will present their topic to their group on day 3.

3.) Pass out a criteria sheet/ rubric you will be using to grade their papers.

4.) Let students know that the next class period they will meet in the library to do research for their papers. Also explain that they will only have one class period to research this and it will be their responsibility to finish the papers for homework.

Closure:

Students will participate in a class discussion of what they learned from the Globe Theater representative. End the class by providing an opportunity for students to ask questions about the assignment.

Researching the Life and Times of Shakespeare
Day 3

Purpose:

By the end of the class period, students will have knowledge of the background information of one of the following topics which the students will be responsible for: Shakespeare’s life, the time period Shakespeare lived in, 3 types of plays Shakespeare wrote (tragedies, histories, and comedies), or the costumes used in the plays.

Objective:

Students will research information on their specific topic (using: the Internet, Reference books, etc…), which will be assessed in the form of a one page typed paper due on day 3. In order for this one page typed paper to count for a grade, students must receive at least 80%, or they must revise their paper. Students will also demonstrate their knowledge learned through their individual research and report these findings to the group (constructivism). Students should also be prepared to answer questions the group might pose based on their research. While gathering research they will be demonstrating their level of technological proficiency. In order to demonstrate their knowledge of technological proficiency, a class discussion will be held to talk about what technologies were most helpful to them.

Materials:

1.) Criteria sheet
2.) Grading rubric
3.) Computers with Internet connections
4.) Library full of Reference materials (ie. Encyclopedias, biographies, etc…)
5.) List of web sites that pertain to the life and times of Shakespeare

Initiation:

1.) Talk about proper library behavior/etiquette.
2.) Librarian will talk about resources and different technologies available for students to use.
3.) Librarian will go over rules for Internet use.


Procedure:

1.) Discuss library etiquette with students.
2.) Have librarian address any questions or concerns that the students may have about the different resources and technologies that they will be using.
3.) Students will use various reference materials and technologies to individually research their topics.
4.) Teacher will go around the room and individually address questions and concerns of the students.

Closure:

Explain to students that their one-page typed papers are due the next day in class. Also explain to them that they will be presenting their research to the rest of their group, and that they should be prepared to answer any questions their group has about their research and findings. Students will participate in a class discussion and tell which technology(s) were most helpful to their research.

Group Presentations of the Life and Times of Shakespeare
Day 4

Purpose:

By the end of the class period, students will have knowledge of the background information of all of the following topics: Shakespeare’s life, the time period he lived in, 3 types of plays that Shakespeare wrote (tragedies, histories, and comedies), and the costumes used in the plays.

Objective:

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of their topics by presenting their one-page research papers to their groups. Groups will demonstrate their knowledge of the life and times of Shakespeare, by collaboratively presenting their final project (a four page research paper covering the topics of: Shakespeare’s life, the time period he lived in, 3 types of plays he wrote, and the costumes used in the production of the plays) to the entire class. They will demonstrate their knowledge of the technologies used by sharing their opinions of what technologies were most beneficial, to the rest of the class.

Materials:

1.) Criteria sheet
2.) Grading rubric
3.) Students will need their research reports.
4.) Student Activity Assessment sheet

Initiation:

1.) Teacher will have students get into their groups and begin their individual presentations to the group.

Procedure:

1.) Students will begin their individual presentations to their group.
2.) Teacher will individually address any questions and concerns that the students have as he/she walks around the room to observe the progress of the group presentations.
3.) Groups will collaboratively present their information to the entire class.
4.) Groups will discuss which technologies that they felt was most beneficial and most fun.

Closure:

Have students fill out and hand in a student activity assessment sheet. (What did they like/dislike about the lesson, what do they think should be changed, what should stay the same, etc…) Briefly introduce Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Explain to students that you will be reading Act I of the play aloud on day 4.


Estimated Needs for Shakespeare Lesson Plan Project:

Product Approximate Cost
Dell Pentium III Computer (Internet Ready) $ 849.00
Hewlett Packard Color Printer $ 249.00
Hewlett Packard Digital Camera $ 279.00
Intel PC Camera $ 89.00
Globe Link Service (from the Globe Theater) $ 25.00
I-Visit Software (download from internet) $ 0
Total $1491.00

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Shakespeare Internet Scavenger Hunt

Globe Link Service

David Marshall's Presentations about the Globe Theater