Kelsey Davais
ED 270
March 17, 2012
Final Project- Lesson Plan
Grade Level
Content Area
Title of Unit
Learning Goal
Technology Standards
Technologies Integrated
Grade 9
English
Shakespeare and his play, Romeo and Juliet
Reading Shakespeare can be a daunting task, especially for students who do
not enjoy English class to begin with. By the end of this unit, I want my
students to feel more comfortable with reading Shakespeare because they
have learned ways to aid them in understanding it. Part of preparing them
for college is helping them learn to use other resources that are the most
useful for them. I hope by them using different ways to understand the
play, they will gain confidence and skills in learning to interpret a text.
With our activities, students will have a chance to gain knowledge about
technology use in a variety of ways. For instance,
1. Creativity and Innovation – They will use their knowledge of the
plot of Romeo and Juliet to make their own versions of a scene in
the play.
2. Communication and Collaboration – Students will work in groups to
create their movies. They will be using cameras and GarageBand to
do this project. They will be able to present their projects to the
rest of the class by using other technology such as a projector to
view their movies.
3. Research and Information Fluency – These skills will be improved
when we visit the computer lab. I want my students to be able to
find, on their own, websites that can aid them in learning
Shakespeare.
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making –
Researching to find websites that are helpful also helps students
think critically. While creating their movies, all three aspects will be
used when they work as groups to make a movie. Also, they can
learn that there are many ways to use the tools on the Internet to
help them study Shakespeare. This is the main point of having them
look online in the computer lab for study guides to Romeo and
Juliet. It is important for them to gain the skills to use resources that
are available for them to their advantage.
5. Digital Citizenship – All of these activities will help the students
learn a good way to use their resources.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts – By using some different
technologies, students will be able to broaden their understanding
of what is available to them.
PowerPoint, GarageBand, Podcasts, using the Internet for research, video
We will be in the classroom for most of the learning. So, we will need desks
Resources
Unit Outline
and chairs, and copies of Romeo and Juliet for me and my students. I will
create a PowerPoint, so I need the program, a projector, and screen (or
SMART board if available). We will be using the program, GarageBand, so
we will also need cameras that can be checked out from the school. For the
Podcasts, they will be searching for them, not creating, so we only need
computers and the iTunes program. We will use the computer lab for this
portion. We will be exploring helpful websites such as sparknotes.com in
the computer lab also. Finally, I will need to either use the projector, or
wheel in a TV and bring my “Romeo + Juliet” DVD from home.
Day 1
 I will present a PowerPoint on general information about
Shakespeare and his works.
 I will pass out copies of Romeo and Juliet to the class.
 We will look at the prologue together to look at the writing style
that we will see in Shakespeare’s play.
 Students will be assigned to read the first act before the next class.
Day 2
 Students will come to class, hopefully having read the first act.
 We will have a short discussion on what we found most difficult
about the reading and about what we read.
 We will go to the computer lab and I will explain some online
resources that can help students with reading this play.
 We will look at websites like sparknotes.com which provides sideby-side interpretations of the play into modern day language.
 We will also look at Podcasts to see if we can find audio versions of
the play.
 Students will be assigned to read the next two acts and encouraged
to use online resources. Students are also told about the final
project for this class which will be to make a movie. There will be no
written test for this unit, and the movie will count as the grade for a
test.
Day 3
 We will spend time discussing the three acts that we have read.
 I will assign groups and they will have some time to start planning
ideas for making their movies.
 The project: Each group will be given a scene or two, depending on
the length, that they will need to make into a modern day
representation.
 Students will be assigned to read the rest of the play.
Day 4
 Students will be given about half of the class to start on their
movies. Hopefully, they have an idea of what they want to do and
can start shooting the movies right away.
 We will finish discussing the play.
 We will finish class this day with a clip from the movie, Romeo +
Juliet for inspiration.
Unit Outline continued…
Day 5
 I will start by explaining how to use GarageBand to make their
movies with my computer in the classroom using the projector to
show what I am doing, or by using a SMART board.
 The students will be given the rest of the class to finish recording
their movies.
Day 6
 Any last minute recording can be done at the beginning of class.
 Next, we will go to the computer lab to start making their videos.
Day 7
 Students will finish making their videos during the first half of class.
 We will then watch each groups’ movies.
 Finally, we will discuss, as a class, what we learned from the
different resources we have used.
 For homework, I will ask them to write a few paragraphs about
what resources they found to be the most helpful while they
tackled the Shakespearean play.
I have taught lessons before when I helped in a Special Ed class in high school, but I have never taught in
an English class yet. So, it is hard for me to know if I am squeezing too much into a day. Thankfully, I
have many more education classes to take and student teaching will help me gain a better grasp on
lesson planning!