William Shakespeare’s
Much Ado About
Nothing
Picture taken from: Folger Shakespeare Library
http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB-3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE
A Cyberlesson created by Leah Smith
Materials
You will need the following materials to
complete this Cyberlesson
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Computer
Your Reader Response Journal
A writing utensil
A copy of Much Ado About Nothing
Access to both the internet and a printer
Your imagination!
Are you ready to test your knowledge about Shakespeare and one
of his best comedies, Much Ado About Nothing?
Introduction
• Last year, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William
Shakespeare. This year, we will be reading another of his
comedies, Much Ado About Nothing.
• Before we read and act out the play, we will refresh our minds with a
little Shakespeare Trivia.
Click on the door to the
right to unlock the
magical world of
Shakespeare!
Before Reading:
Shakespeare’s Verse
Shakespeare is known for his strange rhymes. If you remember from last year, Shakespeare often
reversed the words and/or pronounced words differently just to complete a rhyme pattern! Look at the
following sonnet below, one of his most famous. In your Reader Response Journals, do the following:
1. Record the rhyme pattern
2. What do you think Shakespeare is talking about? Write YOUR interpretation of the sonnet below.
XVIII (Sonnet 18)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Before Reading:
Shakespeare’s Verse 2
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•
Did you know that Shakespeare even wrote his own epitaph in rhyming verse? Back in
Shakespeare’s days, cemeteries were full, so many people dug up existing graves to
bury their loved ones (they even went so far as to burn the bodies to hide the
evidence). Shakespeare was terrified that this would happen to him when he died.
Therefore, he took advantage of the fact that the English were very superstitious and
religious. He wrote a “curse” on his tombstone.
Read his epitaph below.
Readers’ Response
William
Shakespeare
1564-1616
Good friend for Jesus' sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he that moves my bones
• What is the rhyme pattern for this epitaph?
• What are your reactions to his epitaph?
• Record your responses in your journals.
Create Your Own Epitaph!
Now, create your own epitaph! Using Microsoft
Word, design your tombstone and write your
epitaph. It doesn’t have to be serious, but it
must rhyme. Click here to link to an on-line
rhyming dictionary. Click on the keyboard to link
to Microsoft Word.
Before Reading:
Shakespearean Insults
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One of the reasons that Shakespeare’s comedies were so funny to the audience is because of the insults that the
characters made to one another!
Though the insults sound a lot different than insults that you may be used to, many of them have the same
meaning!
In Much Ado About Nothing, you will meet two characters, named Beatrice and Benedick. ALL THEY DO is
argue and insult one another. When you read the play, we will be analyzing the language to determine what the
characters are actually saying. For example, what are the characters below saying to one another? These are
real Shakespearean insults. Take a guess in your Reader Response Journal.
You show
yourself
highly fed
and lowly
taught!
Thine face is
not worth
sunbathing!
Your turn! When does a teacher ALLOW you to insult someone in the class? Click here to explore some
of Shakespeare’s many insults. After you create some, choose five of the meanest insults and copy them
into your Reader Response Journal. You will later be allowed to insult someone in the class!
Before Reading:
Anticipation Guide
Print out the following slide. Mark each statement as true
or false. Discuss the statements with your group.
1. Men and women should marry persons of a similar social and economic
status as themselves.
2. People choose with whom they will fall in love.
3. It is better not to marry than to marry and risk being cheated on by your
spouse.
4. Most people can be trusted to be faithful in marriage.
5. Men are attracted to women who are assertive and bold.
6. Jealousy in a romantic relationship is usually a sign the relationship has
problems.
7. Because parents usually know what is best for their children when it comes
to choosing a mate, children should go along with their parents' wishes in
this regard.
Anticipation Guide taken from: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html
While Reading:
Anticipation Guide
• We will be acting out the entire play of Much Ado About Nothing.
After each scene, the class will vote for the best actor and best
actress, who will receive chance coupons!
• As we read the play, please have your Anticipation Guide with you at
all times. When we come to one of the statements listed in the
Anticipation Guide, you will be asked to compare and contrast your
answers with what really happens in the play.
• We will resume this cyberlesson when we have finished the play.
• Happy acting!
Click on the theater to
advance to the “After
Reading” activities.
After Reading:
Do You Know Your Stuff?
• Before you begin the following activities, let’s
make sure you understand the play. Below are
the links to two interactive quizzes about Much
Ado About Nothing. After you take each quiz,
print out the results page so you have the
answers, and record your scores in your Reader
Response Journal.
QUIZ 1
QUIZ 2
After Reading:
Rate the Characters
•
•
While reading the play, you were exposed to many characters who changed
along the way. For example, though you initially believed that Claudio was
a romantic man, we soon learned that he is NOT who we thought he was.
He gives up too easily, he is quick to judge, and he is even uncaring
sometimes.
Below is a MORALITY METER. Rate the following characters from the play.
Who is the most moral of the group? Who is the most immoral? Click on
the meter (ruler) below to rate the characters! You will be sharing this with
the class.
Moral
Immoral
After Reading:
Changing Faces
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•
While reading the book, we saw the characters changing as the
story progressed. For example, Claudio continued to change—
though we all thought he was a great character in the beginning,
we soon saw that he gave up too easily and did a bad job of
proving his love for Hero.
Based on what you now know about the characters, answer the
following questions in your Reader Response Journals.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What character changed the most and why?
What character changed the least and why?
What character changed for the better and why?
What character changed for the worst and why?
Which character are you most like and why?
To help you make your decisions, you may use the text and/or
SparkNotes.com.
After Reading:
Pick a Punishment!
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At the end of the play, we know that Don John is guilty, but his punishment was never decided!
Benedick said, “Think not on him till tomorrow, I’ll devise thee brave punishments for him.”
During the Elizabethan Era, the punishments often involved torture, misery, and even painful
death!
Your task:
1.
What do YOU think Don John is guilty of? Slander? Deception? Treason? Research the
following websites.
2.
Based on the information you read, devise an appropriate punishment for Don John.
Make sure it fits the crime. For example, if you feel that Don John is only guilty of lying,
he would probably not be beheaded and displayed on the London Bridge.
3.
In your Reader Response Journals, write Don John’s crime and the punishment you
created. Also, print out the information you found on the website to prove your point (and
use as a rationale) during our discussion.
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html
Beyond Reading:
Compare/Contrast
• As you have already learned, the punishments in the Elizabethan
Era were MUCH worse than those of today.
• Using the following websites, research both the punishments of
Elizabethan England and those of the U.S. today.
Crime and Punishment
in Elizabethan England
England 1
Crime and Punishment
in the U.S.
U.S. 1
U.S. 2
U.S. 3
U.S. 4
England 2
England 3
U.S. 5
•Print out the following Venn Diagram. When you have finished, complete the
Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the differences.
Beyond Reading:
More Shakespeare Please!
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•
•
•
•
You have now successfully read two plays by William Shakespeare and are
ready for your last assignment.
You have probably heard of several other plays by William Shakespeare.
Some of you have even acted in Shakespearean productions.
Browse the internet to find information about other Shakespearean plays.
Choose the one that you find to be the most interesting. It can be a
comedy, history, or a tragedy.
You will then create a poster and present your poster and a summary of the
play to the class. You must write the summary yourself! Be sure NOT to
plagiarize from the internet!
Here are some websites that may be useful to you, but feel free to browse
the web and discover other great sites as well!
Suggested sites:
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm
http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm
http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html
Evaluation: Cyberlesson Rubric
Points
1
2
3
4
Epitaph
Epitaph is not
complete. It
does not
rhyme.
Epitaph shows minimal
effort; does not follow a
rhyming pattern.
Epitaph shows
satisfactory effort. The
rhyming pattern is clear.
Epitaph is well done and shows
a conscious effort. The
rhyming pattern is clear.
Anticipation
Guide
Anticipation
Guide is not
complete;
minimal effort.
Anticipation Guide
shows moderate effort,
but is not completed.
Anticipation Guide is
mostly completed, but
does not show changes
after reading.
Anticipation Guide is
completed with before and
during reading checklists.
Morality
Meter
Handout is not
complete.
Characters were added,
but the list shows no
understanding of the
play.
The list is complete and
shows an understanding
of the text, but explanations are not provided.
The list is complete and
demonstrates understanding
through the ranking and the
explanations.
Venn
Diagram
Venn Diagram
is not complete; shows
minimal effort.
Only two of the three
sections have been
completed; minimal
effort.
The Venn Diagram is
completed, but only topics
are provided; there are no
explanations.
The Venn Diagram demonstrates an understanding of the
concept; explanations are
provided to show the
similarities /differences.
Poster
Presentation
Only one of the
two requirements is complete (poster or
summary)
The poster and
summary are complete,
but show minimal effort.
The poster is wellillustrated, but the
summary is weak and
lacks clarity or key
details.
The poster is beautifully
illustrated and appeals to the
audience; the summary is wellwritten and shows an
understanding of the play.
RRJ is not
complete;
minimal effort
shown.
RRJ is mostly
complete; lacks several
elements and key
ideas; minimal
explanations provided.
RRJ is complete, but
lacks full explanations to
demonstrate
understanding.
RRJ is complete; an
understanding of the text is
shown through detailed
explanations.
Reader
Response
Journal
TOTAL
POINTS
Student
Teacher
Resources
1.
Websites
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2.
Rhyming dictionary: www.rhymezone.com
Shakespearean Insults: www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker
Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html
Spark Notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/
Elizabethan Punishments: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html
U.S. crimes and punishments: http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/20020111.html
http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s219/s219b.html
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendVIIIs10.html
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/correct.htm
Shakespeare Summaries: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm
http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm
http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html
Handouts
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3.
Create your own epitaph: Created by Leah Smith
Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html
Morality Meter: Created by Leah Smith
Venn Diagram: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/graphicorg/pdfs/venndiagram.pdf
Graphics
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Photograph of Shakespeare: http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE
Various Clip Art pictures: http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/