Romeo & Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Subject/Grade/Course: LA/9
Total Days in Unit: 26 Days
Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Summary:
Through this focused unit, students explore two big ideas: the nature of love and hate, and the
timelessness of Shakespeare's plays. Through an analysis of language, characters, and themes, students
read to the heart of the play. Because the language is so challenging, and because this will be most
students' first exposure to Shakespeare, this unit allows teachers great freedom to work with the text as
the skills of their students allow. The lesson entitled "Act I" lays out approaches for reading all sections of
the play, with suggestions for building comprehension, analyzing language structures, and exploring
theme. Each act has a short assessment, to make sure that students are developing the appropriate
understanding as they read and discuss, and a culminating performance task asks them to pull together all
of the pieces of their learning to address the essential question, "Who killed Romeo and Juliet?"
Stage 1: Desired Results
Transfer Goals
Common Core Anchor Standards
1. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word meanings to
communicate.
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length,
difficulty, and complexity.
3. The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective communication.
Understandings
By the end of this unit, what understandings will students have reached?
Course and Program Level

I A writer/speaker makes decisions about his use of language based on the time, place, and occasion
as well as his purpose and the audience. A reader/listener can analyze and evaluate the use of
language in text based on how that language fits the situation and purpose of the text.

II Authors reveal setting, control mood and tone, and build theme through the careful use of
language. By paying close attention to that language, the reader can both appreciate and understand
those elements of the text.

III Writers often use the disjunction between the denotation of a word and its connotation in
situations where the reader should be wary.
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Romeo & Juliet
Unit Level

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IV In both love and anger, passion can overwhelm logic, leading to either glorious or tragic
consequences.
V Anger and hatred can take on lives of their own, becoming unmoored from their original causes
and sucking others into their destructive vortex,
VI Some works of literature, though dated in some ways, are deemed "timeless" because they
illuminate important perspectives, through powerful language, on universal human themes.
VII We care so deeply about Romeo and Juliet because their struggles -with coming of age, love,
revenge, and family - mirror our own.
Essential Questions
What Essential Questions guide inquiry in this unit?
Course and Program Level

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I What was the writer's intention in selecting these words and presenting them in this way? How
effective was he in meeting his goal?
II What can I learn about how text is written that will help me uncover what I need to know?
III What makes a good story (play, poem, informational text?) Why choose to write in one genre
rather than any other?
Unit Level

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IV What is love, anyway?
V What is worth fighting for? What is worth dying for?
VI Who killed Romeo and Juliet?
VII Why do we still care about Romeo and Juliet? (What makes a work of literature "timeless"?)
Knowledge
What Knowledge Questions will students be able to answer?



I Who are the main characters and what are the key events in this play?
II What terms can I use to describe actions, stage directions, and techniques in a play?
III Who was William Shakespeare?
Skills
What Skills will students master or improve as a result of this unit?
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I Read a challenging text for comprehension
II Use text features such as glossaries and footnotes to gain comprehension of the text.
III Understand Shakespearean language to such an extent that they can write it.
IV Analyze quotations, identifying speaker, audience, context, and significance.
V Analyze the development of characters over time and consider them from various perspectives.
VI Write literary text exploring Shakespearean themes and integrating Shakespearean language.
VII Work collaboratively in small groups.
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Likely Misunderstandings & Deficits

Where are students likely to misunderstand important ideas? Where are they most likely to struggle
in applying knowledge and skill?

Shakespeare is impossible to read.

Shakespeare is so hopelessly outdated that it doesn't mean anything to people living today.

The key performance deficit will involve the challenge of reading such a difficult text. Proceed slowly,
providing parallel or alternative texts in simplified language when appropriate.
Stage 2: Evidence
Performance Tasks
Through which complex tasks will students reveal their ability to transfer their learning to a new
situation?
Task #1
Title: Some Shall be Punished, Phase 1
Summary: This is the culminating assessment for the unit.
In the last speech of the play, the Prince announces that "some shall be pardon'd, and some punished.
Soon the day of reckoning will come, and the Prince has ordered that all in Verona prepare for testimony
that answers the question: who killed Romeo and Juliet?
First, the court of Verona will assemble a list of all those who played a role in the death of these two
young lovers. Each suspect called will first face an accuser, who will outline the events that caused the
suspect to be called. After each accuser has spoken, the suspect will then defend him/herself before the
court. The Prince will ask questions of each party. When all accusers and suspects have spoken, the court
of Verona will vote on who should be pardon'd and who be punished.
*Procedural Notes: In the first phase of this simulation, students work in small groups to develop lists of
all those who bear some guilt in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Once their lists are complete, groups
take turns nominating a suspect, explaining why they have made that choice. At the end of the class
period, a full list should be complete and individual students (or pairs of students) should be assigned (or
choose) roles of either one of the suspects or one of the accusers.
This performance task is addressed in the following events:
Culminating Assessment
Task Alignment
Competencies: 2c 2d 2e 3a
Understandings: IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: V VI VII
Knowledge: I Skills: I III IV V VII
Task #2
Title: Some Shall Be Punished, Phase 2
Summary: In the second phase, students prepare to take on the roles of their characters, writing an
opening speech that draws up Shakespearean language. Each student is responsible for knowing the
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words, thoughts, and actions of his/her character completely, so that he/she can respond to questions
that the Prince (the teacher) asks after the prepared speeches are delivered. After the formal speeches
and responses to the Prince, the Prince might ask if there are other members of the court of Verona who
have questions for either the suspect of the accuser.
Task Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3b 3a
Understandings: I II III IV V VI
Essential Questions: I II V VI
Knowledge: I
Skills: I III V VI
Task #3
Title: Some Shall Be Punished, Phase 3
Summary: In the third phase, each member of the Court of Verona (all students, working individually)
prepares a decree which announces which suspects should be pardon'd and which should be punished,
explaining their reasons for each decision. Members of the Court should also decide the appropriate
punishment for each. Students should be informed of all aspects of this assessment before they begin, so
that they understand the importance of listening carefully to all testimony.
Teacher evaluation of this work should take into account preparation for testimony, the use of
appropriate evidence for the prosecution or defense of a suspect, the effective use of Shakespeareantype language, and the quality of arguments for or against the punishment of each suspect.
Task Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e
Understandings: I II III IV V VI
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VI
Knowledge: I
Skills: I III V VI VII
Task #4
Title: Alternate Culminating Assessment
Summary: If time requires that the final assessment be short, consider this assessment instead:
Stage the funerals of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar will officiate, with students playing the roles of various
characters (some can be raised from the dead or comment from heaven, for this purpose). Each character
will write a eulogy for both Romeo and Juliet, using the opportunity both to remember the departed and
to share their personal perspective with others gathered at the funeral. Eulogies should be written in
Elizabethan language and in a form appropriate for the character, and should answer at least one of these
questions:
-Did they die in vain?
-Who is responsible for their deaths? Why?
-Should their deaths lead the citizens of Verona to change at all? How? Why?
Task Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3b 3a
Understandings: I II III IV V VI
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VI
Knowledge: I
Skills: I III V VI
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Other Evidence
Which other evidence can be used to reveal students ability to transfer their learning to a new situation?
Evidence #1
Title: Act 1: What is Love, Anyway?
Summary:
Does Romeo love Juliet? Really? Students might respond to this questions in one of several ways:
Write a "Dear Abby" letter from Romeo, telling of his "love" for Juliet and asking her advice on an
important question. Then, write Abby's answer from the point of view of an "adult" perspective. Finally,
write Romeo's response to Abby.
Write a letter of advice from Mercutio to Romeo, paying close attention to Mercutio's views on love that
begin with his long speech in scene 4, line 53.
Write Juliet's diary entry from the morning after the party. Who is this guy Romeo, and does he really love
her? Does she love him? Why or why not?
Assessment Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2e 3a
Essential Questions: IV
Knowledge: I
Skills: I V
Evidence #2
Title:Act 2: Quotations Quiz
Summary:
At the end of Act 2, students take a low-stakes quiz that asks them to identify quotations from the play
thus far. For each quotation, students should identify the speaker, to whom (if anyone) the speaker was
speaking, the context in which the speech was given, and the importance of that scene. (Note: some of
the Act 1 quotations should be used in the learning activity that precedes this assessment.)
This evidence is assessed in the following events:
Act II Assessment: Quotations Quiz
Assessment Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e
Understandings: I II III
Essential Questions: I II
Knowledge: I
Skills: I III IV
Evidence #3
Title:Act 3: Who is Juliet?
Summary:
At the end of Act 3, students write descriptions of Juliet from two different perspectives (they may
choose): Juliet herself, the nurse, her mother or father, Romeo. Each description should be written in the
type of language used by that character in the play (e.g. rhymed couplets for the Capulets). Afterward,
students might also write a paragraph in which they discuss the differences between the two
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perspectives.
This evidence is assessed in the following events:
Act III: Who is Juliet?
Assessment Alignment
Competencies: 1d 1c 1b 2d 2c 2e 3b 3a
Understandings: I II III VI VII
Essential Questions: I IV II III VII
Knowledge: I
Skills: I III IV V
Evidence #4
Title:Act 4: Shakespeare Updated
Summary:
After dividing students into groups (or having them choose groups), have each choose one scene from the
play which they will update to modern times and perform for the class. They should set the scene in a
real-life, current-day place (school, the athletic field, the mall, someone's home), adapt the language to
the language used today in the situations they choose. While honoring both the structure and the intent
of the original scene, groups also remain free to exclude passages that they feel do not add to the
development of the scene, as well as add short sections that improve it. Afterward, students will write
analytical responses both to the revision that their own group did, as well as to the revision done by
another group. Analytical responses will, in part, explore the question of the timelessness of
Shakespeare's works and respond to the essential question "Why do we still care about Romeo and
Juliet?"
Assessment Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3b 3a
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: I II III V VII
Knowledge: I II
Skills: I III V VI VII
Rubric Titles (evaluative criteria overview)
Response to Literature Rubric
Persuasive Writing Rubric
Literary Analysis Rubric
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Stage 3: Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Love and Trouble
Days in lesson: 1
Begins on day 1 of the unit
Purpose: In the opening event of this unit, students anticipate the themes of the play by examining their
own feelings about, and experiences with, love.
Lesson Alignment
Competencies: 3a
Understandings: IV VI VII
Essential Questions: IV VII
Events in this Lesson:
1.
BEFORE READING: Illustrating Big Ideas A 50 minute activity
2.
Optional Opening Activity: Love at First Sight? A 15 minute activity
3.
Alternate Opening Activity: Elizabethan Soap Opera A 50 minute activity
1.
BEFORE READING: Illustrating Big Ideas
Event Primary Aim: Make Meaning (+/- 50 minutes)
Divide the class into groups of 5-6 students. Give each student a note card on which the teacher has
written one big idea of the play. Groups prepare short skits to illustrate those big ideas, within a
contemporary context. Big ideas might include:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Parents don't always take the concerns of their children seriously
People sometimes make rash decisions, due to the passion of the moment
People who have authority don't always know what's best for others
It can be difficult to distinguish love from infatuation, passion, excitement, affection, desire
Sometimes, we continue to be angry with each other even when we forget the original event
that made us angry
Sometimes, we pass along out anger to others, who take it up and become even more angry than
we do.
Some family traditions can be harmful to everyone
2.
Optional Opening Activity: Love at First Sight?
o
Event Primary Aim: Make Meaning (10 to 15 minutes)
Summary:
Write this phrase on the board – “Love at first sight” and have students write their reactions to it for
10 or 15 minutes. Discuss differing viewpoints in small groups or as a whole class.
Note: This event offers an alternative introduction to the unit. If you want to conduct it in addition to
the first or second event, you will need to add extra time to the calendar.
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3. Alternate Opening Activity: Elizabethan Soap Opera
Event Primary Aim: Make Meaning
Summary:
Read these writing prompts to students, over the course of one class period (approximately 5 minutes for
each prompt, with more time for the final prompt). Students respond to each prompt in the first person,
writing either as themselves or as a fictional but believable character. In either case, students should
choose either to write in diary form or in a series of short letters to a best friend.
1) You really like somebody but they don't like you back.
2) Your friends keep trying to get you to forget that person.
3) Your friends drag you to a party.
4) You see a new person - the person of your dreams; you have already forgotten what's his name!
5) You discover that your parents hate this person's family, so you won't be allowed to see your new love.
6) What do you do next?
Teacher Notes: IMPORTANT: This event provides an alternative introduction to the unit. If you want to
conduct this event in addition to the first event, you will need to add an extra day to the unit.
Lesson 2: Act I
Days in lesson: 9
Begins on day 2 of the unit
Purpose: Students jump into Romeo and Juliet with both feet, reading and considering the prologue
together, then moving on through the first act.
Lesson Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3a 3b 3c
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: I IV II III V VI VII
Knowledge: III II I
Skills: I II III VII
Events in this Lesson:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Jumping in with both feet (50 mins.)
1st Reading of Romeo and Juliet (50 mins.)
Tracking the Story (20 mins.)
2nd Reading of Romeo and Juliet (50 mins.)
Quotations practice (15 mins.)
Dramatic devices (20 mins.)
Vocabulary (15 mins.)
3rd Reading Romeo and Juliet (50 mins.)
The language of Shakespeare (20 mins.)
What is love, anyway? (20 mins.)
Vocabulary (50 mins.)
Event #1: Jumping in with both feet
Event Primary Aims: Make Meaning, Acquire
Summary:
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Read the prologue together. What is the play going to be about? Why does Shakespeare reveal the ending
at the beginning? Has he ruined the story? Return to this question at the end of the play.
Who killed Romeo and Juliet?
Distribute the assignment sheet for the final performance assessment, discussing expectations and
requirements. The assigning of roles will need to wait until students have read the entire play.
What is love anyway?
Students respond in writing (perhaps in their journals) to this question, then try, as a class, to construct a
definition of love. In a class discussion, students collect phrases that seem to define love (or part of it)
well.
At the end of the class, each student writes one sentence or phrase of a definition on an index card, which
will become the beginnings of a unit-long consideration of the question.
At the end of each week, students will fill out a new index card with their new definition (or partial
definition) of love. For the full effect of this activity, teachers should post the index cards on a wall,
chronologically, to allow students to trace the development of their group understanding of the term.
They might also choose to add artwork to the wall.
Teacher Notes: To connect the question to later events in the text, discuss, at appropriate points, how
Romeo, Juliet, Lady Capulet, and Mercutio might define love, perhaps adding their views on index cards of
a different color. At appropriate points later in the play, return to this questions to explore how different
characters might answer it at different points. If their views change, why do they change?
Event#2: Reading Romeo and Juliet
Event Aim: Acquire
Summary:
Most class time during this unit will be spent in variety of approaches to "reading" the text. Depending
upon the makeup of each individual class (most notably reading levels), the energy levels of students, and
the success of various approaches to reading that the class has experienced earlier in the year, teachers
might choose from these different methods:
-Students read together, out loud or silently, then reach meaning in small groups
-Students read silently alone, note words or passages that are unclear, then work in small groups to have
questions answered
-Students listen to an audio tape of the play (be careful: students with low language skills often have
difficulty understanding the British accents that are usually used on these recordings)
-Students watch a scene from a film of Romeo and Juliet that is faithful to that section of the text (the
Zeferelli version is often quite faithful; the Luhrman version is rarely faithful)
-Students work in small groups to prepare a short section of dialogue for performance before the whole
class
-Have students read a scene for homework, coming to class with written questions about passages or
words they did not understand. In class, have them work in pairs to try to answer those questions
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NOTE: Each event in this lesson has a rough time frame given, and each is correlated to a day on the
calendar. However, teachers will need to adjust this calendar to meet the needs of the actual students in
their class, so please take these timing recommendations as only that: recommendations. Feel free to
offer more time for some activities, less time for others, as class needs dictate. Feel free, as well, to
reorganize the order of activities.
For some students, reading will become quicker and easier as they become more familiar with
Shakespeare's language. For others, the language will remain a formidable challenge. Wherever possible,
help students to gain comprehension by presenting alternative versions of the text (annotated texts,
alternate tellings, audio tapes, movies).
When students are reading, be sure to pause frequently to gauge comprehension and help students focus
on the important elements being developed. The teacher's guides to most grade-level textbooks provide
substantial notes on how to focus on these low-level items, so this unit does not note them, focusing
instead in helping students develop a broader understanding of the big ideas held within the text, through
consideration of the essential questions.
Event #3: Tracking the Story
Event Primary Aim: Acquire
Summary:
Because the language of Shakespeare can distract students from the story itself, students should choose
some form for keeping track of the plot. Students with strong linguistic skills might write a short summary
of each scene. Linear visual learners might keep track of plot developments by making a time line of the
story. More conceptual thinkers might make a concept web for each scene. Each student should choose
one form for tracking the story, and teachers should guide students toward the most effective choice.
NOTE: This activity should take no more than 10-20 minutes at a time, but students should revise their
summaries, timelines, or webs regularly. If desired, teachers might treat this ongoing activity as a
formative assessment, to be sure that students are following the plot of the play.
Event
Dramatic devices
Summary:
Where appropriate, take the opportunity to identify dramatic devices, including foreshadowing, soliloquy,
aside, If desired, teachers can also develop a quiz on these terms, ideally offering passages from the play,
asking students to match the correct term with that passage and explain why that term fits. Depending on
the teacher's choices in emphasis, some attention might also be paid to the use of figurative language and
the development of symbols (most notably images of light and darkness).
In addition, teachers should provide basic information on the life of Shakespeare, the Elizabethan theater,
and the structures of Shakespeare's language. Care should be taken, however, to avoid overemphasis of
these elements: what matters in the story.
Minutes Devoted to this Activity: 20
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Event
The language of Shakespeare
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
Whenever possible, call students' attention to Shakespeare's use of language, particularly:
- figurative language, especially metaphors
- plays on words, puns, and the juxtaposition of denotative and connotative meanings
- mood and tone, particularly his ability to capture the passion of Romeo and Juliet for each other
- the alternation of formal and informal rhyme and rhythm structures to signal the standing of the speaker
Teacher Notes: Because this work can often seem tedious to students, limit consideration of language
issues to no more than 10 minutes at a time.
Minutes Devoted to this Activity: 10
Event
Vocabulary
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
As students read, help them identify words whose meanings are not clear, guiding them to use word
structures and context clues to help them understand their meanings. Each week, each student should
collect a list of five words that were previously unfamiliar, writing each one, he sentence in which it
appears, and its definition.
At the end of each week, have students, working in pairs, take turns quizzing each other on the personal
lists. Ones student reads aloud a word on the other student's list; the receiving student then uses the
word in a sentence that makes its meaning clear. Students can perform the first round of corrections, as
this effort will require that they talk with each other about the meaning of the words.
Minutes Devoted to this Activity: 15
Event
What is love, anyway?
Event Aim: Transfer
Summary:
Does Romeo love Juliet? Really? In this assessment, students might respond to this questions in one of
several ways:
Write a "Dear Abby" letter from Romeo, telling of his "love" for Juliet and asking her advice on an
important question. Then, write Abby's answer, from the point of view of an "adult" perspective. Finally,
write Romeo's response to Abby.
Write a letter of advice from Mercutio to Romeo, paying close attention to Mercutio's views on love that
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begin with his long speech in scene 4, line 53.
Write Juliet's diary entry from the morning after the party. Who is this guy Romeo, and does he really love
her? Does she love him? Why or why not?
Minutes Devoted to this Activity: 30
Event
Quotations practice
Event Aim: Make Meaning
Summary:
Read the prologue together. What is the play going to be about? Why does Shakespeare reveal the ending
at the beginning? Has he ruined the story? Return to this question at the end of the play.
Who killed Romeo and Juliet?
Distribute the assignment sheet for the final performance assessment, discussing expectations and
requirements. The assigning of roles will need to wait until students have read the entire play.
What is love anyway?
Students respond in writing (perhaps in their journals) to this question, then try, as a class, to construct a
definition of love. In a class discussion, students collect phrases that seem to define love (or part of it)
well. At the end of the class, each student writes one sentence or phrase of a definition on an index card,
which will become the beginnings of a unit-long consideration of the question. At the end of each week,
students will fill out a new index card with their new definition (or partial definition) of love. For the full
effect of this activity, teachers should post the index cards on a wall, chronologically, to allow students to
trace the development of their group understanding of the term. They might also choose to add artwork
to the wall.
To connect the question to the text, discuss, at appropriate points, how Romeo, Juliet, Lady Capulet, and
Mercutio might define love, perhaps adding their views on index cards of a different color. At appropriate
points later in the play, return to this questions to explore how different characters might answer it at
different points. If their views change, why do they change?
Quotations Practice
Students practice identifying important quotations from Act 1, as discussed above, in Other Evidence.
Teachers might also choose passages other than those noted above. The goal in this activity is show
students the power that a single quotation can have to illuminate an important person, event, or idea. It
also serves as practice for the quotations quiz connected with Act 2 and the quotations test given at the
end of this unit.
Lesson 3 Act II
Days in lesson: 4
Begins on day 7 of the unit
Purpose: Students read, analyze, and discuss Act II.
Lesson Alignment
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Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3a
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VII
Knowledge: I II
Skills: I II III IV V
Events in this Lesson:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Considering Act 2 (100 mins.)
Considering Act 2 (100 mins.)
Who can you marry? Why? (30 mins.)
What is "timeless"? (20 mins.)
Act II Assessment: Quotations Quiz (30 mins.)
Considering Act 2
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
Follow the general guidelines detailed in Act I events to continue reading, analyzing, and discussing the
play:
- provide multiple opportunities for students to gain comprehension of the text
- track the development of the plot in summaries, timelines, or webs
- analyze Shakespeare's use of language, with emphasis on his goals and the effect
- consider the EQs, drawing evidence directly from the text
- identify unfamiliar vocabulary for the weekly quiz
NOTE: Two class periods are assigned to this event. if students are reading very slowly, or if no reading
can be assigned as homework, teachers may need to adjust the calendar to add more time.
Event #2: Who can you marry? Why?
Event Aim: Make Meaning
Summary:
Have students respond to this question, then engage them in a discussion. Can they REALLY marry
whomever they want? Are some people unavailable? Out of bounds? Undesirable? Why? Afterward,
distribute one or both of the readings on arranged marriage, asking students to read them for homework.
In class the next day, discuss the question again, trying to feel empathy for those who might choose an
arranged marriage. This conversation can continue in the future, as the wedding plans of Juliet and Paris
proceed.
What is "timeless"?
Begin to discuss the extent to which Romeo and Juliet is a timeless work, allowing students to comment
freely on the ways in which it seems dated and/or inaccessible to modern readers. Without cutting off
real inquiry, try to steer students toward uncovering the timelessness of the themes of family feuds,
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thwarted love, and tension between the old and the young. This consideration will lay the groundwork for
the Act 4 assessment.
Event
Act II Assessment: Quotations Quiz
Event Aim: Acquire, Make Meaning
This event contains the Stage 2 evidence:
Act 2: Quotations Quiz
Summary:
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (A1, Sc1, 1-4)
O me! What fray was here?
Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all
Here's much to do with hate, but more with love,
Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate,
O any thing, of nothing first create! (1,1,168-72)
Well, think of marriage now. Younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers. (1,2,69-71)
I'll look to like, if looking liking move;
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly. (1,2,97-99)
Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe,
A villain, that is hither come in spite
To scorn at our solemnity this night. (1,5, 59-61)
My only love, sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me
That I must love a loathed enemy. (1,5,136-139)
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet. (2,1,38-44)
Within the infant rind of this weak flower
Poison hath residence and medicine power (2,3,23-24)
Lord, how my head aches! What a head have I!
It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces.
My back a t'other side -ah, my back, my back! (2,5,47-49)
These violent delights have violent ends
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And, in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume. (2,6,9-11)
Quotations Test
In a preparatory activity, have each student choose three quotations from the play as a whole, identifying
the speaker, to whom (if anyone) the speaker was speaking, the context in which the speech was given,
and the importance of that scene. The teacher collects all student work on this activity, chooses perhaps 8
quotations that indeed capture important moments in the play or reveal significant characteristics of the
characters, and compiles them in to the final quotations text for this unit. Each student chooses six of the
eight quotations and performs the same identifications that they have practiced during the unit.
Event What is "timeless"?
Event Aim: Make Meaning
Summary:
What is "timeless"?
Begin to discuss the extent to which Romeo and Juliet is a timeless work, allowing students to comment
freely on the ways in which it seems dated and/or inaccessible to modern readers. Without cutting off
real inquiry, try to steer students toward uncovering the timelessness of the themes of family fueds,
thwarted love, and tension between the old and the young. This consideration will lay the groundwork for
the Act 4 assessment.
Lesson 4 Act III
Purpose: Students read, analyze, and discuss Act III.
Lesson Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VI VII
Knowledge: I II
Skills: I II III IV V
Events in this Lesson:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Considering Act III (100 mins.)
Act III: Who is Juliet? (80 mins.)
Considering Act III (100 mins.)
Act III: Who is Juliet? (100 mins.)
Event#1: Considering Act III
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
Follow the general guidelines detailed in Act I events to continue reading, analyzing, and discussing the
play:
- provide multiple opportunities for students to gain comprehension of the text
- track the development of the plot in summaries, timelines, or webs
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- analyze Shakespeare's use of language, with emphasis on his goals and the effect
- consider the EQs, drawing evidence directly from the text
- identify unfamiliar vocabulary for the weekly quiz
By this point, students should have a clear sense of the characters, the setting, and the main conflict of
the play. If students are able readers, it should be possible to spend less time on achieving basic
comprehension and more time on considering the essential questions of the unit.
In preparation for the assessment of this act (Who is Juliet?), pay close attention to the characters and the
impressions that they have of each other. To provide additional scaffolding for the assessment, also
consider discussing a parallel question, such as "Who is Romeo?" as a class.
Event #2: Act III: Who is Juliet?
Event Aim: Transfer
This event contains the Stage 2 other evidence:
Act 3: Who is Juliet?
Summary:
Ask the question before beginning to read the act, giving students the assignment for their assessment.
While reading, consider the question of characterization: what is revealed about Juliet through her
words? Her actions? Her interactions with other characters? What other characters say about her and
how they respond to her? How does Shakespeare illuminate her character through the choices of the
words he puts into her mouth and the structure of the language he has her use? In what ways is Juliet a
strong character? In what ways is she weak? Return to this question later, as Juliet fights the marriage to
Paris.
Have students complete the related assessment (see other evidence).
NOTES: The minutes assigned to this event include both time to consider the question with reference to
the text (30 minutes) and time the next day to complete the assessment (50 minutes).
Lesson 5 Act IV
Days in lesson: 4
Begins on day 14 of the unit
Purpose: Students read, analyze, and discuss Act IV.
Lesson Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3a 3b
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VII
Knowledge: I
Skills: I II III VI VII
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Events in this Lesson:
1.
2.
3.
Considering Act IV (100 mins.)
Shakespeare Today (50 mins.)
Act IV Assessment: Shakespeare Updated (50 mins.)
Event#1: Considering Act IV
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
Follow the general guidelines detailed in Act I events to continue reading, analyzing, and discussing the
play:
- provide multiple opportunities for students to gain comprehension of the text
- track the development of the plot in summaries, timelines, or webs
- analyze Shakespeare's use of language, with emphasis on his goals and the effect
- consider the EQs, drawing evidence directly from the text
- identify unfamiliar vocabulary for the weekly quiz
By this point, students should have an even clearer sense of the characters, the setting, and the main
conflict of the play. With this in mind, allot more time to the consideration of the essential questions.
Event#2: Shakespeare Today
Event Aim: Make Meaning
Summary:
The principle event (also an assessment) for this act is the modernization of a scene. To modivate
students and show them how professionals have updated the story, show them selected themes from the
Baz Luhrman film Romeo and Juliet (with Claire Danes and Leonardo de Caprio) and/or the film version of
West Side Story. (Note: While the Luhrman film is very powerful, some scenes include sexual references,
violence, and strong language. Teachers should be sure to preview scenes before showing them in class.)
After viewing each scene, students should identify similarities and differences with the original text,
discuss the ways in which the modernization is faithful or unfaithful to the Shakespearean theme of the
scene, and evaluate what is gained and what is lost through modernizing a classic work.
Finally, consider the question of timelessness: what makes Romeo and Juliet timeless?
Minutes Devoted to this Activity: 50
Event#3: Act IV Assessment: Shakespeare Updated
Event Aim: Transfer
Summary:
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Students complete this assessment (see STAGE 2 - Other Evidence).
Lesson 6 Act V and beyond
Days in lesson: 9
Begins on day 18 of the unit
Purpose: Students read, analyze, and discuss Act V, complete the culminating performance task, and draw
final conclusions about the play.
Lesson Alignment
Competencies: 1b 1c 1d 2c 2d 2e 3a 3b
Understandings: I II III IV V VI VII
Essential Questions: IV I II III V VI VII
Knowledge: I
Skills: I II III V VI VII
Events in this Lesson:
What's Worth Fighting For? What's Worth Dying For? (100 mins.)
Culminating Assessments
Optional Extension: Hip-Hop Sonnet (50 mins.)
Optional extension: R and J Competition (100 mins.)
Event#1: What's Worth Fighting For? What's Worth Dying For?
Event Aim: Make Meaning Acquire
Summary:
Before beginning this act, students look back, identifying places in the play where people fought and
where they died. (This activity forces them, in part, to review the action to this point.) Hold a class
discussion, considering these questions: Why did they fight or die? Was their cause worth fighting/dying
for? To whom? Why or why not?
As the act progresses, have students consider the same questions with reference to the deaths of
Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet, What would Shakespeare's answer to this question be? Why?
How can they tell?
Event #2: Culminating Assessment
Event Aim:
This event contains the Stage 2 performance task: Some Shall be Punished, Phase 1, 2, 3
Optional Extension: Hip-Hop Sonnet
Event Aim: Transfer
Summary:
Have students read a selection of Shakespearean sonnets and discover the form and common subject
matter of the sonnet (love). Then, have students write two sonnets their own:
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1. a love sonnet, in Elizabethan language, to a celebrity of their choosing (the sonnet should not name the
celebrity, so that others might guess to whom it was written)
2. A hip-hop sonnet, written in ultra-modern language
Afterward, discuss the differences in the process of writing the two sonnets. How important was
language? Was the Elizabethan or the hip-hop version easier to write? Which feels more successful?
Why?
Optional extension: R and J Competition
Event Aim: Make Meaning Transfer
Summary:
Students spend class time preparing and performing scenes of their choosing. In an optional (but
potentially wonderful) extension of this work, each class could choose the one scene that it feels to be the
best. This group would perform in a Romeo and Juliet scene competition that includes all English 9 classes
at the school. Winners at the school level would then move on to a district-level competition.
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