The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
The Tempest
TEACHIT KS3 INTERACTIVE PACK
SATs Update 2008: 2 Characters
Lessons 7 – 11
Worksheets 12 – 14
OHT 3
Please note:
Any educational institution that has purchased one copy of this
publication may make unlimited duplicate copies for use
exclusively within that institution.
Permission does not extend to transmittal in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, of duplicate copies for loaning, renting or selling to
any other institution without the permission of the Publisher.
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
1
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
LESSON 7: Caliban – man or monster?
Framework Objectives
Learning Objective
R14: Analyse the language, form and dramatic
impact of scenes and plays by published
dramatists
To gain an insight into the character of Caliban,
his background and his relationship with other
characters
Use Lesson 17 from your Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack
You will need:
Lesson plan 17
ICT Activity 14
Worksheet 28
Worksheet 29
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
2
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
LESSON 8: Send in the clowns
Learning Objective
Understand the roles of Stephano and Trinculo.
Starter


Put students in groups of three: one of them is Stephano, one Trinculo and one Caliban. Ask
them to get themselves physically into rank order – using height/levels and body language – for
each of the following criteria:
o who is the most intelligent?
o who is the most aggressive?
o who is the vainest
o who is the funniest?
o who is the leader?
Stop after each and ask students to explain their positions. They’ll need to specify which points of
the play they’re thinking of as evidence for their decisions.
Introduction



Divide the class in two. Ask half the class to scan through Act 3 Scene 2 and the other half to
scan through Act 4 Scene 1, highlighting any lines which they think help show the audience what
Stephano and Trinculo are like. Remind them that these lines can be said by other characters as
well as by Stephano and Trinculo themselves.
Put students in groups of four, with two students from one half of the class and two from the other.
Ask them to swap the lines they’ve found. They should then quickly make a list of the similarities
and differences between Stephano and Trinculo.
Take feedback and discuss the evidence.
Development


Hand out Worksheet 12 to each student and ask them to complete it in their groups, arriving at
their decisions jointly. Then form new groups, so that students can compare and debate their
answers with other students. Discuss any differences of opinion as a class.
Working alone, students should write two short paragraphs to create character sketches of
Stephano and Trinculo. They should refer to the set sections to support what they say.
Plenary



Remind students that the audience’s impression of Trinculo and Stephano may be influenced by
Caliban and their behaviour towards him, but that it’s unlikely to be the same as Caliban’s! Hot
seat students as Caliban, (a) at the end of Act 3 Scene 2 and (b) at the end of Act 4 Scene 1,
asking them questions about Trinculo and Stephano.
Why did Shakespeare put Trinculo and Stephano in the play? Couldn’t Caliban have plotted
against Prospero on his own, or with just Stephano? Look for answers to do with doubleacts/comedy, dramatic interest/variety, parallels with other plots and giving us a different view of
Caliban.
Remind students that the parts of Stephano and Trinculo would have been played by clowns, or
comics. How might this affect the audience’s view of them? How might it also affect the
audience’s response to Caliban?
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
3
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
Worksheet 12: Comic conspirators
Read the following statements. Working in pairs, discuss which you agree / disagree
with? You should be prepared to explain your choices.
If Stephano wasn’t drunk, he would never think of becoming king.
Without Stephano there would be very little humour in the play.
Prospero is too cruel to Caliban. Stephano might make a better master.
Trinculo is certainly more quick-witted than Stephano.
Stephano’s job as butler feeds his pomposity.
Trinculo is as foolish as Stephano, but is too timid to plot an overthrow.
It is Caliban who is the real ringleader in Act 3 Scene 2.
Whatever Stephano and Trinculo decide to do is irrelevant, since
Prospero controls the action of the play.
Trinculo’s sees the folly of Stephano’s behaviour and will have nothing to
do with his plans.
Trinculo may be a jester, but he is sometimes a sorrowful one.
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
4
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
LESSON 9: Pulling the strings
Learning Objective
Consider Prospero’s importance in the set sections and the play as a whole.
ICT Activity 12
Starter


Use ICT Activity 12: Prospero from your CD-ROM. Alternatively, display OHT 3 and ask
students to rank Prospero’s actions from most to least sympathetic.
How would Prospero have justified his least sympathetic actions?
Introduction



Ask students to scan their set sections, jotting down anything that they discover about him during
these scenes, with a note of the relevant line. Alternatively, they could highlight and annotate
their copies of the scene.
Take feedback. We don’t see Prospero in Act 3 Scene 2, but in what ways is he important? Look
for answers such as: Prospero controls all the action; the things Caliban says about Prospero
make us like him less; their plot against him gives us a sense of possible danger (although not
necessarily for him).
Consider Prospero’s treatment of Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano at the end of Act 4 Scene 1.
Return to the starter activity. Where would students put this action on their most to least
sympathetic scale?
Development



Ask students to write two ‘video diaries’ for Prospero, showing his thoughts at the end of Act 3
Scene 2 and Act 4 Scene 1.
Alternatively, able students may prefer to act out the scenes, with an additional character ‘thought
tracking’ Prospero.
If you have access to video or audio equipment, ask students to record Prospero’s commentaries.
Plenary



Ask some students to perform their video diaries or a part of their scenes.
Point out that Prospero is the most powerful character in the play. How do we know this? How
well does he use his powers? Remind students that he gives up his power in Act 5. Why do they
think this is?
Power is …
o attractive
o intoxicating
o corrupting
o dangerous
o a burden
o a distraction.
Which of these statements are most true for Prospero? What views of power does the play give
us overall?
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
5
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
OHT 3: Prospero
How sympathetic a character is Prospero? Sequence this list of his
actions, from most to least sympathetic.
1
He ignored his subjects when he was the Duke of
Milan.
2
He has absolute control over all the characters on the
island.
3
He took the island from Caliban.
4
He rescued Ariel from the tree.
5
He loves Miranda deeply and wants her to be happy.
6
He ensures that no one is hurt in the storm or on the
island.
7
He is finally able to forgive his brother.
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
6
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
LESSON 10: Ariel intervenes
Learning Objective
Consider Ariel’s character and role and understand his actions in the two set sections.
ICT Activity 13
Starter

Use ICT Activity 13: Ariel to focus on Ariel’s role in the play.

Alternatively, ask students to brainstorm everything they can remember that Ariel does and
anything that they know about his character and background. Collect ideas.
Introduction


Hand out copies of Act 3 Scene 2 and Worksheet 13. Students will need to refer to the text in
order to complete the table.
The worksheet is called ‘Making mischief?’ In what ways is Ariel (a) causing and (b) preventing
mischief in this scene?
Development



Hand out copies of Act 4 Scene 1. Ask students in pairs to read through lines 177 – 205 and
bullet point all the things Ariel says he has done during and since Act 3 Scene 2.
They should then skim read through the rest of the scene, picking out the other things Ariel does
and adding it to their list.
What is Prospero’s and Ariel’s relationship? Ask them to annotate lines 177 – 205 with their ideas
about how Prospero and Ariel’s parts might be acted (body language, expression, gesture, tone of
voice), paying close attention to their language and status.
Plenary



Students feed back some of their ideas.
Point out that Prospero is pleased with Ariel’s work – ‘This was well done, my bird!’ – and remind
them that he has promised Ariel that he will be freed when his plan is complete.
What mixed emotions might Ariel show during this scene? Write the following words on the
board:
respect
relief
resentment
bitterness
pride
envy
gratitude
fear
excitement
Ask them to discuss and rank these words, justifying their choices.
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
7
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
Worksheet 13: Making mischief?
Find the lines below in your copy of Act 3 Scene 2. Then complete the table to show how he affects
the other characters in the scene.
Lines
Ariel’s intervention
Effect on other characters
33 – 41
Ariel enters and hears
Caliban saying that
Prospero has ‘cheated me
of the island’. Ariel says
‘Thou liest’.
Caliban mistakes Ariel’s voice for Caliban’s and
calls him a liar back again. Stephano warns
Trinculo not to provoke Caliban again. Trinculo
is confused.
51 – 62
Caliban says he can lead
Stephano to Prospero
while he is sleeping,
‘Where thou mayst knock
a nail into his head.’ Ariel
says ‘Thou liest, thou
canst not.’
Stephano asks Trinculo
whether he told Caliban
he was lying. Ariel says to
Stephano, ‘Thou liest.’
63 – 66
75 – 112
Ariel listens to Caliban,
Stephano and Trinculo
plotting to murder
Prospero. He says
[Aside], ‘This will I tell my
master.’
111 – 134
Caliban tells Stephano
and Trinculo that they’ve
got the tune of their song
wrong. Ariel plays the
tune on his tabor and
pipe.
135 – 137
Trinculo comments that
‘The sound is going away’
– Ariel is walking off
stage, still playing.
They don’t hear him – aside means he speaks
to himself, or to the audience.
They …
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
8
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
LESSON 11: Full circle
Learning Objective
Draw together ideas about the main characters and their relationships.
Starter
 Using mini-whiteboards or sheets of paper, invite students to hold up the name of the character
they think is ‘The Strongest Link’, selected from Caliban, Prospero, Trinculo, Stephano and Ariel.
‘The Strongest Link’ is the character students have found the most interesting in these scenes.
 Get some students holding each position to justify it. You could form groups on the basis of a
shared character choice, and have some initial ‘buzz’ of ideas first.
Introduction
 Handout Worksheet 14 to each student and get them to fill in the names of the characters in the
wheel, with the character they found most interesting in the centre and the others round the edge.
It doesn’t matter what order they are in: just as students prefer.
 Model how the arrows work: those going from the centre to the outside show the centre character’s
opinion of the outer character; those going from the outside to the centre show the outer
character’s opinion of the central character.
 Students write a brief note beside each arrow to show what each of the characters think of each
other.
Development
 Next invite students to consider what arrows are missing and to draw these between any of the
outer characters. These are annotated, as before, with a brief note of each character’s opinion of
the other.
 Groups could present their character wheel to the rest of the class.
Plenary
 Invite class discussion of the findings. Key focus questions might be: are there any interesting
similarities or differences between the characters’ opinions of each other? Are there examples
where what the characters think of each other changes between the two set sections? Does your
opinion of any of the characters change between the two set sections?
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
9
The Tempest Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack updates 2008
2 Characters
Worksheet 14: Full circle
1. Write the name of the character you have found most interesting in the centre box.
2. Write the names of the other characters in the boxes around this.
3. Write a brief note onto each arrow showing what each character thinks of the other.
Teachit KS3 Interactive Pack © HarperCollins Publishers and Teachit (UK) Ltd 2008. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom
10