What storm is this?
Year level: 10–11
Unit of work contributed by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
Juliet. Copyright Photolibrary.
About the unit
Unit description
This unit uses a scaffolded approach to bring students to independently retell an aspect of the
story of Romeo and Juliet using their own languages and cultural stories, both traditional and
popular. The unit is designed to draw on students’ interests, knowledge and skills to maximise
their engagement with the text. Drama and visual art activities are used to allow low-skilled
readers to access the text and demonstrate their understanding.
Knowledge, understandings, skills, values

Students engage with Shakespearean language and the idea of universal themes.

Students consider the relevance of Shakespearean plays to contemporary audiences,
especially in the local context.

Students investigate adaptations of Shakespearean plays and develop adaptations for local
contexts.

Students construct a text for dramatic presentation.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
1
Focus questions

What are universal themes?

What are the universal themes of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

What are the similarities between the world of Shakespeare’s play and this community?
Resources
Digital curriculum resources
R10561 Romeo + Juliet, 1996: A dangerous solution
R10560 Romeo + Juliet, 1996: Capulets and Montagues
Internet sites

Shakespearean insulter: http://www.pangloss.com (select ‘Insult Me’)

William Shakespeare Elizabethan dictionary: http://www.william-shakespeare.info (select
‘William Shakespeare Dictionary’)

SMS translation of Romeo and Juliet:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/nov/17/news.mobilephones

Bell Shakespeare’s archived education materials: http://archive.bellshakespeare.com.au
(select ‘Education’)
Print
Books used in the unit

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (your preferred edition)

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, edited by Richard
Appignanesi, illustrated by Sonia Leong, Self Made Hero, 2007
Other useful reference texts

The heart of my mystery: experiencing Shakespeare in the classroom, D Hopwood, N
Hennessy, Cambridge University Press, 2006

Teaching poetry writing to adolescents, J L Tsujimoto, National Council for Teachers of
English, 1988
Other resources
Equipment

Butcher’s paper and coloured pens

Digital camera
Film

Excerpts from blockbusters such as ET and Titanic

Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann, 1996

Romeo and Juliet advertisement, directed by David La Chapelle, 2006
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
2
Attached printable resource
The learning resource referred to in the unit of work is available for you to modify, print
and use in your own teaching and learning context:

Moved synopsis
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
3
Teaching the unit
Setting the scene
Resources

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (your preferred edition)

Excerpts from blockbusters such as ET and Titanic

Shakespearean insulter: http://www.pangloss.com (select ‘Insult Me’)

SMS translation of Romeo and Juliet:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/nov/17/news.mobilephones

Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann, 1996

Romeo and Juliet advertisement, directed by David La Chapelle, 2006

William Shakespeare Elizabethan dictionary: http://www.william-shakespeare.info (select
‘William Shakespeare Dictionary’)

Moved synopsis (page 9)

Butcher’s paper and coloured pens
Teaching and learning activities
Universal themes
Explore the idea of a ‘blockbuster’ and look briefly at relatively contemporary examples such as
ET and Titanic. Introduce the concept of ‘universal themes’ and explain that Romeo and Juliet
has themes that are common to stories from different cultures, countries and times. Identify
some of those themes.
Explore the language of Shakespeare through an insults exercise. Display the table found at:
http://www.pangloss.com (select ‘Insult Me’). Follow the instructions found on that page.
Students rehearse chosen insults then hurl them at a partner.
What we know
As a class, students discuss what they already know about the story of Romeo and Juliet.
Collect single words, phrases, song titles, parts of lyrics onto a large sheet of butcher’s paper
for classroom display. Pulling these snippets together will help build a broad ‘class knowledge’
about the play. Students discuss and document similar stories they have been told or
experienced.
Prologue exploration
Before undertaking the following activities, please check with a community member or cultural
adviser about the appropriateness of the language and approach, considering the sensitivities in
some communities and the high incidence of suicide in some places.
Students read the prologue from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
4
Students translate the SMS text message below, which is a synopsis of the play found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/nov/17/news.mobilephones
‘FeudTween2hses--Montague& Capulet. RomeoM falls_<3w/_ JulietC@mary Secretly Bt
R kils J's Coz&isbanishd. J fakes Death. As Part of Plan2b-w/R Bt_leter Bt It Nvr Reachs
Him. Evry1confuzd--- bothLuvrs kil Emselves.’ (© Guardian News and Media Ltd 2010)
Students view David La Chapelle’s advertisement for denim jeans.
Students view the prologue of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
‘Killer’ vocabulary exercises
Using the William Shakespeare Elizabethan dictionary, present students with words or phrases
that may be unfamiliar to them. In groups, students make predictions about what the word or
phrase means, then look it up in a dictionary. The small groups put their words or phrases into
sentences and read them to the class.
Moved synopsis
This activity involves summarising, then acting out, the play. Students are called into a circle as
a character in the play and act out their parts, as the teacher or a student reads the lines or
gives a general summary of the plot.
Refer to Bell Shakespeare’s ‘Moved synopsis’ (page 9) for more guidance in planning and
running this activity in your classroom.
Reading and drawing
Students collaboratively read the prologue. The teacher then re-reads the prologue as students
draw images that come to mind as they are being read to.
Text exploration
Students read through the text and then underline certain words (eg verbs or adjectives) or
phrases. The class then discusses the meaning of words or phrases and why the writer chose
to use them.
After reading activities
As a class, students discuss the relevance of the text to their own context, using butcher’s
paper to document their ideas. Use graphic organisers to record and display these responses.
Assessment
Have the students construct a rap version of the prologue. Support the students as they
brainstorm ideas then compose, assemble, edit and present their rap prologue to the class. This
activity could be conducted as a class collaborative construction or as a small group activity.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
5
Investigating
Resources

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (your preferred edition):

Act 1, scene 1

Act 2, scenes 3 and 5

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, edited by Richard

Appignanesi, illustrated by Sonia Leong, Self Made Hero, 2007
Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann, 1996
Teaching and learning activities
When the unit was originally taught, two community Elders were invited into the classroom at
this point and interviewed by students about cultural practices, stories or ceremonies around the
theme of love or the power of plants, herbs and stones. Depending on your teaching context
and community, it may be valuable to invite local community Elders to participate in a similar
activity.
Viewing
As a class, view Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
Storyboarding
Discuss the Luhrmann interpretation with the class. Draw on students’ own knowledge and
context, especially in terms of setting, appearance and characterisation.
Students then storyboard their own account of the play, re-naming places and characters to fit
their own context. This should be a large storyboard that can be displayed on the walls of the
classroom. It will be used later in the unit.
Reading and exploring
Text exploration
The focus here is on the script’s language. Students translate some phrases into their own
language, if relevant, and then into Standard Australian English.
Divide students into small groups to act out a chosen scene, with one student directing the
group. Groups then perform the scene to the class.
After reading activities
As a class, discuss how the scene would look if it was set in your local context.
How would the language change?
What would be said and who would say it?
As a class, draft the scene in its new setting, then edit until agreement is reached on the final
draft.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
6
Motivations
In small groups, students discuss the motivations behind the actions of Friar Lawrence and the
Nurse. Groups then choose between Act 2, scene 3 or Act 2, scene 5 of the play. In their
groups, students explore the language and themes in their scene. After this, they respond
independently to one of the following tasks.

Ask students if they know a story of, or know of someone who is knowledgeable about,
plants, herbs and stones, particularly how they can affect people. Write a story with this
person as the main character.

Do students know a person like the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet? What advice would she or
he give about love and marriage? Re-write Act 2, scene 5 with this person as the Nurse and
include her or his advice.
Assessment
Have the students create an assessment folio using pieces completed in the course of the unit:
drawings, storyboards, group-negotiated texts, and photographs of drama workshops or
exercises.
The independent written work above (focused on Act 2, scene 3 or Act 2, scene 5 of the play)
would be another good assessment piece.
Bringing it all together
Resources

Student folios, written work and the class storyboard created during the unit
Teaching and learning activities
Reading and viewing
Students view other students’ folios and read each other’s work or have it read to them.
Discussion
Using the classroom storyboard, discuss with students the developing interpretation and
establish if and where any of the work from their folios would fit into the class storyboard.
Assembling and composing
Have students add relevant work, drawings, photographs, words, phrases, script extracts and
stories to the large, wall-sized storyboard. Using the student work, create and edit a working
script as a class for production in the following semester. The storyboard could also inform
further units of work. For example, the production could incorporate advertising and promotion,
set and costume design, and construction.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
7
Communicating
Resources

Class script, advertising material, costumes and sets developed in the previous section, or
materials needed to develop these further
Teaching and learning activities
As the script is finalised, students divide into working units for a six-week block of preproduction activities. These could include acting chorus and leading roles, dance, music, sound,
lighting, set construction, costume and make-up, advertising and promotion.
The production can then be presented to the community as appropriate, for example under the
stars on the school’s oval or in another appropriate venue.
Writer: Kristi Johansen
The material in this unit of work may contain links to internet sites maintained by entities not
connected to Education Services Australia Ltd and which it does not control (‘Sites’).
Education Services Australia Ltd:

provides the links for ease of reference only and it does not sponsor, sanction or approve of
any material contained on the Sites; and

does not make any warranties or representations as to, and will not be liable for, the
accuracy or any other aspect of the material on the Sites or any other matter connected to
the use of the Sites.
While the material in this unit of work is not remunerable under Part VB of the Copyright Act
1968, material on the Sites may be remunerable under Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968. It is
your responsibility to read and comply with any copyright information, notices or conditions of
use which apply to a Site.
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
8
Moved synopsis
Introduction
The term ‘moved synopsis’ has been developed
by Bell Shakespeare to describe an interactive
storytelling activity in which students act out a
short synopsis of the play.
We encourage teachers to write their own script for this exercise and where possible include
elements relevant to the particular group of students.
Warwick University drama educator Jonathon Neelands calls this approach the ‘Shakespeare
whoosh’.
The point of the ‘moved synopsis’ or ‘Shakespeare whoosh’ activity is twofold:
1. students start to interact by participating in a safe and entertaining activity
2. through participation, students learn the story of the play.
Creating your script
The Bell Shakespeare website contains resources in which you may find short synopses of
most of Shakespeare’s plays. These can be adapted into a script for a moved synopsis.
Alternatively you can do an internet search of the synopsis or work from a published copy of the
play.
The key to the moved synopsis is to work at the level of interaction that encourages and
enthuses your students about the story. What will drive them to want to know what happens
next?
Cue cards can be used for a few words or a short line of dialogue for the students to read out at
the relevant point in the narrative. We have found that students who are confident readers but
not necessarily confident actors will engage with simple actions while reading a line of script
from a cue card held in front of them. Reluctant readers might be more comfortable without cue
cards, or with one- or two-word cue cards.
Your script should be in short sections for each scene or section of a scene that contains
important action and dialogue.
So how do you do it?
With your narrative script of the story in hand, invite your students to form a circle with you.
Invite students to come into the circle to be the characters as they appear in the narrative. With
a play such as The tempest, you might invite students into the circle to create the boat. For A
midsummer night’s dream students might create the forest of trees and the sounds of the forest
at night.
© 2010 Bell Shakespeare
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
9
Example
A midsummer night’s dream
We (everyone in the circle) are in Athens and the duke (select a student who comes into the
circle and poses like a duke) called Theseus is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta (select
another student), who is queen of the Amazons.
This will be accompanied by a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. Theseus calls his
master of the revels (select another student), Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the
occasion (encourage other students to mime the actions of various acts) – a juggler, dancers,
circus acrobats, opera singers.
An Athenian nobleman (select another student) called Egeus marches into Theseus’s court
with his daughter (select another student), Hermia, and two young men (select another two
students), Demetrius and Lysander.
As you read the next section encourage the students to act out what you say about their
character.
Egeus wants his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia, but Hermia
is in love with the other guy, Lysander, and she refuses to marry Demetrius. Egeus asks for
Theseus to allow the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia’s head if she disobeys him. Theseus
gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s
wishes could result in her being sent to a convent or even executed.
(Exit all but Lysander and Hermia.) Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following
night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, a long way from Athens.
Enter Hermia’s friend Helena (select another student). Hermia and Lysander tell Helena of
their intention to elope. (Exit Hermia and Lysander.)
Helena has always been in love with Demetrius (recall student playing Demetrius), and still
loves him even though he dissed her once he met Hermia. Helena tells Demetrius of Hermia
and Lysander’s plan, hoping that she will win him back. Time passes and it is evening.
Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind
him.
© 2010 Bell Shakespeare
© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise
What storm is this? by Kristi Johansen, Tennant Creek High School, NT
10