Teacher: Yang
Course: FNDN I
Date: 2014-15
Unit Plan for
Macbeth/Throne of Blood
Part One: Identify Desired Results
Overarching Essential Questions: What thought-provoking questions will foster inquiry, meaning-making, and transfer of learning
into different contexts?
Students will keep considering…

How can drama reveal truths about a culture and society?

How does a writer appropriate elements of a story to convey new ideas?
Enduring Understandings: What big ideas do you want students to understand?
By the end of this unit, students will come to understand that…


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Theater is life distilled. Plays, while constructed with dramatic elements that amplify human conflicts and emotions, mirror
realities of the human condition. Theater can both reflect and challenge the norms, practices, and values of a given society.
Creativity in the realm of art involves an interactive dialogue—response, imitation, reinvention—among artists. Writers such
as Kurosawa often appropriate works of their predecessors to create new meanings and effects unique to their own cultural
views.
The elements of a text contribute to its overall impact and meaning. Different design elements are specific to different types
of texts (e.g. film, Noh theater, Western theater), and create unique effects that are sometimes culturally significant.
Students will know: What facts and basic concepts should
students know and be able to recall?

Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, unity of action arc

Characteristics and compositional elements of Noh theater

Plot, characters, and ideas from key passages in Macbeth

Plot, characters, settings, and film techniques in
Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood

Historical and cultural context of Macbeth (e.g. chain of
being, humanism, free will, etc.)

Historical and cultural context of Throne of Blood (e.g.
Sengoku Jidai, Zen Buddhism)

Vocabulary of tragedy, Noh theater, Macbeth, Prince essay
on TOB
Students will be able to: What discrete skills and processes
should students be able to use?

Close read, paraphrase, and interpret passages from a
Shakespeare play

Analyze how language devices—diction, imagery,
figurative language—reveal attitude and character

Write focused quote analysis paragraphs

Make text-to-text connections and comparisons between
a play and its filmic adaptation, focusing on how
similar/different themes and cultural attitudes are
developed through different techniques (e.g. language vs.
compositional elements)

Analyze a Japanese film in context of western discourse
specifically, observe how elements of Western theater
(plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, song)
correspond or interact with techniques of Noh theater

Write a formal essay analyzing how elements of Noh
theater and film techniques in a text reveal its cultural
worldview
Academic Vocabulary
SGO Transfer: How will the understandings of this unit transfer to building students’ creativity, critical thinking, collaboration,
communication, and resilience? How will students be able to independently use their learning?

Critical thinking (appropriation, synthesis)

Communication (forms an choices in composition for movie, language for play, how do choices impact meaning, effect,
tone, representation, cultural critique) (student communication, listening, collaboration building through unit)
Stage Two: Determine Acceptable Evidence (How Will You Know When they Understand?)
What authentic assessment(s)—i.e. performance task(s)-- will show that students understand?
Summative Assessment(s):

Final Essay on TOB: Write paper analyzing how compositional elements in film reveal its cultural worldview

Macbeth passage analysis (focus on key speeches)
Formative Assessments:

Practice passage analysis paragraphs

Reflections/learning logs post-discussion
What other evidence needs to be collected in light of your Desired Results in Stage 1?

Websearch on Shakespeare’s times and plays

Research notes and reflections on TOB historical/cultural context
Teacher: Yang
Course: FNDN I
Date: 2014-15


Active reading/Active viewing notes
Paraphrasing exercises
Stage Three: Plan Learning Experiences
What sequence of learning experiences will equip students to engage with, develop, and demonstrate the desired
understandings?

How will you pre-assess to check for students’ prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?

How does the plan address the goals of transfer (SGOs), meaning-making (EUs & EQs), and acquisition (ES & EK)?

How will you differentiate process, product, or content to enable students with different learning styles, interest, and levels of
readiness to master the standards/achieve the understandings in this unit?

How will you monitor students’ progress toward learning goals? (Consider potential rough spots and misunderstandings, how
students will get feedback, etc.)
Pre-assessment:

Terms Bingo: gauge students’ knowledge of Shakespeare (historical context, experience with language, etc.)
Transfer, Meaning-making, and Acquisition of skills/knowledge:

Intro to Tragedy and Noh Theater (PPT)
o
Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, unity of action (to set up analysis of TOB in context of western discourse, which
has resonance in other cultures)
o
Preview parallels between Western & Eastern texts: how 6 elements of Aristotilian tragedy translate to
Noh/Kurosawa
o
Noh HO, discuss key characteristics

Tour Macbeth: Read and study key speeches
o
Web-search on Western Culture/Chain of Being (fate, humanism, free will, etc.)
o
Minilesson on Shakespeare’s language
o
Minilesson on paraphrasing Shakespeare
o
Minilesson on Shakespeare quote analysis
o
Discuss key speeches and write passage analysis paragraphs
o
Provide feedback on quote analysis: deconstruct strong examples
o
Macbeth passage review (use questions to review language & significance of key passages, have groups present on
2 passages from HO, everyone takes notes)
o
*Macbeth Final Passage Analysis Quiz (open book, students choose 3 out of 5 passages)

Throne Blood Study
o
Intro to Noh theater (meaning through concrete, compositional elements)
o
Read Stephen Prince essay + answer questions (HO)
o
TOB background research HO
o
Watch film (active viewing guide), discuss plot/spatial relationships
o
Informal response (use this as prewrite for longer essay)

TOB/Macbeth Comparison- Focus on EQ #2
o
Discussion- Compare how Kurasawa’s adaptation of Macbeth changes or reinforces themes, how themes are
developed through different techniques (e.g. language vs. compositional elements/archetypes)

Compare characters

Compare scenes/speeches

Make cultural comparison- how two texts reveal contrasting worldviews

Historical context

Religion/values/beliefs

Gender

Final TOB essay: scaffolding
o
Go deeper with researching one elements of Japanese culture: Samurai code (Bushido), Gender (read source on
women in feudal Japan), Shinto-ism/Buddhism, Kurasawa’s filmmaking/Noh theater (students get to choose focus)
o
Rewatch and take notes on scenes from TOB
o
Assign prompt- prewrite, collect evidence, outline, draft, peer review, sign up for conferences
Progress monitoring:

Macbeth practice analysis paragraphs + feedback

Learning log @ end of Macbeth/TOB discussion, select range of student responses to report

Conferences with students during essay writing process

End of unit reflection on EQs
Teacher: Yang
Course: FNDN I
Date: 2014-15
Other instructional routines:
Teacher: Yang
Course: FNDN I
Date: 2014-15