CHANDLER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUGGESTED RESOURCE GUIDE FOR REQUIRED TEXTS
EXTENDED TEXT:
Title: The Taming of the Shrew
GRADE LEVEL:
Author:
William Shakespeare
ISBN: 0-671-72289-1
8th Grade Language Arts / 8th Grade Honors Language
SYNOPSIS:
In the English countryside, a poor tinker named Christopher Sly becomes the target of a prank by a local lord. Finding Sly drunk out of his wits in front of an alehouse, the lord
has his men take Sly to his manor, dress him in his finery, and treat him as a lord. When Sly recovers, the men tell him that he is a lord and that he only believes himself to be
a tinker because he has been insane for the past several years. Waking in the lord’s bed, Sly at first refuses to accept the men’s story, but when he hears of his “wife,” a
pageboy dressed in women’s clothing, he readily agrees that he is the lord they purport him to be. Sly wants to be left alone with his wife, but the servants tell him that a
troupe of actors has arrived to present a play for him. The play that Sly watches makes up the main story of The Taming of the Shrew.
In the Italian city of Padua, a rich young man named Lucentio arrives with his servants, Tranio and Biondello, to attend the local university. Lucentio is excited to begin his
studies, but his priorities change when he sees Bianca, a beautiful, mild young woman with whom Lucentio instantly falls in love. There are two problems: first, Bianca
already has two suitors, Gremio and Hortensio; second, Bianca’s father, a wealthy old man named Baptista Minola, has declared that no one may court Bianca until first her
older sister, the vicious, ill-tempered Katherine, is married. Lucentio decides to overcome this problem by disguising himself as Bianca’s Latin tutor to gain an excuse to be in
her company. Hortensio disguises himself as her music teacher for the same reason. While Lucentio pretends to be Bianca’s tutor, Tranio dresses up as Lucentio and begins
to confer with Baptista about the possibility of marrying his daughter.
The Katherine problem is solved for Bianca’s suitors when Hortensio’s friend Petruchio, a brash young man from Verona, arrives in Padua to find a wife. He intends to marry
a rich woman, and does not care what she is like as long as she will bring him a fortune. He agrees to marry Katherine sight unseen. The next day, he goes to Baptista’s
house to meet her, and they have a tremendous duel of words. As Katherine insults Petruchio repeatedly, Petruchio tells her that he will marry her whether she agrees or not.
He tells Baptista, falsely, that Katherine has consented to marry him on Sunday. Hearing this claim, Katherine is strangely silent, and the wedding is set.
On Sunday, Petruchio is late to his own wedding, leaving Katherine to fear she will become an old maid. When Petruchio arrives, he is dressed in a ridiculous outfit and rides
on a broken-down horse. After the wedding, Petruchio forces Katherine to leave for his country house before the feast, telling all in earshot that she is now his property and
that he may do with her as he pleases. Once they reach his country house, Petruchio continues the process of “taming” Katherine by keeping her from eating or sleeping for
several days—he pretends that he loves her so much he cannot allow her to eat his inferior food or to sleep in his poorly made bed.
In Padua, Lucentio wins Bianca’s heart by wooing her with a Latin translation that declares his love. Hortensio makes the same attempt with a music lesson, but Bianca loves
Lucentio, and Hortensio resolves to marry a wealthy widow. Tranio secures Baptista’s approval for Lucentio to marry Bianca by proposing a huge sum of money to lavish on
her. Baptista agrees but says that he must have this sum confirmed by Lucentio’s father before the marriage can take place. Tranio and Lucentio, still in their respective
disguises, feel there is nothing left to do but find an old man to play the role of Lucentio’s father. Tranio enlists the help of an old pedant, or schoolmaster, but as the pedant
speaks to Baptista, Lucentio and Bianca decide to circumvent the complex situation by eloping.
Katherine and Petruchio soon return to Padua to visit Baptista. On the way, Petruchio forces Katherine to say that the sun is the moon and that an old man is really a
beautiful young maiden. Since Katherine’s willfulness is dissipating, she agrees that all is as her husband says. On the road, the couple meets Lucentio’s father, Vincentio,
who is on his way to Padua to see his son. In Padua, Vincentio is shocked to find Tranio masquerading as Lucentio. At last, Bianca and Lucentio arrive to spread the news of
their marriage. Both Vincentio and Baptista finally agree to the marriage.
At the banquet following Hortensio’s wedding to the widow, the other characters are shocked to see that Katherine seems to have been “tamed”—she obeys everything that
Petruchio says and gives a long speech advocating the loyalty of wives to their husbands. When the three new husbands stage a contest to see which of their wives will obey
first when summoned, everyone expects Lucentio to win. Bianca, however, sends a message back refusing to obey, while Katherine comes immediately. The others
acknowledge that Petruchio has won an astonishing victory, and the happy Katherine and Petruchio leave the banquet to go to bed. (sparknotes: The Taming of the Shrew)
BACKGROUND:
The most influential writer in all of English literature, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 to a successful middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
Shakespeare attended grammar school, but his formal education proceeded no further. In 1582 he married an older woman, Anne Hathaway, and had three children with her.
Around 1590 he left his family behind and traveled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Public and critical acclaim quickly followed, and Shakespeare eventually
became the most popular playwright in England and part-owner of the Globe Theater. His career bridged the reigns of Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603) and James I (ruled
1603–1625), and he was a favorite of both monarchs. Indeed, James granted Shakespeare’s company the greatest possible compliment by bestowing upon its members the
title of King’s Men. Wealthy and renowned, Shakespeare retired to Stratford and died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two. At the time of Shakespeare’s death, literary luminaries
such as Ben Jonson hailed his works as timeless.
Shakespeare’s works were collected and printed in various editions in the century following his death, and by the early eighteenth century his reputation as the greatest poet
ever to write in English was well established. The unprecedented admiration garnered by his works led to a fierce curiosity about Shakespeare’s life, but the dearth of
biographical information has left many details of Shakespeare’s personal history shrouded in mystery. Some people have concluded from this fact and from Shakespeare’s
modest education that Shakespeare’s plays were actually written by someone else—Francis Bacon and the Earl of Oxford are the two most popular candidates—but the
support for this claim is overwhelmingly circumstantial, and the theory is not taken seriously by many scholars.
In the absence of credible evidence to the contrary, Shakespeare must be viewed as the author of the thirty-seven plays and 154 sonnets that bear his name. The legacy of
this body of work is immense. A number of Shakespeare’s plays seem to have transcended even the category of brilliance, becoming so influential as to affect profoundly the
course of Western literature and culture ever after.
The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, and it shares many essential characteristics with his other romantic comedies, such as Much Ado About
Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These characteristics include lighthearted and slapstick humor, disguises and deception, and a happy ending in which most of the
characters come out satisfied. The lightheartedness of these romantic comedies contrasts sharply with the darker humor and deeper characterization of Shakespeare’s later
plays, both comic and tragic. The youthfulness of the playwright can be seen in the whimsical spirit of the early plays. Like the other romantic comedies, The Taming of the
Shrew focuses on courtship and marriage, but, unlike most of them, it devotes a great deal of attention to married life after the wedding. The other comedies usually conclude
with the wedding ceremony itself.
A play focusing on the concerns of married life would have seemed particularly relevant to English audiences of the Renaissance period. Theirs was a society concerned with
marriage in general, thanks in part to Henry VIII’s separation of England from the Catholic Church in 1534 in order to secure a divorce that the pope had refused to grant
him. Henry’s troubles highlight one important aspect of Elizabethan marriages among the upper class: they were most often arranged for money, land, or power, rather than
for love. Moreover, unless you were the king of England, the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries offered few ways out of an unhappy marriage. Thus, the
resolution of marital disputes became an important topic in the popular literature of the era.
Of particular worry to this society were “shrews” or“scolds”—that is, cantankerous or gossipy wives, who resisted or undermined the assumed authority of the husband within
a marriage. A large number of sermons, plays, and pamphlets of the time address related topics: the taming of shrews by their husbands or the public punishment of scolds
by, for example, repeatedly dunking them in a river. Part of this body of literature took a very diplomatic attitude toward women, although much of it was extremely
misogynistic. In some of this literature, it is difficult to distinguish between behavior that is being parodied and behavior that is presented as an ideal. This ambiguity may also
be found in The Taming of the Shrew, which manages to lampoon chauvinistic behavior while simultaneously reaffirming its social validity. The play celebrates the quick wit
and fiery spirit of its heroine even while reveling in her humiliation. (sparknotes:The Taming of the Shrew)
TEXT COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS:
In the Reader and Task section, include specific concerns, modifications, scaffolding, or opportunities for differentiation—address
how the text should be approached for diverse learners (gifted, honors, ELL, SPED).
Quantitative: Lexile (1340) ATOS (11.20-14.10) Flesch Kincaid (10.34-14.2) However, because this is a play, the
quantitative measure cannot be measured accurately.
Qualitative: The meaning of the text is middle low.
The structure of the text is middle high.
The language of Shakespeare is high because it is written in Old English.
The knowledge demands are middle high.
Reader and Task: This text will challenge student’s motivation, so it will be important to make the lessons for this text both
challenging and interesting
MOTIFS AND THEMES:
Themes:
The effect of social roles on individual happiness
Love and money
Transformation
Family relationships
Women’s roles
Respect
Marriage as an economic institution
The effect of social roles on individual happiness
Motifs:
Disguise
Domestication
Fathers and their children
Relationships between sisters
LANGUAGE:
Identify important vocabulary. Provide a focus standard for grammar/mechanics that works nicely with the extended text.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Tier 2 Vocabulary
Tier 3 Vocabulary
(if applicable)





Importune
Overblown
Ingrate
Witless
Disfigure





Shrew
Exeunt
Induction
Prologue
Dowry
Conventions of Standard English or Knowledge of Language focus standard:
Standard Code
8.L.6
Standard Text
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate
general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when
considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.
Description of where and how
it fits with the extended text
“This is a way to kill a wife
with kindness. And thus I’ll
curb her mad and
headstrong humor.”
COMPANION TEXTS:
Provide a series of short companion texts that will supplement the extended text and provide students with a deeper
understanding of the themes, motifs, or context of the extended text.
1-3 Short Informational Texts
Text Title and Author
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for Scaffolding
1.
William Shakespeare’s Biography
from biography.com
1. The biography gives background information on the life and times
of William Shakespeare. This can be used as a research activity.
1.
Grade Level
2.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
http://www.shakespeareonline.com/theatre/globe.html >
2. The Globe Theater is where Shakespeare’s plays were
performed. This can be used as a research activity.
2.
Grade Level
1-3 Short Literary Texts
Text Title and Author
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for Scaffolding
1. The Old Grandfather and his Little
Grandson by Leo Tolstoy
1. The big question for The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson
is how well do we treat our elders? If focuses on the topic of
respect. Comparisons can be made between the respect the
little grandson has for his elders and the respect that Kate or
Bianca has for their elders, specifically their father.
1.
2. Identity by Julio Naboa
2. The speaker of the poem “Idenity” wishes to be a weed rather
than a flower because a weeds life is better. The big question for
the poem is does beauty matter? Draw connections between the
speaker of the poem and Kate? Use textual evidence to support
responses.
2.
Grade Level
Grade Level
STANDARDS-BASED ACTIVITIES:
Offer three activities that will assist in the instruction of the extended text (consider: comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, close
reading, etc.). At least one activity must utilize Speaking and Listening standards. All materials (rubrics, graphic organizers,
printables, handouts, student directions, etc.) will be added to the end of this document.
Description
ACTIVITY #1: PRE-READING ACTIVITY
Resources:
 Computers
 Internet
Before reading a Shakespearean play, it is very important that students learn
about him and the times he lived in. Students should research Shakespeare,
Elizabethan times, and the Globe theater to build background knowledge.
Standards Addressed:
Students can learn about Shakespeare by spending a few days in a computer lab
 RI.8.1
doing a webquest on Shakespeare. Students can research independently or in
 W.8.2
small groups. The students can then use the research to do some writing.
Webquest: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare:
www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=68364
Description
Resources:
ACTIVITY #2: DURING READING ACTIVITY
 Dictionary
 Thesaurus
Vocabulary development is something that students can work on as they read the
 Taming of the Shrew
play. The following website offers lots of good words found in the play. It gives
 Comic Strip Planning Sheet
the word in context along with definitions. Students can create a comic strip
 Comic Strip Rubric
where they are required to use a certain number of words correctly in the comic.
Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew Vocabulary:
https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/25299#view=notes
Standards Addressed:
 L.8.4.a-d

Description
ACTIVITY #3: DURING READING ACTIVITY
Choose some scenes for students to read aloud; assign parts prior to the reading
so students can prepare. It is recommended to give the students one class
period for practice and then the following day as performance day. Encourage
students to bring props and costumes on performance days. Another option is to
have students assume the role of a character walking through the action as they
summarize the scene.
Description
ACTIVITY #4: AFTER READING ACTIVITY
Rewrite Kates’ final speech in modern language or update her speech. Deliver
the speech to the class. Then the students can do some writing or they can do
some comparisons between modern times and Shakespearean times with
relation to women’s roles.
Resources:
 The Taming of the Shrew

Standards Addressed:
 8.SL.6
 8.RL.1
 8.RL.2
 8.W.3
Resources:
 The Taming of the Shrew
 Thesaurus
Standards Addressed:
 8.W.2

Description
ACTIVITY #5:
Thinking Critically about Adaptation (Roth,2012):
In this activity, students
will recognize they key departures that a filmic adaptation of a text makes,
and then evaluate whether those departures were well chosen, or poorly
chosen by the director. Students will prioritize the key departures from the
text, in order to evaluate with greater clarity whether the director’s creative
choices were beneficial or detrimental to the original text. The instructor will
distribute a change table and have the students follow these steps:
one change from the text to the film
that played a pivotal role the formulation of their opinion. Students
will discuss this in the first row
Resources:
 The Taming of the Shrew
 Change Table
Standards Addressed:
 RL 8.7
them and noting them in the middle rows.
in the third row.
Description
ACTIVITY #6
Movie Adaptation DVD Cover Project:
Students will creatively display their
understanding of filmic narrative choice by creating a visual representation of
text and film version of a source novel. Students may choose between two
options for a prompt.
match a film that is completely loyal to the text.
exemplifies the changes that they would make to the text as a director
of a filmic adaptation.
Resources:
 The Taming of the Shrew
 Large sheets of white papers
 Markers, colored pencils, crayons,
etc.
Standards Addressed:
 RL 8.7
WRITING PROMPTS:
Argument/Opinion Prompts:
o Baptista Minola arranges marriages for his daughters, Katharina and Bianca. Write an argument for or against
arranged marriages.
o Should animal training techniques be used to train children?
o Does Old English enhance or detract from the meaning of the play? Use references from the text to support or
refute your position?
o At the end of the play, are Petruchio and Katharina in love? Use evidence from the text to support or refute your
position.
Informational/Explanatory Prompts:
o Explain how the play meets the criteria to be considered a comedy. Use textual evidence to support your thesis.
o Develop a character sketch for one character in the play. Give specific examples of their actions, speech,
thoughts… to characterize him/her.
Narrative Prompts:
o Choose one of the characters in the play and describe how you can relate to them and their life experiences.
o Disguise and deception are parts of many Shakespearean comedies. Write a personal narrative describing a time
that you used deception of some sort.
Research Prompts:
o Research Shakespeare’s life with a particular focus on his own marriage and his relationship to his daughters?
o Research the Globe Theatre and how plays were produced in the Elizabethan period?
o Music played a prominent par in the production of Shakespeare’s plays. Research the music of the period and find
selections that might have been or could have been used in The Taming of the Shrew.
o By the end of the play, three couple have married for various reasons. Courtship and marriage are the social
structures around which the play is built. Research Elizabethan practices in marriage and courtship to see how
typical the three couples are.
As outlined by PARCC, the prompts above may occur in a variety of writing environments. Teachers should consider:
 Incorporating a mix of on-demand and review-and-revision writing assignments
 Including routine writing, such as short constructed-responses to text-dependent questions, to build content knowledge and provide opportunities for
reflection on a specific aspect of a text or texts
 Integrating of a number of analytic writings that places a premium on using evidence, as well as on crafting works that display some logical
integration and coherence. These responses can vary in length based on the questions asked and task performed, from answering brief questions
to crafting longer responses, allowing teachers to assess students’ ability to paraphrase, infer, and ultimately integrate the ideas they have gleaned
from what they have read. Over the course of the year, analytic writing should include comparative analysis and compositions that share findings
from the research project
 Include narrative writing to offer students opportunities to express personal ideas and experiences; craft their own stories and descriptions; and
deepen their understandings of literary concepts, structures, and genres (e.g., short stories, anecdotes, poetry, drama) through purposeful imitation.
COMIC STRIP PLANNING SHEET
WRITE NOTES IN EACH PANEL. YOUR NOTES SHOULD LIST THE LANDSCAPE AND PROPS, THE CHARACTERS, THE
ACTIONS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE, THE CAPTIONS, AND THE VOCABULARY WORDS THAT YOU WILL USE. REFER
TO THE LIST BELOW FOR SOME IDEAS. AFTER YOU PLAN THE COMIC YOU MUST DRAW YOUR COMIC ON A
SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.
LANDSCAPE AND
PROPS
CHARACTERS
PRESENT
ACTIONS THAT
OCCUR
CAPTION
(USE VOCABULARY
WORDS)
VOCABULARY
WORD
(4 WORDS)
PANEL
1
PANEL
2
PANEL
3
PANEL
4
PANEL
5
PANEL
6
LANDSCAPE IDEAS: HORIZON LINE, INTERIOR ROOM, LAKE, MOUNTAINS, ROAD, RIVER, CAVE, CITY, OCEAN, AND
OUTER SPACE…
PROP IDEAS: BOOK, ROCK, CHAIR, CLOUD, COMPUTER, TABLE, BENCH, HOUSE, LIGHTNING BOLT, MOON,
NOTEBOOK, PENCIL, TREES, RADIO, CUP…
Comic Strip Rubric
Student’s Name: ______________________________________________
Exceeds
(4)
Action
Characters
Landscape and Props
Captions
Vocabulary
Neatness/Effort
Comments:
All of the action makes
sense.
Characters are drawn
extremely well and are
believable.
Landscape and props
are drawn extremely
well and are believable.
There are zero
mistakes in
conventions and all of
the captions are
written clearly.
You know how to use
all of the words
correctly.
The overall look of the
comic is outstanding.
Meets
(3)
Approaches (2)
Most of the action
makes sense.
Characters are
believable.
Some of the action
makes sense.
Characters are
adequate.
Landscape and props
are believable.
Landscape and props
are adequate.
There are few
mistakes in
conventions and most
of the captions are
written clearly.
You know how to use
most of the words
correctly.
The overall look of the
comic is good.
There are several
mistakes conventions
and several of the
captions are hard to
read.
You know how to use
some of the words
correctly.
The overall look of the
comic is adequate.
Falls Far Below (1)
Very little action
makes sense.
Very little effort was
put into drawing the
characters.
Very little effort was
put into drawing the
landscape and props.
There are many
conventions and many
of the captions are
hard to read.
You know how to use
very few of the words
correctly.
Very little effort was
put into putting
together the comic.
Taming of the Shrew Jeopardy
Setting
$100
Answer:
Vocabulary
$100
Answer:
$200
Answer:
$200
$300
Answer:
Answer:
$300
Answer:
$400
Answer:
$500
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
$200
$300
$400
$500
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
Quotes
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
Answer:
$200
$300
$400
True / False
$100
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
Characters
$100
Answer:
Answer:
Answer:
Name _________________
$400
Answer:
$500
Answer:
$500
Answer:
Total winnings before Final Jeopardy:
Final Jeopardy bet: _______________________
Final Jeopardy answer __________________________
Supreme total Jeopardy winnings: ___________________________
Change Table