Something wicked this way comes!
Essential Questions
1. How are the themes in the play Macbeth related to our contemporary culture and lives?
2. Are we a product of nature, nurture or both?
3. Can we achieve what we want without sacrificing who we are?
4. How do we deal with an imperfect world?
5. What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman?
What you should be able to do as a result of this unit…
- Identify and support themes within the play
- Relate the themes of the play to contemporary times and issues
- Understand and explain the use of Shakespeare’s language related to theme
Final Assignment
- A thoroughly contemporary adaptation
Thursday 5/10
Intro to Renaissance England & Sonnets
What is a sonnet?
Spenser, Sidney, and Shakespeare’s Sonnets
How to Read a Sonnet
Paraphrasing Spenser’s “Sonnet 1” together
Fri 5/11
Groups working with their own sonnet
- Spenser “Sonnet 35”
- Spenser “Sonnet 75”
- Sidney “Sonnet 31”
- Sidney “Sonnet 39”
Presentations on Poems
HW: Personal Journey Essay due Monday
Mon 5/14
Writing Our Own Sonnets
- Sonnets about love (no pets!)
Extra Credit–Write your sonnet in iambic pentameter!
HW: Finish sonnet
Tues 5/15
Drop
Wed 5/16
Revising the Op-ed and working on the Adobe Spark
Thurs 5/17
Writing the sonnet explication
Revising the Op-ed and working on the Adobe Spark
Fri 5/18
Revising the Op-ed and working on the Adobe Spark
HW: Adobe Spark Op-ed due Monday
Mon 5/21
Intro to Macbeth
- Take the Macbeth character quiz
- Read the character overviews and themes
- Improvisation-Each group will receive a scenario that they will need to create a short skit for.
- Push back the desks!
- Practice your skit. You have 4 minutes!
- Perform for the class
- Discuss
- What were the different decisions made?
- What were the different moods of the scenes?
HW: Journal entry: Has there ever been a time in your life when someone told you something improbable would happen and it did? Did the fact that the event was “predicted” cause you to behave differently than you would have otherwise and make it more likely for the event to occur? Or did the event simply occur without any assistance from you?
If not, have you ever wanted an event to occur very badly and it did? Do you think that you caused that event to happen in some way or did the event just simply happen?
Be descriptive!
Tues 5/22
Warm ups and overview to our approach
Reading 1.1
- Each person reads a line, going around the room
- Listening to rhythm and understanding the Witches’ prophecy
Reading 1.2
- Understanding content and tone
- Walking and talking it out
Wed 5/23
Warm Up
- Watch this video on Shakespeare’s language http://bbc.in/1OLoFxY
- What bloody man is that? How can he report, as seemeth by his plight, of the revolt of the newest state?
- Summarize what he’s saying here. Each take a turn saying as naturally as possible. What difference do you notice from the first read through?
Pick up with 1.2.
- Need volunteers for Malcolm, Lennox, Ross, and Duncan
- Read through once all the way through
- Second read through: summarize what each character is saying
Take out your journals: We’ve read 2 scenes so far and have heard about Macbeth but have yet to meet the man. What have people said about him so far? Who are you expecting to meet? What will he look like? Act like? Use the text to support your ideas. What word choice is important in understanding Macbeth?
Thurs 5/24
Reading 1.3
- How do Macbeth and Banquo each feel about the Witches’ predictions?
- What is their relationship?
- What’s your impression of Duncan?
- How does Macbeth feel now that Malcolm has been named prince of Cumberland?
HW: Journal Response: Who is a modern-day figure you believe relates to Macbeth’s character from what we’ve read so far? Describe who s/he is and how s/he relates to Macbeth. Cut out or print a picture of your Macbeth for our casting wall.
Fri 5/25
Portfolio Assignment
Finish reading 1.3 and 1.4
HW: Choose pieces for portfolio and fill out revision plan
Mon 5/28
No School – Memorial Day
Tues 5/29
Portfolio Revision Day
Wed 5/30
Drop
Thurs 5/31
Portfolio Revision Day
Review of Writer’s Reflection
HW: Printed out copy of outline for Writer’s Reflection
Fri 6/1
Writer’s Reflection and submit portfolio
Mon 6/4
Reviewing the prophecy
Finish reading 1.3 and 1.4
Tues 6/5
https://vimeo.com/174434551
Reading 1.5
- What type of woman is Lady Macbeth?
- Describe M & LM’s relationship
- In lines 4-11, Banquo talks about a martlet (a common bird seen as a symbol of good luck). What bird does Lady Macbeth say “croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements (1.5.46)? What is that bird a symbol of? What is the irony (the unexpected)?
- If Lady Macbeth told Macbeth to “act like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it” then what is her tone in lines 18-24? How is she acting toward Duncan?
HW: Reading and answering questions about 1.6 & 1.7
Wed 6/6
Annotating Act 1 Scene 5 for aspects of performance. Be sure to provide information on all areas.
- Reviewing connotation & denotation, stressing stress, inflection, and non-verbal communication
- How do these techniques change the meaning and understanding of the text?
HW: Reading Act 2 and answering questions
Wed 6/6
Promptbook Assignment for Act 2
HW: Complete your role sheets for tomorrow’s rehearsal day
Thurs 6/7
Rehearsal
Fri 6/8
Performances & Turn in promptbooks
Final Assignment
Mon 6/11
In class work day on final assignment
Tues 6/12
Drop
Wed 6/13
In class work day on final assignment
Thurs 6/14
In class work day on final assignment
HW: Gather all materials to turn in on the day of the final
Fri 6/18
Performing the final!
HW: Have a great summer!
Arri Weeks 