Frenemies: Relationships in Othello - Peter Smagorinsky

[Pages:36]Frenemies:

Relationships in

Othello

Gia Maxwell LAE

Dr. Witte November 2011

Table of Contents

Five Week Unit Plan ....................................................................................... 3

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Rationale .............................................................................................. 3

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Common Core Standards .................................................................... 5

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Required Texts / Materials ................................................................... 8

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Goals .................................................................................................... 8

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Objectives.............................................................................................. 9

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Daily Lesson Breakdown ..................................................................... 11

Appendix ........................................................................................................ 26

References ..................................................................................................... 35

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Rationale

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Building relationship is an essential part of growing up and becoming a better member

of a community. The purpose of this unit is to help students better understand relationships and

how they effect the individual through a classical text. Many different types of relationships are

represented in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello. One of the popular relationships is

something known as a "frenemy." A frenemy is a friend who is also your greatest enemy. It

takes the phrase "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" to a whole new level. The

frenemy relationship I am referring to is that between Othello and Iago. Although they are best

of friends at the start of the play, by the end they are mortal enemies, all the while Othello

having no idea Iago had felt this way all along. Throughout the unit we will be analyzing this

and other relationships throughout the text and explore how these relationships differ and what

we can learn from them. We will be touching on themes of honesty, love, loyalty, truth, and

betrayal.

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Although Othello is an archaic text, and many students struggle with the language, it is

vitally important to their success as a educated reader. Many of the themes and archetypes we

see in modern day were originated by Wm. Shakespeare. Seeing the transcendence in

literature and in life is essential to helping students see past the life of a high school student.

Although this lesson is suited for a tenth grade english course, it can easily be modified for any

level of high school. Beyond the themes in the text and how they relate to the students, we will

be looking at language and its movement through the time. Discovering why Wm.

Shakespeare uses this language and how it affects the plot is a large aspect of studying any

Shakespeare text. These higher order critical thinking skills are skills that can easily be

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translated to standardized testing such as the FCAT or SAT/ACT. Beyond the test, analyzing

and synthesizing information is a skill required for success in college and life.

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Some of the supplementary materials used to scaffold the material are seemingly

unrelated, but prove to be a great catalyst for conversation and discovery. We will be viewing a

short clip from the film Mean Girls, and later using relationships from pop culture to connect the

text to current events. All supplementary materials have been viewed and approved by the

proper sources to be shown in front of the students.

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Again, the primary goal is to expand students world and allow them to see how

relationships affect us, now and in the future. Doing this through a classic text such as

Shakespeare allows for a great deal of learning and reflecting. Putting literature and life into

perspective is an essential skill and one that will result in students who are more aware and

better world citizens.

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There are several aspects of my classroom that are necessary to be able to pick up

where I begin. First of all, it was not my intention to have this be the first unit in the semester.

The unit before this would be some sort of introduction to Shakespeare where they become

familiar with the language and context. While this unit would continue to show them how

investigate Shakespeare's works on their own, they would be scaffolding what information they

already know about Shakespeare. Some things that speak to the organization of my classroom

include the regular use of journals, the work baskets in the front of the room, and a culture of

open discussion. Journals in our classroom, are for do now's and in class reflection. The work

baskets are by my desk and are where all work is located; both make up and collections.

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Common Core Standards

Key Ideas and Details

? RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

? RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

? RL.9-10.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Craft and Structure

? RL.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

? RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

? RL.9-10.6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

? RL.9-10.7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden's "Mus?e des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).

? RL.9-10.8. (Not applicable to literature)

? RL.9-10.9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

? RL.9-10.10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9?10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Text Types and Purposes

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? W.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.

Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).

Comprehension and Collaboration

? SL.9-10.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9?10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.

Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.

Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and

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understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use ? L.9-10.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9?10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy). Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). ? L.9-10.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. ? L.9-10.6. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

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Required Texts / Materials

Othello by William Shakespeare Worksheets attached in the Appendix Videos attached in the Appendix Projector with A/V hook up available Ipad's with Elizabethan Insult Generator Application pre-downloaded 1965 Othello film Directed by Stuart Burge

Goals

Students will read the texts assigned Students will complete all in and out of class work assigned Students will look to the text for reflection on relationships Students will form their own opinions about relationships in their life and the text Students will recognize archetypes in relationships Students will gain a broader view of relationships in their life and the text

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