Romeo and Juliet Unit Syllabus - Weebly



Romeo and Juliet Unit Syllabus

ELA 9

Generic American High School

Mr. Zachary Truran

SO THIS IS IT…

Romeo and Juliet continuously scares students because of its language and content. It’s as if the play is a right of passage in the high school curriculum. I understand if you’re intimidated, I dreaded doing this play when I was in 9th grade too and now here I am teaching it. From a teacher’s perspective, it’s a play that is still quite relevant to what goes on in today’s world. There are matters of love vs. lust (can a teenager really be in love?), sacrifice for love, and of course the feuding which from our view is pretty nonsensical. We will work together to make this experience of reading Romeo and Juliet for you interesting, relevant and fun.

OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• To identify textual elements of Shakespearean literature

• To investigate character relations and motivations

• To uncover a general theme for the play

• To reflect on human progress in the years since this was written

|WEEK ONE |IN-CLASS |READING |

|Thursday |Review unit objectives and goals – what are|Act 1, Scene 1, 2 and 3 |

| |we going to get out of doing this? Vote on | |

| |whether or not to act out play or read | |

| |aloud. | |

|Friday |Discussion on feudal arguments |Act 1, Scene 4 and 5 |

|WEEK TWO |IN-CLASS |READING |

|Monday |Complications amongst character relations |Act 2, Scene 1,2 and 3 |

|Tuesday |Complications amongst character relations |Act 2, Scene 4, 5 and 6 |

|Wednesday |“Close reading” activity; do you employ any| |

| |of the language tricks Shakespeare uses | |

| |here? Debate: Love vs. Lust | |

|Thursday |We know how serious the family feud is; to |Act 3, Scene 1, 2 and 3 |

| |what extent are the actions of Romeo and | |

| |Juliet betrayal? | |

|Friday |We know how serious the family feud is; to |Act 3, Scene 4 and 5 |

| |what extent are the actions of Romeo and | |

| |Juliet betrayal? | |

|WEEK THREE |IN-CLASS |READING |

|Monday |Juliet: devotion or delusion? |Act 4, Scene 1, 2 and 3 |

|Tuesday |Juliet: devotion or delusion? |Act 4, Scene 4 and 5 |

|Wednesday |Who or what is responsible for Juliet’s | |

| |“death”? | |

|Thursday |What role does fate play here? Why does |Act 5, Scene 1 and 2 |

| |this play out all so…perfectly? | |

|Friday |Are you satisfied with the ending of the |Act 5, Scene 3 |

| |play; why or why not? Introduce specifics | |

| |of the essay | |

|WEEK FOUR |IN-CLASS |READING |

|Monday |Thesis writing – what makes a good thesis? | |

| |Think about yours and develop it in class | |

|Tuesday |Computer lab to work on your papers; I will| |

| |be meeting with students to conference | |

|Wednesday |Computer lab to work on your papers; I will| |

| |be meeting with students to conference | |

|Thursday |Discuss varying interpretations of the | |

| |play; what would you do? Fill out unit | |

| |evaluations | |

|Friday |Watch film clips from various adaptations | |

| |of the play – complete worksheet on | |

| |different interpretations of the film Turn | |

| |in papers!!!!! (I’m so excited to read | |

| |them, I’m using way more exclamation points| |

| |than necessary) | |

JOURNAL ENTRIES

On certain days, I will ask you to write a short response to a prompt on the board. The prompt will relate to a passage we recently read or will read on that day. A brief discussion will follow as we transition into the day’s reading.

HOMEWORK

I know what you’re thinking—where’s the homework? Well, there is no “formal” homework for this unit. Because Shakespearean language is complex and can be intimidating, we’re going to read it (or act it out) in class. When it comes time to write the paper, there will be no formal homework assignment, but you will be encouraged to write at home to supplement our time in the lab.

QUIZZES/TESTS

There is no test on this unit (the paper will cover that) but I may throw out a pop quiz or two during the unit to check your understanding of where we’re at in the play.

Romeo and Juliet Film Project

ELA 9

Generic American High School

Mr. Zachary Truran

Name: _______________________________

Theoretically, let’s say you were chosen to direct a new film adaptation of the play…

1. Which setting would you choose? The classic Shakespearean setting many envision or something new? Where and why?

2. Would the actors be speaking the text of the play or an updated version and why?

3. Which scenes, if any, would you cut and why? Also, which scenes would you add?

4. What would be the most important aspect to convey to the audience if you were directing a new film adaptation?

5. Last, but certainly not least, who would you cast to play the characters?

Romeo:

Juliet:

Tybalt:

Mercutio:

Benvolio:

Nurse:

Paris:

Friar Lawrence:

Romeo and Juliet Film Interpretations

ELA 9

Generic American High School

Mr. Zachary Truran

Name: _______________________________

When viewing the two film adaptations, the 1978 BBC version directed by Alvin Rakoff and the 1996 by Baz Luhrmann, take notice of how the same story is interpreted and presented differently by two directors.

1. In the opening scene (the streets of Verona), Samson and Gregory pick a fight with the Montagues. How does the imagery in the scene differ in the two versions? What does this do to the scene?

2. The actors playing Samson and Gregory emphasize different words and phrases in their delivery. Which of the versions does a better job conveying the mood of the opening scene; why?

3. The famous “Balcony” scene is presented radically different in the two versions. Which best captures the “essence” of the scene; why?

4. Why might Luhrmann choose to present this scene in a swimming pool? How does presenting it in this matter affect the “classicality” of the scene?

5. Despite so many differences in the two versions, the ending where Romeo and Juliet die is reasonably similar. Why might the reason be for bridging this gap in visuals and presentation?

Romeo and Juliet Final Paper

ELA 9

Generic American High School

Mr. Zachary Truran

As the unit winds down, we’ve been looking at the elements of Shakespearean language, various themes (love vs. lust, betrayal, sacrifice, etc.), how the characters relate to one another, and the relevance these themes retain today. Essentially this has been a study of culture—how over hundreds of years, despite our technological and industrial progress our identity as humans has largely remained the same. That is to say, humans still love a good story they can relate to (which is why we love movies, music, books and so on).

For the final paper I’m asking you to do a close reading of any scene you choose, except for the one we did in class, naturally. Take notes on the scene and be prepared to compose a thesis and argue why that scene is a crucial element to the story. It can be a turning point in the story or a small exchange between two characters. Either way, you must be prepared to argue its significance in a 4-5 page essay. That sounds like it could be intimidating, I know, but with your analysis of the scene, in addition to the usual supporting details, opening paragraph and closing paragraph, you’ll be fine. Plus, I’m going to help you along the way. An idea of what this essay will look like is on the back.

As you can see on the unit syllabus, the essay will be due the final Friday of the unit. That entire week we will be working on your paper in class and I encourage you to do so at home too. Your paper will be graded out of 100 points and based on the scale below to completed by both you and me:

Thesis statement is clear and concise (10pts)

YES | NO

The scene used is cited repeatedly in the analysis (10pts)

YES | NO

There are at least three sizeable supporting paragraphs for your argument (10pts)

YES | NO

There is a final paragraph that summarizes how you proved your argument (10pts)

YES | NO

It is formatted correctly (10pts)

YES | NO

It is free of spelling and grammatical errors (10pts)

YES | NO

As you can see, the bare minimum will get you at least 60%; the remaining 40% comes from our conference about your paper and its content.

Your paper should be formatted like this:

Your Name

Mr. Zachary Truran

ELA 9

Date paper is due

Title

The selection you’re choosing in quotes right at the beginning, citing its location in the text (e.g.)

“Mr. Truran’s English is by far the best English class I will ever take because he’s fun, despite the fact that he has high expectations. He tries to get us to think outside the box and apply our skills to the outside world. That’s like…really cool (pg #).”

Opening paragraphs, thesis

Prove it for pages and pages!

Arrive at a point, what have you concluded by your “discussion” with the text?

**This is NOT a 5 paragraph generic essay. This is you picking out a part of the story you feel is crucial, explaining why using as much information as you can to support your argument. Don’t be afraid to expand your argument as you write. Don’t confine yourself to the generic “hamburger” style.

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