Unit Plan: Macbeth (A1607269)



Unit Plan: Macbeth Oral ResponseStage 2 English StudiesSACE Assessment CriteriaKU1KU2KU3KU4AN1AN2AN3AP1 AP2AP3AP4C1C2Unit Assessment: Six Minute Oral Response 10%Task: Select one section from a scene in Macbeth. The section must be between 20 and 40 lines. Analyse your chosen section and present your commentary to the class in an oral presentation, no longer than 6 minutes.You can use multimedia such as power-point or music to accompany your oral.Structure:Before you read your commentary, please read through the section you’ve chosen.Introduction: Context of the scene, could also include historical context.Paragraph 1: How does this scene progress the narrative? What elements of narrative story telling are present? Ideas: dramatic irony, foreshadowing,//ws tragedy, pathos?Paragraph 2: How does this scene progress character development? What elements of the character do we begin to understand? Ideas: A character’s motivations, thoughts, feelings etc. Paragraph 3: How are linguistic and technical devices used in this scene? What techniques are used? Ideas: Soliloquy, metaphor, imagery etc.Conclusion: Summarise the impact of the scene and why all you’ve discussed is important to the play.Some Scenes to Consider:Act I, Scene I: Three WitchesAct I, Scene III: Macbeth and Banquo receive their prophecyAct II, Scene I: Dagger SoliloquyAct III, Scene IV: Banquo’s Ghost AppearsAct V, Scene I: Out, Damn Spot!Act V, Scene V: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, TomorrowCriteria: See Appendix CClass Outline:A Year 12 English Studies class, with thirty students. Seven students are in the top ten percentile, and are active, involved learners. Conversely, five students are struggling at the lower end of the grade curve. The issues with these five stem from lack of interest rather than lack of ability, but are capable when on task. These students turn in good work but have a lack of focus and nuance in the classroom. The other eighteen students encompass a variety of learning abilities and skills.Accommodations and DifferentiationFor this hypothetical mixed ability classroom, special considerations should be made. With students that are capable but disengaged, reengaging these students becomes the key to getting them back on track. With Macbeth, I feel that this is a much easier task. Due to its longevity and depth, the amount of different material on the play is huge. To engage these students, I might guide them towards one of the live adaptions of Macbeth. Some of the best actors have played roles in Macbeth, and this seems like a good way to engage students. The task itself, allowing for the use of multi-media, could also incorporate some of these live versions. The nature of the task can also be scaled up and down to meet the level of ability of the presenter. A student who is less capable of analysis could still identify techniques, plot progression and character development and achieve a pass whereas a more active learner might go in deeper. I feel that the structure of the task allows for accommodation through depth rather than straight differentiation. The depth of the play also allows for these different levels; the basic themes of the play are self-evident through the plot, but deeper analysis is possible in almost every scene due to the richness of the writing.RationaleMacbeth is an excellent play for analysis – the depth of its themes and language create huge opportunity for insight. The moral complexity, powerful imagery and emotional weight of the play all add to this. The oral component of this Text Analysis is made more effective due to the nature of the text; it is meant to be read out and performed. Furthermore, the huge amount of support material for the text creates huge pool of resources for students to draw from to inform their analysis. This include numerous live performances by esteemed actors, as well as many important film adaptions. ObjectivesObjectives include:Understanding of the ways in which different texts are composed for different purposes and audiencesKnowledge and understanding of conventions of tragedy.Analysis of the ways in which language techniques are used to influence opinions and decisions in a range of contexts. Use of a range of language skills to analyse and solve problems, and to demonstrate creativity. Use of evidence from texts to support conclusions. Use of an appropriate style and structure for the audience and purpose when composing texts.Overview:Lesson 1: Introduction to the play and to tragedy, Macbeth’s characters, introduction to assessment.Between lesson 1 and 2, movie watched (Royal Shakespeare Company)Lesson 2: Focus on: themes, techniques (narrative, literary, structural), character profiles and different interpretations. Homework: Use Worksheet 1.1 to create a basic structure of the oral presentationLesson 3: Structuring an oral presentation, analytic techniques, a closer look at some of the important scenes, short focus on public speaking techniques.Homework: Finishing the Oral presentation before the next lesson.The lesson after lesson 3 will be the Oral presentationsLesson 1: This lesson is focused on introducing the play’s world, the characters and the assessment in equal parts. It focuses on the Chain of Being, the Wheel of Fortune, the elements of a Tragedy and all of the characters.Ten Minutes (Introductory Lecture)At the core of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth lies a strong focus on the supernatural and the superstitions of the time. The play is set during the 1000’s in Scotland, during a period referred to as the Middle Ages.The period pre-dated Shakespeare’s time by around about 600 yearsAt the time of the real Macbeth, Christian beliefs mingled with the old pagan beliefs of the supernatural and created an interesting mix that Shakespeare attempts to imitate.One of the central ideas in this period was the Chain of Being (Appendix A).(At this point, show the image and then ask the class what their immediate responses are. What is at the top and what is at the bottom?)The Chain of Being created a hierarchy of all life, supernatural and mundane, with God at the very top, and minerals and dirt at the bottom. All of life fell in between these poles as links in the chain that form all of life.Another concept is the Rota Fortunae, or Wheel of Fortune (Appendix B)The concept of the Wheel of Fortune is that everything is temporary and fleeting; those that are on top of the wheel can just as easily be crushed underneath it. This is central to the idea of Shakespeare’s take on tragedy in Macbeth. Fifteen Minutes (The Tragic Form and Shakespeare) Five minute discussion to gauge level of knowledge:Can you think of any examples in modern literature of a tragedy? Film? Etc?Can you name some fictional characters you think are “tragic” heroes?Activity: the elements of the tragic hero.Draw on the board a stick figure and around the stick figure write the following titles: “Protagonist”, “Hamartia”, “Peripetea”, “Prophecy”. Below the figure write “Catharsis” Direct the class towards the title “Protagonist” and ask them what it means, and what features the protagonist of a tragedy might have. As you come to the features, draw them on the figure. For example, the protagonist of a tragedy is usually male (draw a beard), noble (drawn a crown) and powerful/influential (maybe a sword?). When the students come to Hamartia, first ask them what the term means and then explain to them if they do not know. Hamartia is literally translated as “error in judgment” but in modern interpretations means “great flaw”. Go around the class and ask for examples of character flaws that a tragic hero might have.When the students come to Peripetea, explain to them that it means “reversal of fortune”. Tie this back in with the discussion on Rota Fortunae and give some examples. The most common is usually death or punishment.Prophecy: explain that this is not always present in tragedy but usually means that when it is it creates conflict and almost always leads to Peripetea. Explain the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy and how that ties into Macbeth. The three Witches at the outset (Act 1, Scene 3) deliver this prophecy to Macbeth, which sets in motion the whole play.Catharsis: the end result of tragedy. Greek translation means something along the lines of purification. It is the reaction that an audience has when viewing a tragedy; the idea of which is that by viewing tragedy you purge yourself of negative emotions through the tragedy of the characters in the play.After all the titles are filled out, go back and circle/highlight/underline the things that apply to Macbeth as a protagonist. This leads neatly into the next activity. Fifteen Minutes (Dramatis Personae)This activity is based on a relationship map for the characters in Macbeth, and it gives a visual and easy guide for students to wrap their heads around the character’s and their relationships to each other.On the other half of the board, draw a circle with Macbeth at the centre.Draw fours lines out from the centre circle, one going directly up, and the other three in whichever direction. Label the topmost point as Duncan, and the other three points as Lady Macbeth, Macduff and the Three Witches. These four points form the basis of the plot and are central to almost all the characters present in the play. With the class, go through a printed out character list and fill in their places on the board, explaining their connection to each character. The board should look something like this:This only coves the principle characters, so you will also make a note of the unnamed characters, such as the Porter, the Three Murderers, various servants and doctors etc.Label the connecting lines with the relationships as you go as well as indicators of the way the relationship works. For example, between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth write “married” with a double headed arrow, but between the Thanes and King Duncan, use a one way arrow labelled “serves”.This gives a strong visual component that students can refer back to while watching the film, which can help with them keeping the plots and characters in check throughout the film. It also helps inform analysis because the interconnectedness of the characters is central to the tragic events and their outcomes (i.e.: the relationship between Banquo and Macbeth, between the Three Witches and Macbeth etc).Last Five Minutes:Briefly introduce the assessment, go through the task with students and field questionsEnd Lesson 1.Lesson 2:Focus on: themes, techniques (narrative, literary, structural), character profiles and different interpretations. Homework: Use Worksheet 1.1 to create a basic structure of the oral presentationThis lesson is divided between discussion of the play and it’s themes and information on the literary techniques that students can use for their analysis.Five Minutes:Five minute de-brief after the film viewing, discussing student’s reactions to the play, the ending, the characters etc. This is a short open discussion to give the students a chance to voice their opinions and engage with their interpretations.Fifteen Minutes (Themes and Motifs)This task is primarily an open discussion on the themes of the film. Using the white board, bring the classes attention to the following themes: Chain of Being: when was it disrupted? When Duncan is murdered by Macbeth, the supernatural elements entering the play and the state of Scotland worsens.I.e.: Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth after his murder ( Act Three Scene Four), Macbeth visits the Three Witches again and is visited by apparitions (Act Four, Scene One), the reversal of the chain of being, horses eat each other, a mousing owl kills a falcon ( Act 2, Scene 4).Add other annotation as the class adds their analysisProphecy and Fate: Did the prophecies come to pass because they were pre-ordained or was it because Macbeth acted the way he did and made the choices that he did? Could it have been avoided? How does this fit into the tragic narrative?Macbeth comes to realize his own doom towards the end of the play ( Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow).Hamartia: What was Macbeth’s major flaw? Can you think of examples in the narrative where is flaw came into play?Fifteen Minutes (Techniques)Open this section with a look at this Ted Ed video on Dramatic Irony: . This serves as a primer and breaks up the flow to keep the students engaged.Break the students up into groups and give them each five minutes to come up with any literary, structural or narrative techniques they recognized or noticed in the play. Take this time to write on the white board and divide it between structural, narrative and literary techniques each with their own column and space beneath.Take responses from the students, and when they run out, given them Worksheet 1.2 which lists some of the literary techniques used in Macbeth.Then go through the worksheet and write up the meanings of the terms on the board, while the students fill in the worksheet as they go. Give examples from the text.This creates a resource for the students when conducting their analysis and will help them recognize techniques as they read.Ten Minutes (Different interpretations of the text)This section is based on the way in which the text and characters can be interpreted. Using comparative video, we can observe how different productions have played the characters and therefore how the tone is mutable. This is intended to help with the interpretation of the text and how it can be read differently, opening up a wider avenue for analysis.With the class, watch both Kenneth Branagh’s and Ian Mackellan’s performance of the “Tomorrow” monologue and compare the ways in which they are different.Does Branagh’s performance read as more emotional than Mackellan’s? In this scene is Macbeth wracked by grief or is he accepting of the terrible fate that has befallen him?When interpreting Macbeth, remember that it is a play and that it is meant to be performed. Take into account that the text is written deliberately to be malleable and performed with different tone depending on the production.When analyzing the play, consider the tone of the scene as well as the language and written word. Strong analysis isn’t simply understanding what is being said but understanding what is meant. We know Macbeth is sad and resigned, but what is the depth of what he is saying? What does he mean?End Lesson 2Lesson 3:Lesson 3: Structuring an oral presentation, analytic techniques, a closer look at some of the important scenes, short focus on public speaking techniques.Homework: Finishing the oral presentation before the next lesson.This final lesson before the oral presentation is designed to prepare the students’ content, their structures and their speaking skills before the next class as well as providing an in-class look at the source material.Five Minutes (Structuring an Oral Presentation)This time is spent as a primer, going back over the suggested structure in the assessment task.Strong emphasis should be put on avoiding basic analysis (which will be explored further on) and plagiarism.Remind the students that it might be worthwhile to put together a power-point as it can help with engagement and can take some of the pressure of your speech.Ten Minutes (Analytic Techniques: insight and complexity)Show the students this TED ED video on deeper analysis: watching the video, go through the below review section with the class and answer the multiple choice questions as a class: leads into the major activity of the class:Twenty Minutes (Group Analysis of Key Scenes) Divide the students into 6 groups and give them each a photocopied section of the play. The six sections should be different and can be sourced from the six suggested in the assessment task.If however you wanted to avoid those six because you might end up with similar analysis in the final assessment, substitute the scenes for some of the less-analysed scenes from the play. The Porter’s scene (Act II, Scene III), or Hecate’s appearance (Act III, Scene V) would both be suitable because they offer a lot to interpret but are not as widely discussed.Give the students about ten minutes to discuss and annotate the scenes between them. Once they’ve done that, each group will send one person to go and explain their analysis of the scene to the other groups, going around the room until each group has seen each text.Once this is done, bring the class back into one big group and ask each of the groups the key points they took away from the scene they were assigned.The point of this exercise is to build analytic skills collaboratively, as well as breaking up the lecturing mode as well as giving students agency to express themselves in the class room.Ten Minutes (Public Speaking Techniques)The last ten minutes is spent working on both public speaking techniques and body language.Firstly, demonstrate to the students the difference between confident and unconfident body language. The former might mean a feet-planted, back-straight, wide stance, whereas the latter might mean a more withdrawn, closed off and rigid stance. Demonstrate this through different examples – read a section from Macbeth first in the confident stance and then in the unconfident stance, demonstrating how it creates a different tone for your speech.Discuss techniques for nervous public speaking, such as finding a spot at the back of the room with glances at the class and specific individuals. Demonstrate how to project their voice to properly deliver the speech written.Homework: With the worksheet from the previous lesson and the skills gathered in this lesson, finish writing the oral presentation for the next class where the presentations will begin.End Lesson Three Appendix A: Chain of BeingAppendix B: Rota Fortunae, or Wheel of Fortune Appendix C: Criteria for AssessmentKnowledge and UnderstandingAnalysisApplicationCommunicationAKnowledge and understanding of a wide range of ways in which authors use stylistic features and language techniques to communicate complex and familiar ideas, and to influence the reader’s response. Detailed knowledge and understanding of the ideas, values, and beliefs in familiar and unfamiliar texts. Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which creators and readers of familiar and unfamiliar texts use a range of textual conventions to make meaning. Analysis of complex connections between personal experiences, ideas, values, and beliefs, and those explored in familiar and unfamiliar texts.In comparative exercises, a perceptive analysis of connections between texts, based on analysis and synthesis of similarities and/or differences.Perceptive analysis of a range of ways in which authors use language techniques to influence opinions and decisions in familiar and unfamiliar texts.Use of a wide range of language skills and techniques to create sophisticated and coherent texts that address the meaning and intention of the task.In comparative exercises, a perceptive recognition of connections between texts, through responses that integrate discussion of texts and move easily between them.Detailed and appropriate use of evidence from texts to support responses, with textual references incorporated fluently in discussion.Skills in using the textual, structural, and conventional features of text types for a range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts, audiences, and purposes.Fluent and precise writing and speaking, using appropriate style and structure for a range of mainly unfamiliar audiences and contexts. Appropriate use of form and register to convey mostly complex meaning in a range of unfamiliar contexts.BKnowledge and understanding of the ways in which authors use stylistic features and language techniques to communicate complex and familiar ideas, and to influence the reader’s response.Knowledge and understanding of some ideas, values, and beliefs in familiar, and some unfamiliar, texts. Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which creators and readers of mainly familiar texts use some textual conventions to make meaning.Analysis of some complex connections between personal experiences, ideas, values, and beliefs, and those explored in familiar, and some unfamiliar, texts.In comparative exercises, a clear analysis of connections between texts, based on analysis of similarities and/or differences.Analysis of a range of ways in which authors use language techniques to influence opinions and decisions in familiar, and some unfamiliar, texts.Use of a range of language skills and techniques to create clear and coherent texts that address the meaning and intention of the task.In comparative exercises, recognition of connections between texts, through responses that compare and contrast texts in an integrated way.Appropriate use of evidence from texts to support responses, with textual references incorporated in discussion.Skills in using some of the textual, structural, and conventional features of text types for a range of mainly familiar, and some unfamiliar, contexts, audiences, and purposes.Mostly fluent and precise writing and speaking, using appropriate style and structure for a range of mostly familiar audiences and contexts. Appropriate use of form and register to convey complex and simple meaning in a range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts.Knowledge and UnderstandingAnalysisApplicationCommunicationCKnowledge and understanding of a narrow range of ways in which authors use stylistic features and language techniques to communicate mainly familiar ideas, and to influence the reader’s response.Knowledge and understanding of some ideas, values, and beliefs in mainly familiar texts. Knowledge and understanding of some of the ways in which creators and readers of a range of familiar texts use textual conventions to make simple or factual meaning.Analysis of simple connections between personal experiences, ideas, values, and beliefs, and those explored in familiar texts.In comparative exercises, analysis of connections between texts, based on some understanding of similarities and/or differences.Descriptive analysis of a number of ways in which authors use language techniques to influence opinions and decisions in familiar texts.Use of language skills and techniques to create texts that address the meaning and intention of the task.In comparative exercises, recognition of some connections between texts, through responses that compare and contrast texts, usually in a sequential rather than an integrated petent use of evidence from texts to support responses, with some use of textual references in discussion.Skills in using some of the textual, structural, and conventional features of some text types for familiar contexts, audiences, and purposes.Generally fluent and functional writing and speaking, using appropriate style and structure for familiar audiences and contexts. Appropriate use of form and register to convey simple meaning in a narrow range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts.DKnowledge and restricted understanding of some simple stylistic features and language techniques used by authors to communicate mainly familiar ideas, and to influence the reader’s response. Knowledge and understanding of some familiar ideas, values, and beliefs in familiar texts. Knowledge and understanding of a restricted number of ways in which creators and readers of a narrow range of familiar texts use some textual conventions to make simple or factual meaning. Reference to simple connections between uncomplicated personal experiences, ideas, values, and beliefs, and those explored in familiar texts.In comparative exercises, answers that make partial comparisons and contrasts.Reference to some ways in which authors use a range of language techniques to influence opinions and decisions in familiar texts.Use of some language skills and techniques to create texts that partly address the meaning and intention of the task.In comparative exercises, some awareness of connections between texts, through partial responses that mainly deal with texts separately.Some use of evidence from texts to support a response, with use of a narrow range of textual references.Skills in using some of the textual, structural, or conventional features of a text type for a familiar context, audience, or purpose.Achievement of a level of fluency in writing and speaking, in a mainly appropriate style.Occasionally appropriate use of form and/or register to convey simple meaning in familiar contexts. ................
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