The Fall Break has ended and I’ve begun my Shakespeare unit. In this unit, students will learn the story and structure of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Throughout the unit, students will work with a partner to raise questions about the play and post their questions on the class blog portal. This electronic discussion will then be transformed into a collaborative essay. Finally, students will do an in-depth analysis of an assigned scene and will share the scene in an audio-visual format.
- Level: ENG4C/4U (Grade 12 College / University)
- Timeframe: 18 classes, including a test period
Unit Outline
- Lesson 1: Introduction to Shakespeare and King Lear (3 periods)
- Lesson 2: Acts 1-5 (9 periods)
- Lesson 3: Multi-media scene presentations (4 periods)
- Lesson 4: Review and Collaborative Essay (3 periods)
- Unit Test
The unit outline [PDF] includes a summary of curriculum expectations plus a sample calendar.
Lesson Plans
Unit lesson plans [PDF] provide detailed steps to covering each of the unit topics, relating them to the corresponding expectations and teaching strategies.
Assignments
Reflective Blogging (10 marks)
Students publish at least two reflective posts and two comments on classmates’ blogs, per week. Students evaluate their learning using the blogging self-evaluation rubric.
Multi-media Scene Presentation (50 marks)
In groups, students edit, characterize, rehearse, and record an assigned scene from King Lear.
Collaborative Essay (50 marks)
Students transform their blog posts, comments, and responses into collaborative essays. Submitted papers must attempt to answer questions raised throughout the unit’s study of the play. Learning is assessed using the collaborative essay rubric.
Unit Test (30 marks)
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Image by longhorndave
