Caroline Hopkins

Caroline Hopkins TE 802 Instructional Writing Sequence Overview: Up until now in my 9th grade English focus class, students have completed a short story unit and a young adult novel, Speak. With my high school’s new trimester system, the last thing left for my 9th graders to complete is a unit on Romeo & Juliet. The unit began on October 22nd , and we have up until November 28th to complete it before final examinations on November 30th. Students have two final assignments for the Romeo and Juliet, both of which have writing components. One of the final assignments is a small group assignment and the other is an individual assignment. The small group assignment can be directly related back to the group radio play assignments that my students completed back in early October. For those assignments, students were required to either adapt a short story into a radio play or create an original radio play. With their Romeo and Juliet assignment, students will first have to perform a short scene from Romeo And Juliet as Shakespeare wrote it. Then, based on what they have already learned about adapting the written word (from writing the radio plays and viewing film versions of Romeo and Juliet), students have to adapt that same scene with a modern setting and contemporary language. This not only requires them to look closely as Shakespearean language and translate it into words that they understand, but it also allows them to relate with material that they may feel is dated and does not apply to them. For their individual final writing assignment, student must write an argumentative essay on who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. A considerable amount of class time will be spent developing their arguments, writing their essays, and revising their writing. Task Analysis:Group Performance and Scene AdaptationUnderstanding Shakespeare’s language: Aid students with comprehension by helping them understand the dialogue using side notes in the text. Expressing Meaning: Help students learn appropriate hand gestures and voice inflection.Modernization: Show how to modernize Shakespearean settings and language. Give examples. Example: Mercutio: You gave us the counterfeit fairly last night. Romeo: Good morrow to you both. What counterfeit did I give you? Mercutio: The slip, sir, the slip. Can you not conceive?Adaptation: Mercutio: You totally ditched us last night. Romeo: Hello to you too. What did I do? Mercutio: You blew us off dude! Remember that or did you forget?Argumentative EssayThesis Statement: Answer the question: Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Who do you think the blame can be traced back to? Choose one character. Writing An Introduction: Refer to model Support (Body Paragraphs): Refer to model 1. Topic Sentences: Are they present? Do your topic sentences control the idea in your body paragraphs? 2. Finding Evidence: Refer back to the play. Give details as to why the person that you chose is responsible Use quotations that are relevant and present them in a logical order. 3. Including a concession: Explain that a different person might have played a significant role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. (A concession is a “point” that you let the other side score.) Adding concessions to your argument usually adds believability to your claims. Concessions use words like even though, admittedly, while it is true that, some may argue that…; however, this is not the case, granted, etc. Organization (Body Paragraphs): Refer to model 1. Trace your character’s action through the play. 2. Come up with THREE good reasons why the person you pick is to blame – either character traits, specific actions he/she took, etc. Students reasons will be deemed “good” based on the support they use to back up their argument.Writing A Conclusion: Refer to modelYour Name Class Title: English 9A Assignment: Romeo and Juliet Paper Date: November ___, ______MODEL: Romeo and Juliet Argumentative Paper (CENTER YOUR TITLE HERE.)The deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeare’s play are both ______and ______. Although much could have been done to prevent their suicides, these “star-crossed lovers” ultimately are not able to avoid their destiny. (Thesis statement) A series of unfortunate circumstances result in disaster, and even though many people could be to blame for their deaths, ______plays a particularly integral role. While some believe that ______is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death, this is not the case. Upon further investigation ______should receive the blame. Admittedly, you’re your choice) ______has a large influence on Romeo and Juliet’s death because (reason why this other person might be to blame) ____________. But, (your first piece of evidence in support of your argument here) ____________. (Provide support/evidence. Refer back to the play. Why is this person responsible?). ______________________________.(Transition into your second piece of evidence here) __________________________________________(Quotations from the play can really help to support your argument!) __________________.Additionally and perhaps most notably, (transition into your third piece of evidence here. This should be your strongest argument) ________________________________________________.(Now, write your concluding paragraph. You should restate your thesis statement here, but do not repeat it word for word.) ________________________________________________(Conclude your paper with a thoughtful but more general statement about William Shakespeare or his play, Romeo and Juliet.) ____________.Gateway Activities: Group Performance and Scene Adaptation Shakespeare in Our Time video has a focus on introducing students to Shakespeare's life and times and his continuing relevance today. This 25 minute video provides numerous clips from both stage and film performances of Shakespeare’s plays. Clips include modern film interpretations of Romeo and Juliet (which students have already seen), Othello (“O”), MacBeth (Scotland P.A.), and Hamlet, all of which place Shakespeare’s plays in modern setting such as the beach, prep schools, fast foot restaurants, and video stores. This video also emphasizes how important the delivery of Shakespeare’s words is. Because Shakespeare’s plays provide few stage directions, it is up to the actor to decide what kind of emotion to put behind the words. This will be particularly helpful as students begin to work with their own scenes.  PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET Date of Performance: ______Now that we are almost done reading Romeo and Juliet, think back to scenes that you remember the most. Below are several performance options that you have to choose from. You will not be recreating an entire scene but rather parts of a scene. Your lines do not have to be memorized, but it is important that you speak your lines clearly and say them the way they were meant to be said. No option can be performed more than once, so when you or you and your partner decide which one you would like to do, SIGN UP! You can choose to perform a part that is not listed below, but it needs to be approved by me first!Female Monologue Options (1 person) 1. 3.2.1-37 (Juliet) Female Dialogue Options (2 people) 2. 4.3.16-60 (Juliet) 1. 2.5.1-83 (Juliet & Nurse) 2. 3.2.92-155 (Juliet & Nurse) Male Monologue Options (1 person) 3. 3.5.66-141 (Juliet & Lady Capulet) 1. 1.1.89-111 (Prince) 4. 3.5.224-272 (Juliet, Nurse, & Lady 2. 2.3.1-30 (Friar Laurence) Capulet)* 3. 3.3.125-175 (Friar Laurence) 5. 1.3.65-108 (Juliet, Nurse, & Lady 4. 5.3.77-123 (Romeo) Capulet)* 5. 5.3. 252-293 (Friar Laurence) Male/Female Dialogue Option (2 people) Male Dialogue Options (2 people) 1. 2.2.2-78 (Romeo & Juliet) 1. 1.1.1-45 (Gregory & Sampson) 2. 2.2.155-208 (Romeo & Juliet) 2. 1.1.168-end (Romeo & Benvolio) 3. 2.4.166-217 (Romeo & Nurse) 3. 1.5.59-101 (Tybalt & Capulet) 4. 3.5.1-37 (Romeo & Juliet) 4. 2.3.43-103 (Romeo & Friar Laurence) 5. 4.1.50-138 (Juliet & Friar Laurence) 5. 2.4.46-97 (Romeo & Mercutio) 6. 3.1.89-115 (Romeo & Mercutio) 7. 3.3.4-79 (Romeo & Friar Laurence) MODERN DAY SHAKESPEARE - ROMEO AND JULIET REMIX Adaptation Due: ______You are going to take your short scene and re-write it using contemporary language and placing the scene in a modern day setting (i.e. a high school, a suburban home, a fast food restaurant, the mall, the beach, etc.). When deciding on a setting, recall the modern film version of Romeo and Juliet. You should also think back to your radio plays (remember the adaptation of “The Necklace”), and use those as an example when you adapt these scenes. You can change the words of your scene, but don’t completely lose the meaning behind the words. In other words, if two characters are arguing, you should not present the scene as though the two characters are flirting. But everyone is required to submit a typed copy of the adaptation.Grading: Performance & Adaptation ______/ 15 Performance: Speak the language convincingly. Be loud and clear. ______/ 10 Performance: Well-planned movements. Body language and gestures reflect understanding of the language. ______/ 10 Performance: Use of props and costumes. Be simple! Be creative! Be prepared at the beginning of class on the day of your performance. ______/ 15 Adaptation: Submit a TYPED copy of the adaptation. ______/ 15 Adaptation: Use contemporary language. This is how you and I talk everyday. ______/ 5 Adaptation: Place the scene in a modern day setting.______/ 70 Total  Argumentative Essay Name: ______Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Where can the blame be traced back to? Capulet  The Prince  Balthasar  Lady Capulet  Mercutio  The Apothecary  Montague  Tybalt  Society  The Nurse  Friar Laurence  Fate  Paris  Friar john  Romeo  Juliet ______The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Final Writing Assignment – Argumentative Paper Due Date: ______INTRODUCTION: An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that your claim is true based on the evidence you provide to support your side of the argument. Your argument will include convincing evidence to support your side, but you also will offer reasonable points to an opposing argument. This is known as a concession.TASK: Write a 2-4 page essay that is typed, double-spaced, and 12 pt font with 1 inch margins. In your essay, you are going to argue and prove: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF ROMEO AND JULIET?To do this, you need to come up with a reasonable person or thing that you think the blame can be traced back to. If you completed your ballot thoughtfully, you already have the answer to this very important question. Now you just need to prove it. You must do some investigating and discover the roots that laid the foundation for them to commit suicide. Think about what had to happen, what series of events had to take place, in order for Romeo and Juliet to end their lives. Make a choice. Keep in mind that there are many different approaches you can take. There is no right or wrong answer here. Rather, there are well supported arguments and poorly supported arguments. Trace your character’s actions through the play. Come up with THREE good reasons why the person or thing you pick is to blame – either character traits, specific actions he/she took, etc. Use quotations from the play that are relevant and present them in a logical order.In addition to your main argument, you MUST have a concession in your paper. This is where you explain that a different person might have played a significant role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. (A concession is a “point” that you let the other side score.) Adding concessions to your argument usually adds believability to your claims. Concessions use words like even though, admittedly, while it is true that, some may argue that…; however, this is not the case, granted, etc. Sequence: NOVEMBERMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 5 Argue: (1) Who is to 6 7 8 9 blame for Mercutio’s No Students Gateway Activity death? (2) Was Romeo justified in killing Tybalt? Shakespeare In Why or why not? Our Time video; Assignment Given For Group Performance and Adaptation 12 13 14 15 16 Individual Writing Gateway Activity For Assignment Given – Argue: Who is USING TEXT FOR Individual Writing SUPPORT Assignment: Ballot responsible for the deaths of Romeo and ROUGH DRAFT Juliet? WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT & AN INTRODUCTION 19 20 21 22 23 Media Center Group Performances Thanksgiving Break26 27 28 29 30 Media Center Final Exams ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER DUE REVISIONThe final argumentative paper will be graded based on the following criteria: GRADING:_____ / 10 Thesis Statement: Does your thesis statement answer the question: Who is responsible for the deaths or Romeo and Juliet? Is it the last sentence in your introductory paragraph? _____ / 15 Organization: Do your body paragraphs have topic sentences that refer back to your thesis statement? Do your paragraphs make sense? Is your strongest argument in your final body paragraph? _____ / 20 Specific Evidence: Do your body paragraphs have adequate support from the play? Do you provide enough details about your choice? Did you use quotations from the play as support? ______/ 10 Concession: Did you include a concession in the beginning of your paper? Did you give an opposing view and address why your argument is more logical? ______/ 10 Grammar & Mechanics: Proper spelling and grammar. Do not use “I,” “you,” or “me.” ______/ 5 Followed Directions: Typed, double-spaced, 2-4 pages, 1 inch margins. Give your paper a title!______/ 70 TOTAL Assessing progress: Assessing the progress of my students during this process was challenging, but it was also a great learning experience. Although the two components of this sequence were not directly related to one another, I though they assessed two different but important skills in my students. For one thing, the adaptations required that student understand the Shakespearean language they had to perform before they were able to perform it. Rewriting the scenes with a modern twist then made their scenes more accessible to their classmates as well. For the sake of clarity, I am going to focus the assessment of the instructional sequence on the argumentative essay for here on out. My gateway activity was very simple and given the fact that we had been working with Romeo and Juliet for several weeks already, I hoped that students could at least form an opinion on who they thought was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. When students completed their ballots, I didn’t allow any talking. I didn’t want students to be influenced by the people around them. When I gave them their writing assignment, I gave it to them with their ballot attached. I told them that if they had made a “thoughtful” decision, then they already had their answer; they just needed the more concrete evidence to support their choice. But I did give them the option of changing the answer they gave on their ballot, so that also gave them the opportunity to be influenced by other people’s choices. The argumentative essay was the major component of this instructional sequence. The writing process itself is difficult, and it is easy to assume that students know what “introduction,” “topic sentence,” and “use the text” mean. Getting some of my students to write a complete sentence can even be difficult. Providing my students with a model for their paper was helpful to them, but even when I laid things out for them in the form of a template, some still had difficulty following directions. The other major problem I had was getting students to write complete rough drafts. Any student that did not have at least part of their rough draft complete could not use the computers in the media center, but this did not really help the situation. I wanted students to turn in a rough draft by the end of the class period so that I could comment on their papers to help them improve and revise their writing. Without a rough draft, they were not only behind, but they also could not benefit from my comments. This process taught me a great deal about expectations. In the assignment I gave them, I specified that papers should be 2-4 pages long. Although some student managed to get about 2 ½ pages, most student could barely manage a page and a half. Considering this was one of the first papers they had ever written that couldn’t use “I” or “you,” I still think they accomplished something. They learned the basic structure of an essay. Even if the 5-paragraph essay is somewhat rudimentary, it teaches students the general format of most academic writing: introduction, body, and conclusion. It also teaches students the general format of a well thought out paragraph: topic sentence, organized support, and transitions.

Caroline Hopkins

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