Integrating Shakespearian Tragedy with the Internet

1. Integrating Shakespearian Tragedywith the Internet A ninth grade interdisciplinary unit on Elizabethan England and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for English, art, and computer classes.

2. I. Summary of Skills Implemented throughout the Unit • Integrating Shakespearean Tragedy with the Internet is an interdisciplinary unit that challenges students to use William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as a springboard to implement the following skills: basic skills, communication, inquiry, problem solving, synthesis, and critical thinking.

3. Basic skills and communication • Basic skills and communication are addressed through reading, writing, and history. Math skills are addressed at a very minimal level in the unit as students comprehend the historical timeline. Initially, students read and make notes on Internet information as they perform research on the Greek-Roman archetype found in the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, Elizabethan England, William Shakespeare, the Globe Theater, and the Hatfield-McCoy story. Students write summaries of these topics.

4. Basic skills and communication • Later, they read the full text version of Romeo & Juliet and compose five paragraph, expository essays in Microsoft Word about the use of literary devices in the play. Students also act out a scene from the play for video taping. Finally, they convert their essays into Hyperstudio presentations and post the presentations along with selected video clips on a class designed web site. Basic skills and communication are foundation skills for this unit.

5. Inquiry • Inquiry is applied when students conduct research on the historical aspects relating to the play: Pyramus and Thisbe, the Elizabethan Period, William Shakespeare, the Globe Theater, and the Hatfield-McCoy parallel. Inquiry is also utilized during the segment of the unit in which students are required to read the text, complete quizzes at Funbrain.com, and find examples of various themes and other literary devices utilized by Shakespeare throughout the play. The pieces of information extracted during the inquiry segment become building blocks for students to later write their essays and compose their Hyperstudio presentations.

6. Problem Solving • Problem Solving presents itself in a variety of tasks. During the first week students solve the problem of using various search engines to find web sites about their historical topics. Later, they delve into the issue of reading comprehension and how to best prepare themselves for their reading quizzes at Funbrain.com. Time management is a problem for students to solve as they struggle to fit their readings and other assignments around various aspects of their busy lives. As students read and discuss the conflicts in Romeo and Juliet, they vicariously struggle to theoretically solve the problems of the “star crossed lovers,” as well as Friar Lawrence, the Nurse, Lord Montague, Lord Capulet, Tybalt, and Prince Escalus.

7. Problem Solving • Students solve social issues and tactical problems as they delve to perform a scene from the play. Finally, as they embark on their final projects – the essay and the multimedia project – students perform problem solving as they determine which examples from the text best illustrate their points, the best vocabulary and diction with which to express these thoughts, and how to creatively and aesthetically present their essays in Hyperstudio. Lastly, some students will undoubtedly encounter problems as they attempt to post their projects on the class web page, so they must solve these pesky details as well. Overall, problem solving is one of the most underestimated and overlooked skills encountered daily by students and people in general.

8. Synthesis • Synthesis is a higher level thinking skill that is employed as students compose their summaries of the historical research related to the play. Copying and plagarism are strictly forbidden, and students will explain the main ideas as well as capture important details and express them in a fresh manner. Elevated forms of synthesis are necessary in the composition of the final projects -- the essay typed in Word and the Hyperstudio multimedia project. Students will also employ synthesis in the art segment of the unit when they create artistic expressions inspired by the Internet research segment of the unit. These projects are then digitally photographed or scanned and uploaded to the class web site. Synthesis, the creative process, is the skill most capable of giving people a sense of ownership and involvement in their studies and their work, therefore it is among the most valuable skills to address in education.

9. evaluation or critical thinking • The highest level thinking skill, evaluation or critical thinking, is employed first throughout class discussions of the play. When students informally debate which character is most at fault for the tragedy of the suicidal couple, they are evaluating the actions and consequences of an entire community. Midway through the unit, students judge one another’s scene performances using a class-designed rubric. They are evaluating the best and worst elements of line interpretation and acting. As the unit draws to a conclusion, students perform peer editing and revising of their essays and again for the multimedia presentations. Peer editing and revising is performed using the same rubric with which the teacher grades the projects. In the culminating activity, students vote for the best three multimedia presentations, and these presentations then receive special recognition in the awards section of the class web site. Critical thinking is a survival skill which people cannot afford to ignore in this swiftly changing, extremely complex society.

10. Conclusion • The variety of activities, the implementation of technology, and the use of cooperative learning in this unit promote the multiple levels of skills employed here. Although it is time consuming, this comprehensive unit is one with the potential to create a memorable experience, one of those magical moments in education in which students forget they are learning and teachers remember why they entered the profession.

11. Goals • o       Conduct Internet research; • o       Create artistic illustrations of historical research; • o       Comprehend reading material; • o       Understand & appreciate Shakespearean drama; • o       Perform Shakespearean drama; • o       Comprehend, analyze, and explain literary devices; • o       Compose an expository essay and develop three subtopics; • o       Cooperative learning and peer evaluation; • o       Compose a multimedia project; • o       Post efforts on a class designed web page. • o       Give students global recognition and build self esteem.

12. Objectives •      Students will research the Internet and write summaries of: Shakespeare, Elizabethan England, the Globe Theater, the Greek-Roman myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, and the Hatfield-McCoy parallel. •      Students will express their Internet findings in various art forms. •       Students will read and comprehend William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. •       Students will visit FunBrain.com and complete quizzes on assigned readings from the play. •      Students will act out selected scenes and videotape their best efforts. •       Students will comprehend, discuss, and analyze plot, characterization, literary devices, and themes in the play.

13. Objectives •        Students will compose expository essays to analyze Shakespeare’s use of literary devices or to expound upon a theme developed in the play. •        Students will type their essays in Microsoft Word 2000. •        Students will perform peer editing and revising of their rough drafts. •        Students will compose multimedia presentations in Hyperstudio to illustrate their essays in a creative fashion. •        Students will evaluate each other’s work and vote on the best presentations for special recognition. •        Students will post their multimedia projects on a class web site for the benefit of others and for their own recognition.