A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Class Schedule

Class 1: Introduction to A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Pre-Reading Improvisations (30 mins)
Life of Shakespeare (5-10 mins)
Discussion Questions for Background Material (20 mins)
Homework: Writing Prompts for Pre-Reading

Class 2: Conventions of Shakespearean Verse and Staging

Small Group Pre-Reading Discussion Questions (5 mins)
Class-Wide Discussion of Small Group Answers (10 mins)
Lecture Topic: Verse and Staging (10 mins)
Five Jive With M.C. Shakespeare: Iambic Pentameter (10 mins)
Rhyming Couplets (10 mins)
In-Class Writing Prompts for Act 1 Pre-Reading (10 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 1.1 (5 mins)

Class 3: Women and Patriarchal Rule (Act 1)

Comprehension Check for Act 1.1 (10 mins)
Lecture Topic: Amazons and Other Dangerous Women (30 mins)
In-Class Writing (20 mins)
Homework: Writing Assignment

Class 4: Festivals (Act 1)

Lecture Topic: Festivals in Flux (15 mins)
Voracious Vocabulary: Inquiry (20 mins)
Voracious Vocabulary: Challenge (20 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 1.2 (5 mins)

Class 5: Themes of Desire and Imagination (Act 1)

Comprehension Check for Act 1.2 (10 mins)
Lecture Topic: Desire and Imagination (10 mins)
Group Activity: The Myth of Pyramus and Thisbe (40 mins)
Homework: Writing Assignment

Class 6: Symbolism (Act 1)

Literary Device: Symbolism (15 mins)
Video Integration for Act 1 (45 mins)
Homework: Writing Assignment

Class 7: Theater Wars (Act 1)

Lecture Topic: Professional vs. Amateur Theater Companies (15 mins)
Small Group Exercise: Memory, Performance, and Directing (45 mins)
Homework: Writing Assignment

Class 8: Review (Act 1)

Group Discussion: Direction and Being Directed (15 mins)
Review of Act 1: Open Question Period (45 mins)
Homework: Study for Exam 1 (Act 1)

Class 9: Exam 1 (Act 1)

(60 mins)

Class 10: Cross-Curriculum Exercise on Historical Inquiry

Small Group Exercise: Selection of Historical Topics (60 mins)
Homework: Finish Historical Projects

Class 11: Historical Inquiry Presentations

Historical Presentations (first set of groups) (60 mins)
Homework: Speculation Paragraph (Act 2)

Class 12: Historical Inquiry Presentations

Historical Presentations (second set of groups) (50 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 2.1 (10 mins)

Class 13: Myth and the Natural World (Act 2)

Comprehension Check for Act 2.1
Lecture Topic: Myth and the Natural World (15 mins)
Paired In-Class Writing (45 mins)
Homework: Demetrius and Hermia Dialogues

Class 14: The “Changeling” (Act 2)

Class Readings of Demetrius and Hermia Dialogues (15 mins)
Lecture Topic: The Changeling (20 mins)
Vocabulary for Act 2 (20 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 2.2 (5 mins)

Class 15: Metaphors and Similes (Act 2)

Comprehension Check for Act 2.2 (10 mins)
Discussion of Speculation Paragraphs (10 mins)
Vocabulary Dialogues (10 mins)
Small Group Activity: Metaphors and Similes (20 mins)
Homework: Metaphors and Similes Exercise

Class 16: Review (Act 2)

Video Integration for Act 2 (40 mins)
Review of Act 2: Open Question Period (20 mins)
Homework: Study for Exam 2

Class 17: Exam 2 (Act 2)

(60 mins)
Homework: Speculation Paragraph for Act 3

Class 18: Myth and Meaning

Lecture Topic: Myth and Meaning (10 mins)
Preparing for Small Group Presentations (50 mins)
Homework: Research Assigned Myths

Class 19: Myth and Meaning Presentations

Group Preparation for Myth Presentations (60 mins)
Homework: Research Assigned Myths

Class 20: Myth and Meaning Presentations

Myth Project Presentations (50 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 3.1 (10 mins)

Class 21: Imagery (Act 3)

Comprehension Check for Act 3.1 (10 mins)
The Deceit of the Senses (5 mins)
In-Class Writing (15 mins)
Literary Device: Imagery (10 mins)
In-Class Writing (10 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 3.2 (10 mins)
Homework: Read Act 3.2

Class 22: Vocabulary (Act 3)

Comprehension Check for Act 3.2 (5 mins)
Discussion of Speculation Paragraphs (5 mins)
Video Integration for Act 3 (30 mins)
Vocabulary for Act 3 (20 mins)

Class 23: Puns and Malapropisms (Act 3)

Literary Device: Puns and Malapropisms (30 mins)
Punning Around With Advertising Slogans (30 mins)
Homework: Puns

Class 24: Review (Act 3)

Vocabulary Feud (20 mins)
Review of Act 3: Open Question Period (40 mins)
Homework: Study for Exam 3 (Act 3)

Class 25: Exam 3 (Act 3)

(60 mins)
Homework: Speculation Paragraph for Act 4

Class 26: History and the Arts: The “Cult of Elizabeth”

Lecture Topic: Background on Queen Elizabeth I in the Arts (25 mins)
Visual Depictions: Elizabeth in Visual Art (25 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 4 (10 mins)
Homework: Read Act 4; Find Artistic Portrayals of Elizabeth

Class 27: Happy Reunions

Group Discussion of Artistic Portrayals of Elizabeth (15 mins)
Comprehension Check for Act 4 (10 mins)
Discussion of Speculation Paragraphs (10 mins)
Exercise: Close Reading and Memorization (20 mins)
Reading Guidance for Act 5 (5 mins)

Class 28: Illustrated Vocabulary (Acts 4 and 5)

Reading Comprehension for Act 5 (5 mins)
Video Integration for Acts 4 and 5 (20 mins)
Illustrated Vocabulary (25 mins)
In-Class Exercise: Memorization Practice (10 mins)

Class 29: Review (Acts 4 and 5)

Individual Student Recitations of Memory Passage
In-Class Writing
Review of Acts 4 and 5: Open Question Period (30 mins)
Homework: Study for Exam 4 (Acts 4 and 5)

Class 30: Exam 4 (Acts 4 and 5)

(60 min)