Romeo and Juliet Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives

1. Through reading William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, students will explore the role of fate in life, the devastating effects of hate on both responsible and innocent parties, and the many facets of love.

2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive, critical and personal.

3. Students will analyze characters to better understand motivation for action.

4. Students will be exposed to background information about Shakespeare, Elizabethan drama, and Romeo and Juliet.

5. Students will examine Shakespeare's use of language.

6. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud and silently to improve their skills in each area.

7. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main events and characters in Romeo and Juliet as they relate to the author's theme development.

8. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the play through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the play.

9. The writing assignments in this unit are geared to several purposes:

a. To have students demonstrate their abilities to inform, to persuade, or to express their own personal ideas

Note: Students will demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to persuade by selecting and organizing relevant information, establishing an argumentative purpose, and by designing an appropriate strategy for an identified audience. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to express personal ideas by selecting a form and its appropriate elements.

b. To check the students' reading comprehension
c. To make students think about the ideas presented by the play
d. To encourage logical thinking
e. To provide an opportunity to practice good grammar and improve
students' use of the English language.

10. Students will read aloud, report, and participate in large and small group discussions to improve their public speaking and personal interaction skills.