Much Ado About Nothing Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives
1. Through reading William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, students will explore the Bard’s world as well as learning some history of Elizabethan theatre and the changes that came with the return of Charles II to the throne. Students will have the opportunity to write their own comedy following the format of Shakespeare’s plays.
2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive, critical and personal.
3. Students will learn to work cooperatively as well as independently throughout the unit.
4. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud (performing!) and silently to improve their skills in each area.
5. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main events and characters in Much Ado About Nothing as they relate to the author's theme development (gender roles in Elizabethan England, appearance vs. reality, love vs. infatuation).
6. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the play through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the work.
7. 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.
8. Students will read aloud, report, and participate in large and small group discussions to improve their public speaking and personal interaction skills.