Reply To: Shakespeare’s five books:Macbeth etc
Summary for lesson 4:
What did we cover
– Reflected on last lesson
– Recapped the first half of the play
– Looked into the conventions of Tragedy and debated whether Romeo and Juliet fits
the definition
– Discussed key contextual points (i.e. marriage, Fate, religion)
– Worked through the questions for the second half of Romeo and Juliet
Class report
I was very excited to continue our work on R&J following on from our excellent lesson on
Monday. The students were all very engaged throughout the lesson, and they engaged
wonderfully well in what was quite a challenging session.
We began by having a recap on the first half of the story (given by Ashley) and then moved on
to look at the conventions of Tragedy. It was excellent to see the students so engaged in the
genre, and they all thought really deeply about how R&J does and does not fit certain criteria.
This exercise enabled them to show off just how well they knew and understood the text, and
it was brilliant to see them so interested in the working of Tragedy.
Next, we moved on to discuss some key contextual points; this really helped the students fully
understand the significance of the play (i.e. how important marriage was at the time helped
them realise the extent of Juliet’s betrayal).
We moved on to going through the VIPERS questions. I was delighted to see all of the
students frequently volunteer to offer answers; it was particularly lovely to see some of the
more shy students continue to become more confident.
One of the most lovely aspects of this lesson was just how disappointed the students seemed
to be when it was over! It was clear that they all had so much they wanted to share and
discuss, which is wonderful as it shows just how much they are enjoying and growing
throughout these lessons.
They were set a homework task to complete before next lesson, and we will be beginning our
third Shakespeare text, Julius Caesar, next week.
Home work for lesson 4:
Rewrite the ending of the story to make it a ‘happy ending’.
OR
What part of the story did you find most interesting and why?
VIPERS questions for lesson 5 to be discussed on Monday