Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Comedies and Romances                English IV Winter/Spring Elective

Here’s our resource page: http://shakespeare-comedies.wikispaces.com/

Click here for our English IV senior English class expectations.

This course teaches students to appreciate Shakespeare’s genius for creating thoughtful laughter and artful romance. The winter term will begin by exploring the elements of comedy, which will then help students anticipate and understand Shakespeare’s language even more. Throughout the whole course students will truly develop an understanding for why Shakespeare commands the title of one of the greatest writers in English. Traditional papers will be blended with technology projects and journal assignments. The class will have fun sharing scholarship and creating an academic network among scholars who are on Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_Wit_of_Will. By the end of the spring term, the class will attend a local performance of one of our plays, which include Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and The Tempest.

Types of Assessments:

  • Reading quizzes on Acts.
  • Written homework.
  • Analytical papers, which will be with small explication papers and lead into larger papers.
  • Find and follow college professors on Twitter (as many are using Twitter in lecture halls and outside the classroom).
  • Comedy writing to create a portfolio: comic character, action, situation, disguise, mistaken identity, reward, punishment, etc.
  • Small I-Movie projects where students memorize parts of Shakespeare and create modern adaptations set in Suffield Academy.  We’ll start with students in small groups making thirty-second previews.

Flipped classroom mode:

  • Students may be viewing parts of movies at night and analyzing what they have viewed for written homework;
  • Students may also be listening to audio versions (dramatic) of our plays for more complete comprehension.

Grade categories: analytical prompts (15%); creative writing (15%); reading quizzes (20%); formal papers (40%); participation (10%). 15; 15; 20; 40; 10

Week One

  • View the “Misfit Character PBS Documentary” in flipped classroom mode; write two papers on the film;
  • Comprehend Act I of Twelfth Night;
  • View Shakespeare in Love in class for biographical elements and 12th night adaptations;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Two

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Twelfth Night in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Shakespeare in Love in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act II of Twelfth Night;
  • View Shakespeare in Love in class for biographical elements and 12th night adaptations;
  • Explicate lines for literary interpretation;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Three

  • View the “She’s The Man” (modern movie of Twelfth Night) in flipped classroom mode; homework writing on the film;
  • Comprehend Act III of Twelfth Night;
  • View Shakespeare in Love in class for biographical elements and 12th night adaptations;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio;
  • Be funny over winter break and dream of future comedy material.

Week Four

  • Share comic moments from break;
  • Listen to dramatic audio of Twelfth Night in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in class and in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act IV of Twelfth Night; begin I-Movie projects.
  • Explicate lines for literary interpretation;
  • View Shakespeare in Love in class for biographical elements and 12th night adaptations;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Five

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Twelfth Night in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act V of Twelfth Night;
  • View and interpret adaptations of She’s The Man;
  • Hand in large paper on literary analysis of Twelfth Night
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Six

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Much Ado in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act I and II of Much Ado;
  • View parts of the great Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson version of Much Ado;
  • Write explication paper of a few lines;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Seven

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Much Ado in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act III & IV of Much Ado;
  • View parts of the great Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson version of Much Ado;
  • Write explication paper of a few lines;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Eight

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Much Ado in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act V of Much Ado;
  • View parts of the great Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson version of Much Ado;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Nine

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Much Ado in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Peer edit papers in class; Culminate larger paper on Much Ado;
  • View parts of the great Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson version of Much Ado;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Ten

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Taming of the Shrew in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act I & II of Taming of the Shrew;
  • View parts of class chosen movie of Taming of the Shrew;
  • Explicate lines from the text;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Eleven

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Taming of the Shrew in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act III & IV of Taming of the Shrew;
  • View parts of class chosen movie of Taming of the Shrew;
  • Explicate lines from the text;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Week Twelve

  • Listen to dramatic audio of Taming of the Shrew in flipped classroom mode;
  • View parts of Michael Wood’s Biography on Shakespeare in flipped classroom mode;
  • Comprehend Act V of Taming of the Shrew;
  • View parts of class chosen movie of Taming of the Shrew;
  • Peer edit drafts in class; culminate larger paper on Shrew;
  • Write one page of comedy in personal portfolio.

Be mindful of the Shakespeare in our community:

http://www.drama.uconn.edu/

https://apps.commerce.yale.edu/arts/yrt/showProductionDetail.do

http://www.yale.edu/yusc/

http://www.shakespeare.org/index.php

Leave a comment