R&amp J Renaissance Lit UbD Unit Template DRAFT

Title of Unit: Subject/Course:
Shakespearean (Renaissance) Literature Unit English 9R - Humanities

Topic: Designer:
Shakespearean Sonnets and Romeo and Juliet Michael Agostino
Stage 1- Desired Results
Established Goal(s):
Students will come to understand that while reading and studying the work of Shakespeare may be very
challenging because of its unique style and complexity, it can also be quite enlightening, enjoyable, and
valuable.
Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions:
Students will understand that…  What is love? How is romantic love different from
 Romeo and Juliet is a multi-faceted and love of one’s family or other types of love? How do
complex tragedy that explores many topics and we know we are truly in love? How important is
issues, not a simple love story or romance love? What should we do when our different loves
 Shakespeare’s language is impressive in its or loyalties conflict with one another?
ability to convey a great deal of meaning and  Should we follow our hearts or our minds? To
feeling. what extent should we let our feelings and faith
 Shakespeare’s writing reflects many of the guide us? To what extent should we allow our
social, cultural, artistic, and ideological reason and the advice of others to influence our
changes that were occurring during the actions? What should we do when what we feel is
Renaissance and as a result of the Humanist best or right does not agree with what we or others
movement. think is best or right?
 To what extent do we have control over our fates?
How much of what happens to us is the product of
our decisions and actions, and how much of it is out
of our control?
 Why are Shakespeare’s works so widely read,
adapted, performed, and studied?
 How does Shakespeare’s language and writing
style compare with our own and those of other more
modern writers?
Template adapted from “The Big Ideas of UbD” by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 2004.
Students will know… Students will be able to…
 who Shakespeare is and why he is significant as  read, understand, and interpret the language of
a poet and artist during the English Shakespeare (in sonnets and Romeo and Juliet)
Renaissance  appreciate Shakespeare’s use of figurative
 what iambic pentameter is, what the language (i.e. imagery, simile, metaphor) and
conventions of a sonnet are, how to count understand how it adds to the effectiveness and
syllables and scan a line of poetry meaning of the texts he wrote
 what the Humanist movement was, and how it  identify iambic pentameter and the Elizabethan
influenced thought, art, and culture during the sonnet form
Renaissance  write an original Elizabethan sonnet
 definitions and examples of the following terms:  identify examples of irony, blank verse,
irony (dramatic, verbal and situational), blank monologues, soliloquies, asides, oxymorons,
verse, monologue, soliloquy, aside, oxymoron, paradoxes, foils, tragic heroes, and tragic flaws in
paradox, foil, tragic hero, tragic flaw Romeo and Juliet
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s):
 Students will write an original Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet that adheres to the conventions of the
poetic form and addresses a significant topic or issue. (Students may choose from a list of possible topics
—i.e. love, loyalty, ignorance, violence—or develop their own topics and submit proposals for approval
during the beginning of the drafting process.)
 Students will either write an essay or create a poster and oral presentation which will argue that
Shakespeare suggests or reveals something significant about a particular topic or issue of their choice
(topics will be provided for them, but they may propose their own) in Romeo and Juliet through his use of
figurative language and other literary devices.
Other evidence:
 Students will complete study guide questions that will guide their reading of the play, aiding their
comprehension of significant information
 Students will put together and edit a class wiki about Shakespeare
 Students will be given periodic quizzes and tests on Romeo and Juliet to evaluate their ability to
comprehend Shakespeare’s language and recall what they have read of the play.
 Students will create visuals (small posters?) that will demonstrate their appreciation and understanding of
Shakespeare’s use of figurative language in certain excerpts of their choosing from Romeo and Juliet.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
 Introduction to the Elizabethan sonnet (rhyme, rhythm, form, purpose) and examples of the form
 Reading and interpreting various Shakespearean sonnets
 In-class practice writing lines in iambic pentameter, developing properly rhymed quatrains and heroic
couplets, and drafting/workshopping sonnets
 Shakespeare Wiki: students will gather relevant and reliable information about the bard and post it on a
class wiki
 In class readings and discussions of Romeo and Juliet (in its entirety), supported by audio and video
recordings of different performances of the play
 Mini-lessons on literary devices and Shakespeare’s use of language in the play

R&amp J Renaissance Lit UbD Unit Template DRAFT

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R&amp J Renaissance Lit UbD Unit Template DRAFT

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Title of Unit: Subject/Course:

Shakespearean (Renaissance) Literature Unit English 9R - Humanities

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

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