"Romeo and Juliet" English Lesson Plans

One of my favorite units to teach is one on Shakespeare. It might be because I taught drama classes, but I particularly enjoy watching my students act out the parts in Shakespeare plays, and the opportunity to use my own flair for the dramatic in the classroom. I begin the unit with background information, and then I ask students to build a theatre, but I always throw in a challenge. Once I've put students into groups, and they've started planning their buildings, I give them the challenge. One group would lose the funding for their roof, one for their electricity, one for their curtains and backstage area, and one for all of their seats on the floor. After about 10 minutes of discussing how to overcome these problems, the class meets to talk about their solutions. Then I tell them that for the people in the Globe Theatre troop these “problems” were the reality. This leads into a mini-lecture on the staging of traditional Shakespearean theatre and its conventions. The building activity always created buy-in on the part of the kids, and they always remembered this part of the unit when we discussed stage directions later in the unit.

When it came to helping students understand the language used in Shakespeare plays, I show part of one of the video representations of "Romeo and Juliet" with subtitles on the bottom of the screen so that students can read the words while watching. I particularly like the opening of the Baz Luhrmann version because the prologue is shown as a news clip. I also like the prologue from the movie "Shakespeare in Love." I then have students analyze the prologue to predict what they believe will happen in the play. Then I have students act out the play, even though they might not get the language right. Getting them on their feet, and moving around is critical because plays are meant to be acted out, not read like a novel.

I suggest discussing the play in chunks. I would never have students read an entire act for homework. Perhaps they would read a scene or two, but anymore than that might make them frustrated. I would rather read the play together and analyze it. For more "Romeo and Juliet" activities check the lesson plans below.

"Romeo and Juliet" English Lesson Plans:

Reinterpreting the Balcony Scene

Students are given the opportunity to be directors before even really reading the play in this series of lessons. This allows them to have a deeper understanding of the main characters, and have their own take on the play which will give them a sense of buy-in. They will also develop a sense of what it takes to create a play in the theatrical sense by following this series of lessons

Characters Come to Life in a TV Show Format

Students are broken into groups and choose one member of the group to “be” the character.  Characters include:  Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Benvolio, etc . . . Each character is required to speak at least three times. One class period should be for preparation, one should be for the activity, and one should be for debriefing.

Analysis of Language in Romeo and Juliet

Students focus on answering two key questions in this lesson: 1. How does Shakespeare's use of different lyric forms and conventions heighten the action in "Romeo and Juliet?"  2. How do these lyric forms and conventions differentiate and strengthen characterization in "Romeo and Juliet?"   Students primarily focus on the differences between Romeo and Juliet and the line “you kiss by the book.”