Project ideas

9F Shakespeare

 

May 1 update about 9:30 P.M.
Wow, that took a while. I went through Brush up your Shakespeare again and made a list of the phrases possible for each group. When possible, I hope each person can present two meaningful phrases (or more). Please look at the links on the right side of this page. Also, the e-learning site has the schedule for the next two weeks for our class and which group is presenting first. The groups who are going on Monday should get the copies they need first. Macbeth had the most phrases made by Shakespeare in that play that are famous or still used today, and the least was King Lear, I think, of these three. Looking through the book, Hamlet clearly had the most (which we are not doing this year, of course)! OK, I hope it helps!

May 1 update before 6 P.M.

A very unwelcome discovery:

Well, I DID find my treasured book called “Brush up your Shakespeare,” which seems to be out of print at the moment. It took a couple of hours of searching through my shelves, where it hidden behind some innocent-looking volumes. Then, I made a great effort to search through pages 1 – 192, “The Quotable and Notable (Famous Phrases from Shakespeare)” making lists for Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear, and also the section, pages 204 – 211, titled “Faux Shakespeare (Phrases often misattributed to Shakespeare)” for the “general Shakespeare” group. What a nice list it was! I had, maybe between 12 and 20 words for each group. However, the list is not to be found tonight. Blast! It must be at school. Well, I have the book, so I can try to put the phrases here on the blog later. I hope to get the copies to each group no later than Tuesday so you can incorporate them into your Power Points and presentations. We can discuss it together after you see the material, but it seems to me each person must do at least two phrases, but up to four or five is fine. Don’t just present the phrases quickly without understanding, though! It is better to just do a couple and know what it means (and enjoy it!) than go for quantity. It was fun looking through the book, and I hope you feel the same way when you see the material. OK, please check back later tonight for the lists, or link, and wait for the copies you will receive soon in class.

May 1 update (intital, around 1 P.M.)
I hope to come back later this afternoon with more details, but since I have emailed a student in the class, I thought I would share that info with everyone. I hope to come back between 3 and 4 and put more details here and the main blog about next week.

The basics of the presentations:

One famous scene with handout of original language: for this you can act it out or you YouTube

Then present the basic details of the plot (perhaps remind them, but touch on what was not shown in your book), the themes, facts not commonly known about your play, and words made by Shakespeare that appeared first in your play (I have a list now, which I will post on the blog this afternoon, and give handouts to the groups Monday). All of this should be in a PowerPoint.

Then choose a scene (or two) you like and act it out OR do a game (that reviews the info you just presented).

You also need to each give me a written report - only two pages with one reference - but original ideas, please! This part is graded separately. Also, and I did not announce this yet, the project part above will have a 50-50 group grade and individual grade based on my perception of your performance that day during your presentation.

More on the writing part, due this week:

I said the written reports have to be done this coming week. So for your class, please hand it in by Wednesday.

You should choose a character, perhaps, and describe how Shakespeare treats and develops this character. It does not have to be limited to a character, this is just one idea. Actually, you were supposed to tell me what you were doing about a week before your trip. So just choose an aspect of your play you want to write about, make sure none of your team-mates are doing the same thing, and make sure it does not overlap with something else your group is presenting.

MLA format is fine. I want default margins, Calibri 12 point single, spaced. No less than one full page (600 words minimum).

I had intended to put your proposals up here for you to see, but have decided against it. For one thing, one of the groups did not send me their proposal (Anthony's, doing Romeo and Juliet). Then there were some problems with the other groups. Lucya's group did send the proposal, but it was in white, so I asked for a resend but did not get it. White letters cannot be copied and pasted and I did not want to retype your email! Ann's group (doing Macbeth) had pretty good details, but selected four scenes from the play and left some doubt as to who would be doing what role. Vivian's group doing general Shakespeare things has some good ideas too, but it looks like they are planning to read that whole book I gave them, which was NOT what I suggested (see below) and I need the titles of the chapters each person will be doing, etc.

OK, so Monday, 4/11, we will need to spend more time on this. Here is what we need:

Give a brief outline of what happens in each Act of the play. Then, identify one (or two) scene(s) from your play for which you will provide handouts with original language. Then say how you will teach this scene to the class - using role play, YouTube, or another way.

Then, discuss the themes of this play. Identify any famous quotes, words coined by Shakespeare in this play, or things not commonly known about this play. Explain which person in your group is going to do which of these things, and some research on your part is needed because you can't have someone get up and say "OK, no famous quotes from this play" and sit down!

Finally, your group should have a role play of one scene you like (involving all members of the group) or a game about your play.

In addition, each member of the group needs to write about two pages on some aspect of the play - probably a character analysis - that includes at least one reference. Make sure your ideas here are original, and not simply a rewording of something you found online. This will be graded individually, and I need to know what each group member is doing for this part for the project proposal to be complete.

This proposal must be done by Monday! We have a quiz on Tuesday 4/12 on all three plays, so we will need to at least go over King Lear on Monday and review the other two plays.

Remember to also do a reflective post again this coming Friday. See the main blog for the weekly agenda - there is an article this week as well.

Previously posted:
Our class will focus on Shakespeare. You are ambitious! His plays do contain basic human elements which seem to appeal to all generations. We need to capture that appeal, and the wonderful original language, and have fun with our presentations and learning. Within this umbrella topic, there are a lot of possibilities for each group, so please read on and see what you would like. Your ideas may not be limited to what I have here! I expect the groups to have a clear proposal for me, and for now I will put the person with his or her name closest to the group letter at the bottom of this post in charge of this group. So, for example, Lucya is in charge of group A. Please collect ideas and get me your group's proposal!

For your class, I want the groups to have their projects finalized by Wednesday, April 6th. Each group should know what it is doing, and by the end of that class, each group member should have a clear idea of what he or she is doing within the group. Please be in touch with each other after reading this post and before Wednesday’s class.

Each group can give a brief outline of the play, and then focus on one or two famous scenes. How the famous scene is presented is up to the group, but I want the class to see the original language, perhaps with an easier “translation” or explanation. Make it easy for them to understand by using handouts, YouTube videos, or role plays. Then explain the major themes or ideas of the play, and what you have learned from it. Present some facts about the play that a lot of people don’t know and maybe some words, famous quotes, or ideas that came from the play. Each group member must write something related to the play – perhaps analyzing one of the characters – and that will be a separately graded writing part that will be combined with the other group members into the Power Point presentation. A video could also be made. The last requirement is to either do a dramatization (separate from and in addition to the famous scene) or a game. One example of a fun game I thought of, which I will tell that group on Wednesday, is “ Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (aka Who is the REAL Romeo?).

For group D, after looking in the contents of No Fear Shakespeare Companion, I suggest each student take one of the chapters from part one of the book (there are 12), and then the whole group include information from two or three other chapters in their presentation as well. For individuals to concentrate on, here are four chapters: 8: Where Did Shakespeare Get His Ideas?, 9: Shakespeare's World, 10: Shakespeare's Theater, and 11: Shakespeare's Language. Other chapters that have useful information to include in the presentation may be 1: What's so Great about Shakespeare?, 3: How Did Shakespeare Get so Smart?, and 12: The Five Greatest Shakespeare Characters (including Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth). This group will not easily do a role play, but will still need to either do a game or some other interesting part of their presentation, such as have a slide show of Shakespeare's theater and famous Shakespeare actors, and perhaps Youtube clips of famous plays (not the ones the other groups are doing) done by excellent actors. I suggest getting the No Fear Shakespeare Companion at Page One, if possible, one for each group member.

Here are some other ideas from Mr. Avni, which I handed out to you with some others before, but which I will put here again for you to consider:

A travel brochure - involves writing short descriptive paragraphs and adding pictures from the location.

Historical analysis - research into the history of the time the text was written and connect it with the text.

Compare/Contrast - Use another short text (poem, excerpt from a story) by the same writer and show similarities and differences.

Dramatization - Can be serious or comical.

Using the language of the writer (sentences and/or words the student chooses) to write a poem.

Literary analysis and metaphors - analyzing tone, mood, figurative language, sensory language, themes, or any other literary analysis taught in class and representing the analysis with symbols the student creates.

Remember, the project must have creative, presentation, and writing components. I expect that each student will produce a short written part and that the group will make a power point or a video and then have a presentation together. It is my strong wish that each group also have either a dramatization or a game for the class to enjoy as part of their presentation. You must at least do reflective posts on your individual blogs about your projects (perhaps multiple times), but if there is a Power Point or video, I hope you will link it to your blogs as well. Grading will be discussed clarified later, but expect an individual grade for your writing and a group grade for group effort. There may be some self and/or peer evaluation involved.

A Lucya, Cathy, Jenny (3) King Lear

B Nancy, Ann, Pauline, Joanne (4) Macbeth

C Anthony, Johnson, Henry, Ryan (4) Romeo and Juliet

D Paul, Jeffery, Tony, Vivian (4) Shakespeare in general