Much Ado With Thoughts, Words, and Deeds

Have students get into groups of 3–4 or assign groups. Direct students to move their desks to create a large work surface. Give each group a large piece of paper (butcher paper, chart paper, legal paper, etc.), and make sure each student has a writing utensil. If desk space is a concern, students could hang their paper on the wall and work standing up.

Display slide 14 and assign each group one of the four concepts from the previous activity: love, hate, peace, or free will. Have a member of the group write that concept in the middle of their paper.

Show slide 15 and direct all group members to write on their groups’ paper their responses to the following prompt: What could a character do, say, or think that would show they are motivated by your assigned idea? Allow students to record their responses however they would like. This may look messy or organized, but allow students to make this decision on their own. Tell students they have three minutes to complete this task, then start the 3-minute timer on the slide.

When the timer expires, display slide 16 and introduce the Chalk Talk strategy. Explain that they are not allowed to talk with each other but instead are to use writing (or drawing) to communicate. Direct students to read what their group members wrote and respond to them (on the paper) silently. Responses can include words, sentences, pictures, etc., and they should use arrows, circles, stars, etc. to respond to their group members’ ideas. Tell students they have 3 minutes to complete this task, then start the 3-minute timer on the slide.

When the timer expires, move to slide 17. Ask groups to choose a spokesperson, and then have groups take turns sharing what they came up with.

Next, show slide 18 and introduce the Why-Lighting strategy. Assign each student a character and tell students that they are to focus on their assigned character as they read their assigned act. Refer to the Planning Guide document for a list of which characters are available to assign based on the selected act.

Explain to students that as they read, they are to highlight thoughts, words, or deeds of their assigned character that connect to love, hate, peace, or free will. Then they need to write why they highlighted the text they did by making note of which idea (love, hate, peace, or free will) their character’s action connects to. Direct students to highlight at least five examples.

Move to slide 19 and have students go to myShakespeare.com and sign in. Have them find their assigned reading by selecting the “Play Menu” tab at the top of their browser. To digitally highlight, students need to use their cursor to highlight (to select) the desired text, then select the note icon that will display just above that text.

Then display slide 20 to show students an example of the task. Use this slide to point out to students that they can select the highlight color, add a tag (for the idea), and type longer notes for themselves. Explain to students that they will be later using what they highlighted, so it is important that they create helpful annotations now.

Show slide 21, which has the same information as slide 18. Leave this visible while students read for them to use as a reminder of their task. This may take multiple class periods, depending on the length of the act.