ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that literature is timeless, and although Shakespeare’s works are hundreds of years old, his themes are still relevant today.
Goal(s):The unit learning goal is to create a multi-media presentation that incorporates the themes of greed, jealousy, anger, belief in the supernatural and fate, etc., in a manner that is relevant and enjoyable to audiences today.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. How does Shakespeare’s Macbeth have relevance for readers (audiences) in the 21st century?  2. How can we show this relevance through visual, oral or media presentations?
Objectives: 1. Students will understand the language of Shakespeare. Students will recognize the manner in which Shakespeare presents universal themes of human nature. 2. Students will recognize the relationship between these themes and today’s political corruption, corporate scandals, murder, belief in the supernatural, etc.  3. Students will work independently or in groups to present a modern representation of the themes in the play.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer)will provide evidence of understanding? 1.  Simple, content-focused questions that require a single, best answer. 2. Short answer questions that require critical thinking skills. 3. Essay questions that encourage students to demonstrate their knowledge of the essential themes.
What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding?  Students are given a list of choices of projects they may complete which demonstrate the universality of Macbeth’s themes. These choices include creating music, visual works of art, set or costume construction, video productions, original one-act plays, poetry, etc.
What performance tasks and projects(e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product)will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?1.  Students will present their work to the class in a ten minute presentation.  2. Presentations will be photographed and/or videotaped.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment)of understanding will you collect?  1. Students will be evaluated on their performance, presentation and creativity of project.  2. Students will hand in their completed projects for their portfolios.  3. Students will also complete a self-assessment and a group assessment (if applicable).

Instructional Strategies

This unit is definitely project-based. The students will first have to use higher order thinking skills to develop a concept for a project that will show how one or more of the themes presented in Macbeth can be presented to modern audences. The aim is to show the universality of human nature when dealing with ambition, greed, jealosy, guilt, etc. Once the students hav decided what type of project they will present,they must then decide which aspect of human nature they want to focus on and write out their rough draft, storyboard, etc. Next they must be self-directed to find the tools they will need to complete the project, such as video cameras, computer graphic devices, sound recording devices, etc. This project is truly self-directed since much work is necessary outside the classroom. If the students work in a group, they must set their own schedule, assign tasks and come to an agreement on how they will proceed..