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Course Title: Grade 9 English
Unit Title: Themes across Genres: Love in Romeo and Juliet and Related Texts
Unit Learning Objectives:
By the end of this unit, students are expected to be able to:
1. Identify one or more specific themes in Romeo and Juliet, and analyze the development of the
theme(s) throughout the play by considering significant dialogue and figurative language in class
speaking and writing assignments.
2. Recognize and methodically examine figurative and connotative meanings of language within the play
in order to reveal layers of meaning within the context of Shakespeare’s work and its connection to
other works.
3. Investigate similar themes across genres (including non-textual works such as video and visual texts)
and consider in speaking and writing
4. Demonstrate comprehension of the play, Romeo and Juliet, by tracking evidence related to characters
and themes throughout the play, and eventually creating an objective and thorough summary of the
play.
Unit CCSS Standards:
RL2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
RL4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone
(e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). (See
grade 9/10 Language standards 4-6 on page 52 for additional expectations.)
RL7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including
what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
RL10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems in
the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the end of the range. By
the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems at the high
end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Unit Essential Question
Why is love such a ubiquitous topic in our world?
Detailed Overview of Unit Activities and Assessments
Formative Assessments & Activities Method of Feedback
Pre-Reading Activities
“PreSearch” and Annotation Activity about the Elizabethan Era
Assignment/Student-Specific Commentary
Anticipation Guide Activity for Romeo and Juliet Poll Everywhere OR Google Form
Poll Everywhere Slide OR Compile Google Form Answers
Discussion Post: “Why is love such a ubiquitous topic in our world?”
Student-Based Discussion Assignment Scored According to Discussion Post Rubric
Elizabethan Era Quiz
Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Main Prologue Activities
Small Group “Prologue Rewrite” Activity posted to Google Presentation slides
Students will receive feedback from each other as they view the work of their peers, and the teacher can make notes about the presentation as a comment for individual students, or if allowed access, can make presentation notes for the entire group.
Prologue-Based Prediction Activity on Poll Everywhere
Immediate Electronic Feedback
Act 1 Activities
Xtra Normal Video Creation & Script Activity: Characters and Conflict
Feedback from other students and from teacher for use in better comprehension of text.
Character Chart Feedback from teacher in form of successful electronic models of the assessment.
Act 1 Holt “Choices” and “Grammar Link” responses posted to personal blog and turned in as a link, or completed as a Google Doc and turned-in, or on a personal website and turned in as a link
Written feedback from teacher for use on future written assignments in response to literature.
Prologue + Act 1 Quiz Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Act 2 Activities
Video Viewing and Voice Thread Activity: Helen Fisher: The Brain in Love and Romeo and Juliet, “The Intensity and Neediness of Love”
(Fairly) Immediate feedback from students as they post. Individualized, written feedback from teacher in response to student comments.
Act 2 Holt “Choices” and “Grammar Link” responses posted to personal blog and turned in as a link, or completed as a Google Doc and turned-in, or on a personal website and turned in as a link
Written feedback from teacher for use on future written assignments in response to literature.
Act 2 Quiz Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Act 3 Activities
Discussion Post Activity: “Is Love Worth All of the Trouble?”
Act 3 Holt “Choices” and “Grammar Link” responses posted to personal blog and turned in as a link, or completed as a Google Doc and turned-in, or on a personal website and turned in as a link
Written feedback from teacher for use on future written assignments in response to literature.
Act 3 Quiz Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Act 4 Activities
Act 4 Holt “Choices” and “Grammar Link” responses posted to personal blog and turned in as a link, or completed as a Google Doc and turned-in, or on a personal website and turned in as a link
Written feedback from teacher for use on future written assignments in response to literature.
Act 4 Quiz Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Act 5 Activities
Act 5 Holt “Choices” and “Grammar Link” responses posted to personal blog and turned in as a link, or completed as a Google Doc and turned-in, or on a personal website and turned in as a link
Written feedback from teacher for use on future written assignments in response to literature.
Act 5 Quiz Immediate Electronic Feedback/ Student may retake quiz to improve understanding and score.
Summative Assessment
Processed Essay (See prompt below.) Rubric-Specific Commentary/ Student is encouraged to consider feedback for writing district summative essay.
District Assessment
Proctored Essay Gradebook-based grade and comments on essay/ Student will use feedback during proceeding semester.
Unit Activities and Assessments CONTINUED
TVUSD Common Assessment (District Level): Write a short essay that synthesizes (combines the
information presented in these sources into one) the main idea(s) of the sources presented and answers
the question, why was Lincoln’s speech important for the soldiers of the Civil War to hear?* (To be
accompanied by a multiple choice assessment.)
*The specific subject matter of the prompt has been omitted to preserve the integrity of the prompt as a common and
summative district-wide assessment, since this is also posted publicly on my blog. I’m happy to share it with individuals
interested in using it.
4-Point Essay Rubric (Informational Writing)
Statement of Purpose/Focus
Organization Elaboration of Evidence Language and Vocabulary
Conventions
4 The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is focused, clearly stated, and strongly maintained • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is
The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: • use of a variety of transitional strategies • logical progression of ideas from beginning to end • effective introduction and conclusion for audience and purpose
The response provides thorough and convincing support/ evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant: • use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and concrete
The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: • use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: • few, if any, errors are present in usage and sentence formation • effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
(adapted from Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium)
Unit Activities and Assessments CONTINUED
Summative Assessment (Classroom/Unit Level): Write an essay that synthesizes the main ideas
presented in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, as well as two other sources of your choosing that
we explored in this unit (text choices are listed below), and answers the question: “How do the one or
more of the major themes in Romeo and Juliet apply to teenagers in today’s world?”
4-Point Essay Rubric (Informational Writing)
introduced and communicated clearly within the context
• strong connections among ideas, with some syntactic variety
• effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques
3 The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: • focus is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present • some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate
The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: • adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety • adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end • adequate intro. and conc. • adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas
The response provides adequate support/ evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: • some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise • adequate use of some elaborative techniques
The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language • use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: • some errors in usage and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed • adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
2 The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: • may be clearly focused on the controlling or main idea, but is insufficiently sustained • controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat unfocused
The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: • inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety • uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end • conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak • weak connection among ideas
The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: • evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven • weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques
The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: • use of domain-specific vocabulary that may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: • frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning • inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
1 The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus: • may be very brief • may have a major drift • focus may be confusing or ambiguous
The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: • few or no transitional strategies are evident • frequent extraneous ideas may intrude
The response provides minimal support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: • use of evidence from the source material is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant
The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: • uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary • may have little sense of audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: • errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscure
NS A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to address the intended target.
Statement of Purpose/Focus
Organization Elaboration of Evidence Language and Vocabulary
Conventions
4 The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is focused, clearly stated, and strongly maintained • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is introduced and
The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: • use of a variety of transitional strategies • logical progression of ideas from beginning to end • effective introduction and conclusion for audience and purpose • strong connections
The response provides thorough and convincing support/ evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant: • use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and concrete • effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques
The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: • use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: • few, if any, errors are present in usage and sentence formation • effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
(adapted from Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium)
A Closer Look at 3 Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment #1 -
Discussion Post: Before reading Romeo and Juliet respond to one of the following question with a thoughtful post of at least 250 words and follow-up with responses to at least two other students. You are encouraged to use evidence from your life: “Why is love such a ubiquitous topic in our world?” Click HERE for a more detailed overview of the assignment, including a rubric.
This assignment specifically measures the students' initial ability to respond to the essential question that is to be posed throughout the unit. This is more of a diagnostic measure and is helpful in considering where students are starting as they consider the essential question. This also gives students and the instructor a common point of reference whenever the question is revisited.
Formative Assessment #2 -
Video Viewing and Voice Thread Activity: Helen Fisher: The Brain in Love and Romeo and Juliet, “The Intensity and Neediness of Love”. After viewing Helen Fisher’s
communicated clearly within the context
among ideas, with some syntactic variety
3 The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: • focus is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present • some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate
The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: • adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety • adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end • adequate intro. and conc. • adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas
The response provides adequate support/ evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: • some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise • adequate use of some elaborative techniques
The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language • use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: • some errors in usage and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed • adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
2 The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: • may be clearly focused on the controlling or main idea, but is insufficiently sustained • controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat unfocused
The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: • inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety • uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end • conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak • weak connection among ideas
The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: • evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven • weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques
The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: • use of domain-specific vocabulary that may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: • frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning • inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
1 The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus: • may be very brief • may have a major drift • focus may be confusing or ambiguous
The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: • few or no transitional strategies are evident • frequent extraneous ideas may intrude
The response provides minimal support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: • use of evidence from the source material is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant
The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: • uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary • may have little sense of audience and purpose
The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: • errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscure
NS A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to address the intended target.
presentation about the brain on love, you will draw from the presentation to create your own Voice Thread explaining two or specific actions taken by characters in Romeo and Juliet and how these actions are reflective of Fisher’s presentation. Once completing your Voice Thread, listen to at least two other students’ Voice Threads. You do not have to respond to them, though you may be asked to write about their responses later in this course. Click HERE for a more detailed overview of the assignment, including a rubric.
This assignment assists students in combining source information into one presentation piece. In this case, the idea is that verbally addressing the two texts will make students feel that the material is more accessible than they might otherwise feel. This assessment also helps to measure the students’ ability to seek out significant and meaningful pieces of evidence for their personal use.
Formative Assessment #3 –
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1, XTraNormal Video Creation. Directions: After reading Act 1, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet, and completing the Act 1 portion of the Introductory Character Chart, you will plan for and create a video summarizing the main events from Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. Your video must specifically address the conflict between the major characters. You may view examples of scripts HERE.
Click HERE and HERE for a more detailed overview of the assignment, including a rubric.
This assignment aids in understanding what level of comprehension the student is at when they first begin reading the play. Since an objective summary is one of our goals, comprehension is key to this unit. This assessment also helps students prepare for finding the main point of other texts they encounter throughout the unit.
Summative Assessment, Student Example
Note: In order to preserve the integrity of the classroom/unit level prompt the student models refer to different texts.
*For a formatted version of the sample, click HERE.
Cara Lee
Mrs. Evans
English 9, Period 3
12 February 2013
Et Tù Fashion?
William Shakespeare’s great commentary on government at its worst, Julius Caesar, also serves as a comment upon modern-day American society. Specifically, this work is concerned with the idea of a “private” versus a “public” self and even more so about the denigration of that public self as the seemingly omnipotent Caesar confuses his true state of mortality with his publicly perceived state of invincibility. The
ideas of “public” versus “private” are similarly addressed by Vanessa Friedman in her essay “Public Image Versus Private Finance” in which she posits that an outward image of wealth (financial power) can similarly break down the private, unknown, state of being. Shakespeare’s seventeenth century work, Julius Caesar, is relevant in today’s world because his fall from omnipotence is analogous to the individual’s fall from fiscal power in today’s world.
Friedman uses clothing and their devaluation to point to the fickle nature of human perception, while Shakespeare treats the same theme with coldhearted and obvious betrayal. Often a marker of social standing, “[h]istorically clothes are not considered “wealth” for a few reasons, some practical, some image-related. First, there’s the issue of depreciation over time. The more you wear something, the less value it theoretically has – unless it is worn by a famous person at an important event, at which point its value goes up” (Friedman). Friedman makes a point of clarifying how it is that outward appearance can even cheapen over time, at least from a fashion point of view. Ironically, this lighthearted example has weight in Caesar’s story because of the emphasis placed upon physical appearance. Though not necessarily fashion related, Cassius’s underhanded attacks on Caesar explore the man’s physicality and allude to the need for Caesar to die since he too has become less valuable over the course of his sovereignty over Rome: “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/ Like a Colossus, and we petty men/ Walk under his huge legs and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonorable graves” (Shakespeare 1.2.10). By pointing to the literally large nature of his “friend”, Cassius begins to turn Brutus against his former confidante and place doubt in his mind. This focus upon physicality is also helpful in turning Brutus away from the emotional side of Cassius’s evil plan, and turns him to the insincere public figure Cassius wants Brutus to believe Caesar has become. Unexpectedly, the outward appearance of modern fashionistas and unfaithful friends jibe as indicators of potential loss of power.
Gossip and expensive clothing are one things, but Shakespeare and Friedman take their commentary a step further by moving on to new subjects. Even Caesar knows that it is best to be surrounded by those without the “lean and hungry look [of a man who] thinks too much; such men are dangerous” (Shakespeare 1.2.1). Although he is semi-aware of the betrayal that awaits, he is still in a position of perceived power and thus, continues on to the senate in light of Calpurnia’s concerns for his wellbeing. Caesar’s misperception of his own level of power is just the hubris needed to facilitate his unfortunate fall from grace, and ultimately the extinguishing of his life. The persona Caesar portrayed because of his politics is truly what leads to his death. In a similar vein, Friedman readily explains that when it comes to fashion and politics that politicians are, “[a]fter all… supposed to look good – they represent their people” (Friedman). Although Caesar’s downfall is greatly due to the way he chooses to represent himself to others, he ultimately has little choice in the matter. As Friedman explains, it is the supposition of the politician to “look good” while supporting their “people” and in today’s world this idea of “looking good” has taken on even more importance as people tend toward a reliance on looks in place of health and wisdom. Though a great amount of
personal responsibility can be placed on Caesar for his downturn, the fate of rulers is often at the hands of the people why choose to serve.
To many, Shakespeare may seem antiquated and trite—especially in our world of technology and fats paced lives. However, his timeless themes developed carefully throughout the course of his works are a testament to how truly applicable Shakespearean works are in our world today. Fashion and politics aside, power is always a concern of the people.
A Closer Look at Three Methods of Feedback
Feedback Method #1 - Individual, written comments from the instructor and directed to the student. Students can use this type of commentary feedback on future assignments and in revisions of long-term written assignments. This feedback can also be used as a starting point for communication with the instructor.
Feedback Method #2 - Automatically generated feedback on multiple choice assessments at the end of each act and on live slides via Poll Everywhere. These instances of immediate, computer-generated, feedback allow students to self-monitor their performance in a way that gives them a sense of their personal progress in the class. This is also an opportunity to prepare for future assessments.
Feedback Method #3 - Student-based feedback via online discussion forums. Students are able to get a sense of how they measure-up to others in the course while also building community amongst themselves. Students can use discussion forum-based feedback to help themselves achieve their fullest potential in classroom assignments, while also furthering critical thinking skills.
