Adapting Literature

Strategies

When teaching such an important and intricate work as Shakespeare's Othello, it is very important to have a unit ready or a precise plan in mind. The first part of my plan is always to know the prospective final result before beginning. Recently this has been distinctively named Understanding by Design⁵ (UBD), but to me it seems like common sense: know what you want students to know before you teach. The alternative seems to be to stand up in front of students and talk about content with no particular direction in mind; I can't imagine this as an approach to teaching, but a book was published assuming that this was or is normal application in the classroom—I missed something along the way. Anyway, the final outcome for this unit is a research paper about adaptation and Othello. Upon reaching the summit of this excursion, students will write an essay, in the style of a documented research paper, which discusses Shakespeare's Othello, its adaptation to film, and the implications when a director makes decisions in doing so.

Elsewhere along the way, students will be answering a series of questions based on those outlined in the subsection of this unit entitled "Questioning and the DSTP." These questions will be in accordance with each selection as it orbits around our study of Shakespeare's Othello.

The first selection I plan to use for the purposes of this unit is a 2001 film directed by Tim Blake Nelson and cleverly named O.⁶ I'm not being facetious with my use of "clever" in the previous sentence; Nelson has made the film truly cyclic in nature. Hence, the cipher is symbolic of the film's plot, the original play, and the main character from both. I'm hoping that Nelson's cyclic style in O will become a symbol for my unit—the plan is to come full circle.

O is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. Tim Blake Nelson says it himself in the director's commentary: there's no better place to retell the story of Othello than in a modern high school. As teachers we know that jealousy, love interests, hate, anger, secrets, and even violence can be everyday affairs in our high schools. Nelson brings this story to the basketball court of a private school where Odin is one of the only minorities and dating a school official's daughter. The film is rated R, but I don't see a problem with showing it, even to 9th graders. I will show it to tenth grade students with the deletion of one scene. There is one pretty racy sex scene, but it isn't necessary for the plot, therefore students don't need to see it. This scene is easy to skip using a DVD, but I am going to edit it out of a copy I have using a program on the computer. Other than the one sex scene, which doesn't show any nudity by the way, drugs and profanity are part of the story. I personally don't find the amount of drug use in this film to be offensive or inappropriate for high school students. The drugs aren't glorified and become part of Odin's destruction. The profanity isn't excessive either and I don't think it goes too far for high school students. On the other hand, to make things clear to parents, I always send a letter home about R rated films. The letter explains the nature of the film, why we plan to view it, and an alternative for students who aren't permitted to do so. I have never met with any resistance, but I want to make sure that I do the responsible thing in notifying parents when content is controversial.

I don't want O, at this point in the unit, to overwhelm students. I want them to, more or less, view the film without attachments. I don't want to bog them down with questions and projects so to divert their concentration away from the film. I'm certainly not going to have them view the film without structure, but I don't want to impose on their ability to focus. Here's where I insert some of my personal philosophy: students should never see a movie at school for the sake of enjoyment (although they may) or to fill time. Even films that seem "off-task" can lend to a learning activity. The rule of thumb, so to speak, is that desks shouldn't be empty simply because a film is playing; students should always have an assignment pertaining to the screening, even if it is very light. I once showed a film and had student take notes whenever the film's point-of-view changed. In this case, they aren't doing much, yet their attention has a focus, and they're not too busy to enjoy.

While watching O, students will have a series of questions to answer. The questions are meant to hook students into the rest of the unit. Because O is contemporary, using the backdrop of a modern high school basketball team, students should relate to some of the characters and situations. Students will answer three important tasks/questions (in paragraph form).

1. Summarize the film in chronological order. Be sure to include characters, themes, setting, conflicts, etc. (major literary elements7).
2. What are Hugo's motives; why does he manipulate the other characters?
3. Why might Odin be vulnerable to Hugo's actions?

Students are going to get time to take notes during the film and use the notes to answer these three questions in paragraph form. The answers, and this will be explained to students in detail, should be thoughtful with the inclusion of evidence from the film. The DSTP always asks students to provide "evidence" from the selection. This is practice for students in that they must be specific about how they made their inference. The italicized words in the three questions are important for student understanding and vocabulary. Questions two and three are inferring questions; students really need to think beyond the film itself. My students generally have problems with why questions. High stakes tests usually ask questions about motives, either author or character, and it's important that students get practice with this. I find it puzzling, but students have a hard time remembering and summarizing in chronological order. They can usually remember most of a plot, but the order tends to be skewed or they leave something out of the equation. The other reason for these questions in particular is that they point at some of the things we'll be dealing with as the unit progresses; we're building prior knowledge for future application.

Once students have had time to discuss⁸ the questions for O, we're going to move to a short story entitled "Hecatommithi."⁹ This story about a Venetian Moor is said to be the basis for Shakespeare's play, Othello. The story line is almost identical and is dated pre-Shakespeare. I will personally read the entire story out loud, and I do this because I find it most effective. I had the privilege to attend a reading cadre directed by Doctor Kylene Beers.¹⁰ She explains that reading aloud to students is often times more effective in teaching struggling readers how to become better readers than having them read on their own. She promotes reading aloud as a strategy that won't disturb the class when a struggling reader volunteers to read. She explains that when a good reader, the teacher, reads aloud, students get a better sense of voice, punctuation, pronunciation, vocabulary, and diction. When students read silently, in groups, and aloud to each other (not to say this is inappropriate or shouldn't ever be used) they often times struggle and become frustrated.

As students follow along with "Hecatommithi," they will create a character chart. I want them to match the characters from O to those in this short story. They will first make an outline including all of the major characters from the film; then, as we read, they can link the characters. To prove the characters are the same, students will provide evidence from the film and story. This evidence will either be character description or character action as it pertains to both genres. Students must provide evidence for each character from both selections. Upon completing the short story, students will be informed that Shakespeare adapted this story to write his play, Othello.

Before reading Othello, I want students to find themes from "Hecatommithi." Of course they'll be using O as background knowledge as well, but this is the idea. The following question will be addressed and discussed:

1. What aspect or general themes from Giraldi Cinthio's 1565 "Hecatommithi" might make an interesting stage play for Shakespeare's adaptation?

At this point, students will need a working definition for adaptation. Students will develop, in their notes, a definition for adaptation using the idea that O is an adaptation of Othello. This can happen even before they read Othello, given that they've seen O and read "Hecatommithi." Students will work this out using dictionaries and inference, but the final product (we gather together on the board) will look something like this: something, as in a story, that can be changed or altered (using interpretation) to suit another, even similar, purpose. We aren't going to say this is the only definition, but students will need a point of reference when discussing adaptation.

Before reading Othello, students will develop a third portion of their character chart. They will, as we read, add characters from the play to the chart in proper alignment with the characters from the previous two genres. I should also mention that I will teach genre as a vocabulary word, especially since this is a word used in questions on the DSTP. Students in my class always have a notebook with them; this is one of the supplies I require on a daily basis. Students are always ready to stop and take notes and when the word genre becomes part of the vocabulary, we'll need to make a note and refer to it as we move forward.

One resource, that helps with my own anxiety as well as student acceptance, is the use of Side by Sides.¹¹ Othello, Side by Sides is a text which encompasses a version of Shakespeare's language, appearing on the left page, accompanied by a modern translation on the right page. The use of this type of supplemental material is played by ear. I don't want to read the translation for the duration of the play, but I want students to be comfortable with the language before their crutch is removed.

In taking all the precautionary methods, I'm positive that Othello will be a hit with the students. This monumental work of art deserves special time in the classroom and without refutation. At this point in the unit, it's important to funnel all effort into the play. The high-order thinking questions (found in the "Objectives" section of this document) will be applied as often as possible. I will have students do summarizing activities using acts and scenes, explanation of character actions, and interpretation of the language. This will happen prior to reading a section of the play and after each section is complete. I like to plan each day or section with a pre-reading activity, during reading activity, and post-reading activity. These activities can be as simple as to share the character charts and explain or to summarize a complete section. It's difficult to predict what specific reading questions will arise when reading Shakespeare, but it's important to note that there are plenty of sources for study questions about Othello that can be found online.

The "Lesson Plan" sections herein explain a few tutorials in detail, but there's tons of excitement in using Shakespearian plays. As I mentioned before, teacher resources are infinite online, but I often invent a lesson or two on my own. For example, after reading Act III, Scene 3, students might explore irony. This is a turning point, when Othello becomes suspicious and angry, at the same time the scene ends in a beautiful garden. Students will also need to make inferences and predictions about the play's ending; this will be particularly interesting after viewing O and reading "Hecatommithi." They know these adaptations are similar, but are they the same?

The play itself, even when paired with adaptation is the most important element in the unit. It takes the most time to study and provides the most complexity for discovery.

At this point in the unit, students have viewed O, I have read "Hecatommithi" to them, and we have read Othello, in its entirety, aloud as a class. We are now going back to O, the full circle is complete. Students are going to revisit their original summaries of O. After reading Othello, I want them to make connections and begin to think about O as an adaptation—not that they haven't already. This will be a discussion about director's purpose.

1. Why use high school as a setting for an adaptation of Othello?
2. Why use a private school and Odin's character to mimic the situation with Othello; what are the similarities?
3. What's happening in American high schools around the time that this is directed? Violent crimes, racial inequity, and other relevant themes.
4. What aspects in particular can you remember as taken or adapted from Othello?

Once these questions have been answered, discussed, and explored, we will turn to the director's commentary. This is a function of most new movies on DVD, and particularly valuable in O. Tim Blake Nelson speaks over the entire film, discussing everything from symbolism to music. I want students to see if their inferences were on target, but it's also interesting for them to follow the director's commentary as many of them have never done so. Most students will find this intriguing and don't really realize that thought has been given to every aspect of a film. This, too, deserves a class discussion and can be done in two ways, either after the feature is finished or pausing to discuss intermittently.

Students are now ready to do their own researching to explore the idea of adaptation. I have access, at my school, to a computer lab and library. Students can use both resources to search for books and on the Internet to gather information. I want students to read about other adaptations, besides O, that were made using Shakespeare's Othello. I have seen approximately 59 matches for Othello adaptations. Students will develop a 4-paragraph report using the information from class and their individual research. Research must be taken from two or more sources. I'm encouraging three sources.

The following outline is an example of how I would imagine the research to unfurl. This organizational measure is intentionally brief. It's meant to be a guide and tool. I will spend time explaining these paragraphs to students as they take notes. I want the students to have creative license, yet I don't want them to be lost. This is a perfect example of differentiated instructional practice. Some students will rely on this to format their document. Others will go beyond what I provide—it will be up to me to promote each student's potential. For example, in this first paragraph (below), some students might need a push merely to write a proper chronological summary of the play; others might have the skills to add commentary and analysis to their synopsis (see "Sample Lesson: Day One, Researching for more details).

Paragraph One/Introductory Paragraph:

1. A brief synopsis/summary of Shakespeare's Othello
2. Definition of adaptation
3. Example Thesis: The themes and story line in Shakespeare's Othello are so predominantly universal that they lend to adaptations in film, including Tim Blake Nelson's O and . . . (students find a second adaptation to complete the thesis¹²).

Paragraph Two/Tim Blake Nelson's O:

1. Connect Shakespeare's Othello to O
2. Discuss this adaptation and why it works
3. Pick an act or scene from the play and connect it to a portion of the film

Paragraph Three/Researched Adaptation:

1. Find an adaptation of Othello
2. Discuss the adaptation and why it seems like a promising idea
3. What is it about the time, place, direction, characters, outside influences, etc. that make this relevant to Othello?

Paragraph Four/ Conclusion/Relate Othello to Self

1. How do the themes in Othello relate to your high school/your life? Provide examples.
2. If you made an adaptation of Othello, where might it take place and why?

Students may look in many places for adaptations of Othello. I won't guide them at first, but sometimes a push in the right direction is necessary. Students can use anything from Blockbuster to Netflix for information; one great site is http://us.imdb.com/.¹³ I want students to find, at the least, a synopsis including setting and description of some of the major elements of the adaptation. It would be nice if students could view the adaptation on which they choose to report, and this is a possibility, but isn't feasible in every case.

My personal philosophy on teaching research skills is to do it on an individual basis. I don't do much traditional teacher-led instruction in this respect. I have never found students to grasp the ideas needed to conduct research using a stand-up-and-preach method. Likewise, I think it's important to visit each student individually while they're learning to investigate and examine sources. For example, at my school we have an Academic Skills Center (computer lab) connected to the library. After we've seen Nelson's commentary on O, students will be ready to visit the lab. In the lab, I plan to do some investigating of my own. I'll be wandering around, looking at computer screens, and monitoring what students think are good sources. I might redirect a student or make a few blanket statements aloud if more than a few are going in the wrong direction. This one-on-one instruction is far more effective for learning to research. Plus, I can learn from things that students find on the Internet and use them in the future. If I find that I'm tackling the same problem over and over, I'll address the class using direct instruction before our next day in the lab. This is my way of teaching research and learning how to become a better teacher of research for the future.

Most of the strategies and lesson criteria I've unfolded have come from information provided by data. This data is taken from a student testing program in Delaware and is disclosed in the following section of this unit entitled "Objectives." I'm not sure it's valuable information for everyone. It pertains particularly to my situation and the questioning strategies I'm using with my students. This is not to say that the information provided isn't interesting and/or helpful with the other ideas provided. One might pay particular attention to this section, "Objectives," if one were interested in such applications as school policy, district curriculum guidelines, and student demographics. I do not think the content is at all necessary to be able to teach the unit or to apply its concepts to another classroom setting. Something of real value might be the "Lesson" sections immediately after "Objectives." Here I explain in detail a few lessons that I teach as the unit unfolds.