Activities and Lesson Plans
From the beginning of the school year, students will be actively laying a foundation for the implementation of this unit. In this section I will present one preliminary activity along with lesson plans specific to the study of Rome. Activities are designed to be easily modified to accommodate a wide range of learners. Our social studies classes are seventy-five minutes long; lessons can be modified for shorter time slots. I have structured the majority of students' activities in pairs or groups. This allows more support for children who are struggling and gives solid students an opportunity to act as peer tutors.
Preliminary Activity: Setting the Stage
The students will be introduced to our yearlong theme of leadership on the first day of social studies class. In this way, they will be oriented from the beginning to the overarching idea that will permeate our inquiry.
Anticipatory Set: As students enter the classroom, they see two questions on the whiteboard: What is leadership? What are the qualities of a good leader? They do a quick five-minute journaling (called in some circles a "Do Now") to generate ideas as well as questions. Students share their ideas with the others at their table.
Direct Instruction: The students then gather in a circle. The teacher gives them specific direction in the use of Socratic seminar. Students learn basic concepts, roles, and responsibilities involved in using this method. Emphasis is put on the idea that often there will be no right or wrong answer; perhaps even more questions will generated. The teacher models the techniques with several students and then asks for any questions.
Activity: Students decide on "The Rules of the Road", a few simple agreements to maintain active listening and courteous behavior. The class then addresses the two questions on leadership. Students offer ideas, which the class discusses. The teacher or a student volunteer records responses on chart paper. If the conversations stall, the teacher acts as a facilitator and asks a question or two to get the ideas flowing again. When the students have finished, the charts are posted on the wall. During the remainder of the year, students add to them as they acquire new information, insights, or ideas.
In subsequent seminars, students will discuss the additional questions as we refine our concept of leadership.
Background Activities: Lessons on Rome
Before examining Shakespeare's depiction of Rome, students gain knowledge of the founding of Rome, the Roman Republic, and the rise of the Roman Empire. Studying the beginnings of Rome familiarizes them with Tarquin and Junius Brutus, who figure in Marcus Brutus' decision to join the conspirators in assassinating Julius Caesar (Brutus, Julius Caesar, Act Two, Scene One). As the students learn about the Roman Republic, they are able to comprehend the social, economic, and political background necessary to understand the world of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. The major public figures in the real-life historical drama become familiar to them, including those who are also characters in the play. The students look at the fall of the Republic with Rome's descent into civil war, and the rise of Octavian (Augustus Caesar), who ushered in the Pax Romana by establishing political and economic stability. This gives them a context for the end of Antony and Cleopatra, a glimpse of what follows.
Sample History Lessons
Anticipatory Set: As an introduction, students read the legend of Romulus and Remus and discuss it in a Socratic seminar circle. They relate this myth to others they have studied.
Direct Instruction: This is a three-day lesson. Day One: Using film clips from Rome: Power and Glory and the CD from Eyewitness Books' Ancient Rome, the teacher gives a summary of the history of Rome. Creating a quick timeline on the whiteboard, s/he shows the rise and fall as an overview. Students are reminded of the founding myth and trace Rome's beginnings up to Junius Brutus driving Tarquin from Rome. Day Two: Begin the class with an outline of the structure of Rome's government during the Republic. Students relate what they learn to what was studied earlier about types of government. Day Three: The teacher directs investigation of Julius Caesar and the civil war following his death. Students read of the ascent of Octavian and his subsequent crowning as Augustus Caesar.
Activity: Day One: Students work together to create a timeline. Groups of four take a section and carefully write and illustrate the pertinent information. All groups then combine their sections into one large timeline hung in the hall. Days Two and Three: In pairs or small groups, students begin to research a pivotal person for this era and write a one page summary of his/her life. Part of the research and writing are assigned as homework on Day Two so that the focus on the third day is on assembling the information together. Students then draw their person on a 9" x 12" piece of tagboard, making sure the person is dressed appropriately and colorfully. The figures are cut out and attached, with the research summary, to the timeline. The class then does a "gallery walk"
Lesson One: The "Players" Meet the Play
After the students have a firm grasp of the history of Rome, Shakespeare will enter the stage.
Anticipatory Set: The teacher writes six names on the board: Julius Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marcus Antonius, Octavius, Cleopatra. Students work in small groups to find the connections between these characters, using their knowledge of Roman and Egyptian history. The teacher asks each group to predict what the class will do with these people, reminding them about our yearlong leadership theme.
Direct Instruction: After hearing from each group, the teacher introduces the plays by showing the students different versions of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. The teacher asks the students the difference between the plays and the nonfiction texts they have used in learning about Rome. As they respond, the teacher writes their replies on the board. This list will be a springboard to discuss the difference in structure and format between a play script and an informational text. As this conversation occurs, the teacher uses the overhead (or similar device) to project two side-by-side texts: the first is an excerpt from a nonfiction page about Julius Caesar and the other a scene from the play in which he is present.
Activity: In pairs, students complete a Venn diagram (a graphic organizer consisting of two overlapping circles) to specify the properties of each form and sort them into their similarities and differences. This 15-minute exercise compels the students to closely analyze both of the texts. When a pair finishes, the two students come up and input their findings on a large Venn diagram on the board. If they are adding new information, they can write it in the appropriate spot. If someone else has already input the same observation, they put a check next to the other pair's information to show that they had that thought, too. When the giant diagram is complete, students review their findings.
Lesson Two: Why Shakespeare?
To put the plays in perspective, we will spend a day looking at Shakespeare's life and place in the Elizabethan Renaissance period.
Anticipatory Set: Students work in small groups to activate their prior knowledge and generate questions about William Shakespeare and the age in which he lived. One student is chosen to be the recorder and another the reporter. After "buzzing" for five minutes, the reporter from each group shares the team's knowledge as the teacher takes notes on a large K-W-L chart. The chart remains so the class can fill in what was learned as they proceed.
Direct Instruction: Using a premade world history timeline, the teacher puts one star on the era of the Roman Republic and another on the Elizabethan age, the time of Shakespeare. This visual representation helps students understand the historical time difference and brings up the question of why Shakespeare wanted to write about Julius Caesar. The class is then divided into four groups, ordered in size from very small (about 2-3 students), somewhat larger (4-5), larger still (6-8), and very large (8-9). Excerpts from the book Starting with Shakespeare are presented to each group. Each extract has an increasing amount of information which piggybacks onto the previous piece.
Activity: Group One, the smallest set, reads "The Bard's Bare-Bones Bio". "The Bard's Better Bio", which adds additional information, goes to Group Two. The second largest team tackles "The Bard's Best Bio", while "The Bard's Beefy Bio - Second Helpings!" is the province of the largest troupe. Students in each group work together to summarize the biographical information assigned to them and decide the best way to present their knowledge to the class. Presentations start from smallest group to largest; each member of the team is required to convey a portion of what has been learned. After sharing, the teacher returns to the K-W-L chart to record new data that the students have learned (L). The lesson ends with a brief YouTube kid-produced video called "Uncovering the Ages", a slideshow presented and narrated by three middle school students. It shows the interior of the Globe Theater and gives pertinent facts about Shakespeare and Elizabethan theater.
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