Sample Learning Activities
Opening Activity: “Choose a Casket, Chose a Fate”
In The Merchant of Venice, Portia’s suitors must pick the correct casket of three to win her hand in marriage. In each casket made of three different metals there are inscriptions to give the suitor hints. As an opening activity to hook students and begin to introduce them to the themes of the text, we will recreate this scene but modify the inscriptions and incentivize them to choose wisely. At the center of the classroom students will find three boxes spray painted gold, silver, and dark gray, respectively, to symbolize the three metals used in the play. Little context will be given. Students will simply be instructed to read each inscription and make a critically thought-out selection using their best decision making skills. They will make their selections one at a time and given a color coded token to match with their casket choice.
Once all students have made their selections, they will be instructed to organize themselves in three groups according to their selection, where all those who selected gold for example will gather together. In their respective groups, they will discuss and compare their reasoning and rationale with others who chose in the same manner and be tasked with choosing a representative who can effectively defend their casket choice against the other two options. Next, the selected representatives will present their best case in defense of their choice in the style of a legal argument. Lastly, the representatives will open the caskets to reveal a prize and explanation, or, if it proves to be the wrong casket, an artifact, such as a skull, also with an explanation. Though the prize will be altered and the inscriptions modernized, the spirit of the casket scenes will still ring true, with the prize in the lead box. The purpose of this activity is to begin to lay the groundwork of the unit, which emphasizes a critical analysis of one’s decision-making, the influence of superficial perception and creating a sound argument. Having students defend their choice to the other representatives to mirror a courtroom scene will look forward to the courtroom scene in the fourth Act. When we actually read the casket scenes in the play, students will be able to reflect on their choice and how it aligns or differs with the choice of Portia’s suitors. Also, additional comparisons of their casket choice rationale and Portia’s reasoning in the courtroom can allow for further critical reflection.
Stereotypes and Prejudice Activity: “What’s in a Name?”
With identity, stereotypes, and prejudice all central to text and to the unit, this activity synthesizes the aforementioned themes and creates a simple, but highly effective, platform for rich classroom discussion. First, when students walk in to class, they will be given a blank nametag. They will be instructed to write a label/stereotype they have been called in the past and write it on the label in place of their given name. If they are uncomfortable doing so or cannot think of a label they’ve been called, they will be instructed to write a label or stereotype they’ve overheard being used for someone else. Allowing those who wish it to avoid self-reference provides different levels of vulnerability while still assuring full engagement and participation. To model, the instructor should write a label and wear it as well. Once all students have written a ‘name’, the instructor will need to collect them, shuffle them, and redistribute them so no student has a label he or she wrote. Students will then have to wear the label they’ve been given for the duration of class and be addressed only as the label on their nametag. The class will not discuss the purpose of the labels until the end of the period, at which time there will be a critically reflective class discussion on the experience of wearing the labels and being addressed as whatever was written on them. A discussion concerning the power and implication a stereotype holds when it becomes the only identifying quality chosen will be moderated by the instructor. Students should be able to express how uncomfortable the activity made them, and how it made them look at their peers differently. This activity will be carried out on the day the class does a close study of name-calling and prejudice in The Merchant of Venice with special attention paid to the use of ‘the Jew’ as a method of identifying Shylock.
Modern Day Usury Activity: “Take an interest in interest”
Usury is a foundational element in The Merchant of Venice, but it is not a concept students will immediately understand as it is not a widely used term, so to make the impact of interest relevant and useful to today’s student, a cross-curricular mini project concerning credit cards, check cashing, and student loans will be done. Students will be charged with the investigative task of collecting a credit card offer, the rules/guidelines for a stand-alone check cashing establishment, and the requirements for a private student loan through a bank as well as the regulations for borrowing a subsidized and unsubsidized loan from the federal government. Once all information is collected, students will be tasked with calculating the interest and fees for each respective money lending entity. Next, all students must compile a written risk assessment summary in narrative format, outlining the financial consequence of each. Lastly, each student will be required to embody a financial advisor and create a five minute oral presentation discussing their findings and providing a recommendation on an individual financial situation they will be presented. By taking on the role of advisor, students should feel more confident with asserting their opinion of the characters’ decisions to borrow or lend money in The Merchant of Venice.
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