Explaining Character in Shakespeare

Strategies

Incorporating literacy skills into each lesson is crucial to the success of my students. For a College Prep 12^th grade English class, the inclusion model is followed and many students are below grade level. The use of these strategies in the students' reading of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is essential if they are to understand what is happening in the play, especially during Kate’s final speech, and to decide upon the genuine identity of each character.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary activities help to highlight the most important words for text comprehension, especially important when reading Shakespearean language. These activities help to change students' understanding of the meanings through direct instruction and context.

The following words will be used in the lesson:

Ergo (adv) consequently; therefore

Commendable (adj) worthy of high praise

Paltry (adj) contemptibly small in amount; utterly worthless

Bereft (adj) – sorrowful through loss or deprivation

Knavery (n) lack of honesty; acts of lying or cheating or stealing

Sovereign (n) a nation’s ruler or head of state, usually by hereditary right

Jarring (adj) to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on ones nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc.

Contend (v) to compete for something; engage in a contest

Famished (adj) hungry or without food 

Preposterous (adj) incongruous; inviting ridicule

Chaste (adj) abstaining from unlawful sexual intercourse

Cunning (adj) deceptive, sly

Gait (n) a particular way of walking

Sullen (adj) gloomy, sulking

Clamorous (adj) conspicuously and offensively loud

Shrewd: (adj) archaic: hardheaded, stubborn; tough; contemporary: clever, insightful, smart

Ingrate: (n) a person who shows no gratitude

Witlesss: (adj) lacking sense or understanding

Beguile: (v) to trick or deceive

Irksome: (adj) annoying, irritating 1

Amiss: (adv) - in a mistaken way

Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers help students organize their thoughts, understand vocabulary, enhance character analysis and gain further clarification of quotes, especially in regards to Shakespeare. Graphic Organizers will be especially helpful for students when analyzing and interpreting Kate’s speech, along with the disguises worn by the characters.

Text to Self and Text to World Connections

Keeping the essential idea of not being a phony in mind, every lesson taught in this unit asks students to compare some elements of the characters or plot of The Taming of the Shrew to their own lives. Thus students are excited to participate and share out because the discussion involves their own lives and experiences. Through this connection, they are not only having a closer and more personal contact with the play, but also understanding how two ideas—Shakespeare’s and their own—can come together. This classroom experience creates a learning environment in which students are engaged and learning takes place.

Class Read

It was once written that, “how students read is just as important as what they read.” As I teach 12^th grade, upon graduation students will be attending college. In college, a professor often requires reading to be completed prior to class. However, he or she will refer back to the text during class. Reading aloud has a twofold purpose. First, it allows students who did not do the reading to hear the text. Second, it allows for students who did do the reading to hear the text, which when read can be difficult. This will help with clarification and further understanding.

Journaling

Editor, author and coach Jordan Rosenfield listed 10 reasons why writing is good for you. They are as follows:

1. Creativity has been proven to have positive effects on health, self-esteem and vitality
2. Writing is good for your brain, creates a state similar to meditation
3. Writing hones your powers of observation, giving you a fuller experience of life
4. Writing hones your powers of concentration and attention, which is more fractured than ever thanks to technology and TV
5. Writing connects you with others through blogging, writing groups, live readings, and self-publishing outlets like Scribd and Smashwords.
6. Through writing we preserve stories and memories that may otherwise be lost
7. Writing entertains you and others, and having fun is an important part of good health
8. Writing strengthens your imagination, and imagination is key to feeling hope and joy
9. Writing helps heal and process wounds and grief, clearing them out
10. Life is too short not to do what you enjoy

Although not formal writing, journaling is a form of accepted classroom writing. Journaling is a wonderful way to have students reflect on a characters and disguises, and to pose questions. In my class, journaling may be a part of the Do NOW and although no specific length is required, the time for writing must be used efficiently and effectively. Students write in a carefree manner. Often times I play music while they write to help inspire the writing process. Journal topics vary from very broad to specific.

Film

Many students are visual learners. Students will watch Franco Zeffirelli’s The Taming of the Shrew. They will watch Kate (portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor) delivering her speech and decide whether or not it is sincere. Additionally, they can be asked whether seeing the speech acted out helps them make their decision.