Students will begin the unit by obtaining a copy of the reading material ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare. Before reading commences, students will be questioned regarding their knowledge of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and of William Shakespeare. Questions will include: ‘what do you already know about the characters in Romeo and Juliet? What are your thoughts regarding the plot? What are your thoughts regarding the terminology used? What do you know about how society was structured during the era?’ By asking these questions, students will set the stage for the knowledge that they need to have in regards to the material so that they may build upon it to better comprehend the play. Much of the beginning of the unit will be focused on gaining an understanding of the reading material before moving onto other tasks. SAMR will be utilised during the start of this unit so that students are able to thoroughly comprehend information in a transformative way. Bloom's taxonomy will also be incorporated to ensure that the right questions are being asked of them so that they can thoroughly comprehend the story.
Each student will be given a chance to read and in between acts, students will be quizzed on what happened. Questions will include: ‘what happened? How have things changed? Do you like it? Why or why not?’ Students will be expected to start comprehending the novel and begin to differentiate between the life of the characters and their own. Students will gain a literary understanding by identifying and exploring the effects of the text that help to inform the audience (Australian Curriculum, 2013).
As this is the start of the unit, the only resource students will require is the reading material. They will also be expected to continue reading in their own time so that the lessons can move onto other things. The main focus at the beginning of the unit is for students to understand how life and society has changed from the era of William Shakespeare and make comparisons to their own life. This helps to engage the students as they try to put themselves in the shoes of these characters.
Only a few lessons will be set-aside for students to read the play. Students will be informed that they are expected to continue reading in their own time. To ensure that all students are reading, time will be taken to ask students specific questions: ‘what did X person say to X person? After X took place, what happened?’ Students will also begin watching the movies, so that they may view the emotion and personality of the characters. By viewing these, students will be able to relate to the characters on a personal level, which will assist in their application of the knowledge that they have started gaining. After the students have viewed the movies, they will be broken up into five groups, which will be able to be interchangeable to suit the cohort’s needs. Students will be informed that they are to work in their group to do some research into how society was structured in the era. Students will be given a task sheet that will include questions like: ‘what was the patriarchal order of power? What was the average age of marriage and children for men and women? What role did religion play? What role did law enforcement play? What were the standard jobs for men and women?’ In their groups, students will make input to a set blogger web space that will be titled ‘Group 1, Group 2’ and so forth. By having students work in this web space, they are utilising their skills as digital natives and can also expand on their skills of connectivism by working with their peers to find and source information from the internet and also each other.
Evaluating knowledge is very important as it allows students to critique and evaluate their own findings against the findings of other groups. Students will also gain an understanding of how this text is evaluated by the reader’s values and modes of communication (Australian Curriculum, 2013). By incorporating the blogger web spaces into the unit, it allows a sense of normalcy for the students of the 21st century.
After students have shared their ideas and findings with the other groups, some students will be changed into other groups and work as a team to create a PowerPoint presentation to show their findings and how it relates to Romeo and Juliet. Students will be free to interpret this as they please, but must make the relationship between their findings and the story and characters of Romeo and Juliet. The purpose of this activity is for students to synthesise their knowledge as per Bloom’s Taxonomy (Don Clark, 2013). When students must explain their findings and assemble it to present to other members of the class, their knowledge becomes integrated. As apart of Bloom’s Taxonomy, Don Clark states that when elements are put together to form a whole, it gives something meaning and structure (2013).
In preparation for students to start constructing a credible assignment, students will rely on the web space ICT’s to ensure that their oral presentation remains true to that of the Shakespearean era. They must modify the findings from their groups and that of others to put their speech into context. To also ensure that their comprehension is correct, they must express their presentation that includes Elizabethan language. Students will make use of the Wordle website, to combine the terminology they have learnt that will be available to all students to look at when needed and incorporate into their assignment so it remains true to Elizabethan language. As a class, the students will work with the teacher to input as many ‘new’ words they discovered into the Wordle, which will then be printed and given out to everyone.
As students begin to start their assessment piece, ample class time will be allocated to ensure all students can gain assistance and are actually completing something that is of a high standard. By allowing students class time, they are able to view the novel over, review parts of the movies they might like and have access to the web spaces and PowerPoint presentations that were completed. Students will also be given a due date for a draft revision, so that they may gain thorough feedback on their work at the time. Email will be incorporated at the end of the unit as students will be required to email the learning manager a copy of their draft which will be emailed back promptly with appropriate feedback.
The SAMR model has been the scaffold in which this unit overview and subsequent lesson plans have been designed. It was important to ensure that over the course of the unit, each lesson was better than the last in regards to authenticity and also retaining knowledge and enjoyment of lesson. By incorporating technological platforms into the unit overview, students will enjoy working a lot more as they are more comfortable using the internet and technology. As digital natives, it is important to utilise the students natural tendency to use
technology competently to produce quality work.
Unit Overview
Students will begin the unit by obtaining a copy of the reading material ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare. Before reading commences, students will be questioned regarding their knowledge of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and of William Shakespeare. Questions will include: ‘what do you already know about the characters in Romeo and Juliet? What are your thoughts regarding the plot? What are your thoughts regarding the terminology used? What do you know about how society was structured during the era?’ By asking these questions, students will set the stage for the knowledge that they need to have in regards to the material so that they may build upon it to better comprehend the play. Much of the beginning of the unit will be focused on gaining an understanding of the reading material before moving onto other tasks. SAMR will be utilised during the start of this unit so that students are able to thoroughly comprehend information in a transformative way. Bloom's taxonomy will also be incorporated to ensure that the right questions are being asked of them so that they can thoroughly comprehend the story.
Each student will be given a chance to read and in between acts, students will be quizzed on what happened. Questions will include: ‘what happened? How have things changed? Do you like it? Why or why not?’ Students will be expected to start comprehending the novel and begin to differentiate between the life of the characters and their own. Students will gain a literary understanding by identifying and exploring the effects of the text that help to inform the audience (Australian Curriculum, 2013).
As this is the start of the unit, the only resource students will require is the reading material. They will also be expected to continue reading in their own time so that the lessons can move onto other things. The main focus at the beginning of the unit is for students to understand how life and society has changed from the era of William Shakespeare and make comparisons to their own life. This helps to engage the students as they try to put themselves in the shoes of these characters.
Only a few lessons will be set-aside for students to read the play. Students will be informed that they are expected to continue reading in their own time. To ensure that all students are reading, time will be taken to ask students specific questions: ‘what did X person say to X person? After X took place, what happened?’ Students will also begin watching the movies, so that they may view the emotion and personality of the characters. By viewing these, students will be able to relate to the characters on a personal level, which will assist in their application of the knowledge that they have started gaining. After the students have viewed the movies, they will be broken up into five groups, which will be able to be interchangeable to suit the cohort’s needs. Students will be informed that they are to work in their group to do some research into how society was structured in the era. Students will be given a task sheet that will include questions like: ‘what was the patriarchal order of power? What was the average age of marriage and children for men and women? What role did religion play? What role did law enforcement play? What were the standard jobs for men and women?’ In their groups, students will make input to a set blogger web space that will be titled ‘Group 1, Group 2’ and so forth. By having students work in this web space, they are utilising their skills as digital natives and can also expand on their skills of connectivism by working with their peers to find and source information from the internet and also each other.
Evaluating knowledge is very important as it allows students to critique and evaluate their own findings against the findings of other groups. Students will also gain an understanding of how this text is evaluated by the reader’s values and modes of communication (Australian Curriculum, 2013). By incorporating the blogger web spaces into the unit, it allows a sense of normalcy for the students of the 21st century.
After students have shared their ideas and findings with the other groups, some students will be changed into other groups and work as a team to create a PowerPoint presentation to show their findings and how it relates to Romeo and Juliet. Students will be free to interpret this as they please, but must make the relationship between their findings and the story and characters of Romeo and Juliet. The purpose of this activity is for students to synthesise their knowledge as per Bloom’s Taxonomy (Don Clark, 2013). When students must explain their findings and assemble it to present to other members of the class, their knowledge becomes integrated. As apart of Bloom’s Taxonomy, Don Clark states that when elements are put together to form a whole, it gives something meaning and structure (2013).
In preparation for students to start constructing a credible assignment, students will rely on the web space ICT’s to ensure that their oral presentation remains true to that of the Shakespearean era. They must modify the findings from their groups and that of others to put their speech into context. To also ensure that their comprehension is correct, they must express their presentation that includes Elizabethan language. Students will make use of the Wordle website, to combine the terminology they have learnt that will be available to all students to look at when needed and incorporate into their assignment so it remains true to Elizabethan language. As a class, the students will work with the teacher to input as many ‘new’ words they discovered into the Wordle, which will then be printed and given out to everyone.
As students begin to start their assessment piece, ample class time will be allocated to ensure all students can gain assistance and are actually completing something that is of a high standard. By allowing students class time, they are able to view the novel over, review parts of the movies they might like and have access to the web spaces and PowerPoint presentations that were completed. Students will also be given a due date for a draft revision, so that they may gain thorough feedback on their work at the time. Email will be incorporated at the end of the unit as students will be required to email the learning manager a copy of their draft which will be emailed back promptly with appropriate feedback.
The SAMR model has been the scaffold in which this unit overview and subsequent lesson plans have been designed. It was important to ensure that over the course of the unit, each lesson was better than the last in regards to authenticity and also retaining knowledge and enjoyment of lesson. By incorporating technological platforms into the unit overview, students will enjoy working a lot more as they are more comfortable using the internet and technology. As digital natives, it is important to utilise the students natural tendency to use
technology competently to produce quality work.