Students complete a warm-up (Warm-Up), where they have to write at least a 10-bullet chronological summary of what they know about Macbeth from Act I, Scene i through Act III, Scene iv.  I find that most students have their books open and are revisiting the text, No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth (SparkNotes, 2003) for clarification!  This activity takes longer than I want it to, but I realize I need to give students time to think and write.  During the activity, two students remind me that we have not read Act III, Scene iv. 

Students confer with a partner to share their summaries (Student Work: Warm-Up).  They revisit the text for clarification as needed. 

We debrief as a class, and I explain to students that since they did some pre-reading on Act III, Scene iv, we will read it together today accompanied by the audio (Arkangel, 2005) of the play. 

We take time to review characters and action up to this point in the play, focusing on Macbeth's transformation from a valiant warrior to a corrupt king.  Before moving on, I ask students how proficient they feel about their knowledge of Macbeth so far, referring to my Learning Scale (Learning Scale: Use for Lesson Check).  Students indicate that they are at a 4-proficient or 5-highly proficient. 

Since we are short on time, I ask students to write down their opinions about Act III, Scene iv through Act IV, Scene i on a paper towel in three minutes so that I get their purest response to the text; I call it a Paper Towel Reader Response. 

We post the responses on the bulletin board at the back of the classroom, do a Gallery Walk, and then discuss trends among the responses.  Students point out that Macbeth has transformed from a valiant warrior to an evil tyrant; how Macbeth is willing to give up everything for power; and how disaster awaits Macbeth

We view Act IV, Sc i of Macbeth (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2010); I ask students to list differences between the text and the clip (Student Work: Text v. Clip).  Students debrief with a partner; then we discuss differences as a class.  Student cite that in the clip, the witches do not use a cauldron, involve Macbeth in seeing the last apparition, and embrace him before he asks if Banquo's descendants will be kings.