To become immersed in the culture and lifestyle of Elizabethan era and to get a real sense of the rights and general expectations of women during this time period. It is important for our students to realize that women during this era were not only expected to succumb to the demands of a male driven society, but were often illiterate, since their education was not viewed as important. Therefore, the students will be aware that when interviewing one of five of Shakespeare’s female characters, that these women haven’t ever been able to voice their opinion, or discuss their feelings to a captive audience. Students will also get a better understanding of these women’s home lives as well as their role as mother, wife or daughter. A detailed insight into the issues of this time period will allow our students to feel more connected to Shakespeare’s plays and female characters as well as the constricting lifestyle women dealt with during the early 17th century. Summary Individual assignment - Students will select one central female character from one of Shakespeare’s four tragedies or romances that we’ve studied this semester. Each student will assume this character’s persona during an interview that will be conducted by a fellow classmate. Then each student will also create their own list of interview questions and will conduct their own interview in order to explore another character’s feelings and opinions about a variety of time period issues. These interviews will be posted in the magazine’s “Close Up” section. Group assignment - Students will be placed into one of four groups and will be responsible for researching one of the Elizabethan era topics listed below, and writing a column about their findings. Choice of topics for group column: The role and expectations of wife, daughter and mother Education (male vs. female) Women’s fashions, hobbies and pastimes The rules of courtship and marriage Objectives This project will meet certain aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy including comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Week 1 Shakespeare project assigned Question and answer session on Shakespeare project Choose your character and draft a list of interview questions for other characters Find the other members of your group and choose your column topic Character selection finalized. Turn in your interview questions for at least one of your characters to be interviewed Week 2 Remainer of interview questions due. Group project meeting time to divide up research tasks Begin in-class interviews. Costume wearing encouraged! In-class interviews continued. Complete two characters this week. Visit library to learn research strategies for your group topic Teacher meets with individual groups to discuss progress and focus Week 3 Typed copies of completed interviews due Group project meeting time. In-class interviews In-class interviews DAY!! Group project meetings Computer lab to type rough draft of topic column Week 4 1st draft of group project due All final typed copies of interviews due! Open day 1st of group column handed back Final interviews graded and handed back Week 5 Final draft of group column due Magazine editing and layout Magazine editing and layout Group presentations Magazine goes to printer!!
STUDENT RUBRIC Good 5 Great 10 Excellent 20 Comments Interviewer questions asked to meet minimal requirements Insightful questions to uncover the character’s personality Insightful questions asked to uncover the character’s personality, true feelings, opinions and motives Interviewee Straightforward answers given by interviewee. Lacks creativity or insight into the character’s personality or motive. The character’s personality is revealed with thoughtful answers by the interviewee. A strong picture of the character’s personality, voice, motive and opinions are apparent after reading interview. Group Project Minimal contribution to group with no extra effort apparent. Hard work apparent but the topic column lacks cohesion and focus. Minimal facts cited. Hard work apparent due to cited from research. Column is well written with a cohesive, clear style. met Average effort. Not all deadlines met. Hard work and creativity apparent and deadlines met Hard work, creativity and excellent participation Grammar/ Usage/ Spelling Contains 10 or more errors Contains 5-9 errors Contains less than five errors Credit Group Presentation of Column Group didn’t entice audience to read article. Presentation lacked enthusiasm and/or creativity Group displayed focused effort. Created interest in article. Group displayed focused effort, excellent research and creativity. Created immediate interest in reading article. TOTALS A List of Nothing in Particular “Quiet Moments with Furry Friends”