Learning Together
Romeo and Juliet 8th Grade Unit
This unit took place over five weeks. The class read the first two acts of Romeo and Juliet. I focused our learning on theme and tone through analyzing characters, plot, and lines in the play. Students had a few assessments throughout the unit that used both writing and discussions to check for understanding. Students really enjoyed the class discussions and active literacy activities I incorporated into the unit. By the end of my time, these 8th graders showed a good grasp of our learning objectives while enjoying the play!
Goals & Purposes
a. To analyze lines of dialogue in a story and understand how they create tone, characters, and move the plot forward.
b. To determine a central idea or theme from the play and illustrate understanding of development and relation to characters, setting and plot.
c. To provide multiple opportunities to develop collaborative discussion skills.
d. To write a narrative using events from the play and illustrate comprehension of plot using well-structured writing.
Objectives & Learning Targets
a. Students will comprehend and determine theme and central ideas in Romeo and Juliet by looking at characters and their lines.
b. Students will be able to analyze characters and lines to construct the tone of the play.
c. Students will use these skills to write a narrative from the point of view of one character responding and reflecting on the events that took place at the masquerade.
d. Students will apply their analysis and comprehension of themes and central ideas to explain how characters and lines help to move the plot forward.
e. Students will use textual evidence to support their analysis and any conclusions made about the play.
CA Common Core Standards
RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of that the text says explicitly as well as any inferences drawn from the text.
RL8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide and objective summary of the text.
RL8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Literature Included
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
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Audiobook from Blackstone Publishing
No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Writing Included
a. Daily warm-ups
b. Dearest Diary narrative assignment
c. Meme It! assignment
d. Playlist activity description sentences
e. Vocabulary tests and sentences for homework
Oral Language Activities & Assignments
a. Think-pair-share
b. Classroom discussion
c. Story Whoosh Active Literacy Activity
d. Silver Bullet Active Literacy Activity
e. Small group discussions daily
f. Playlist Activity Presentation
Practices & materials that affirm & validate students’ cultural & linguistic backgrounds
a. Playlist Activity allowed students to analyze the songs they listen to and see how the themes in the play are applied to other aspects of life. This stretched students to explore their own life experiences and culture and apply it to their learning.
b. Meme assessment provided students with the opportunity to explore popular memes and images and relate them back to the play’s lines. Many students used shows and other pop culture references in their line analysis. This made students must stretch their understanding of lines in Shakespearean English and relate it to images they see daily.
c. Our discussion after each scene makes students stretch their understanding of the play and love stories. Many students had to stretch beyond their basic understanding of plays and love stories to understand why the play, Romeo and Juliet, is considered a tragedy and a love story.
Technology Integration
a. Google Slides for warm-ups, daily agendas, and weekly calendars.
b. Google docs and Google Slides for assignments. Slide shows and assignments are posted to Schoology for students to access.
c. A DVD player to watch Romeo and Juliet on my computer. We use subtitles for the movie.
d. Kahoot!
e. PearDeck
f. Globe360 Virtual Reality Tour
g. Spotify, Apple Music, Hoopla, and other audio streaming services
Student Achievement Targets and Assessment Tools
a. Targets:
Students can identify themes in the play and point to specific lines that support their identified theme.
Students will be able to understand how characters and ideas interact over the course of the text.
Students will demonstrate how a quote helps readers understand the character speaking or moves the plot forward.
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b. Assessment tools:
Thumbs up, thumbs down
Think-pair-share & group discussions
Meme Assessment
Journal Assessment
Playlist Activity
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