By: Justin Savoy

Intro to Shakespeare & Coding

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This lesson will focus on introducing students in grade 10 English classes to the world of Shakespeare, focusing on familiarizing (or refreshing) students with the sociopolitical conditions of late 16th and early 17th century England during the life of William Shakespeare. This lesson is meant to be the first lesson in the grade 12 Shakespeare unit and will focus on Shakespeare’s journey as a playwright, the brutal living conditions in Europe at the time, the black plague, as well as give insights into several of Shakespeare’s more famous works to give teachers flexibility depending on which Shakespearean text they will study over the term (varies greatly from school-to-school). The lesson will conclude with students using Scratch to take an “Intro to Shakespeare” quiz where they will answer questions that would have been discussed during the lesson. After reading each Act of the selected Shakespearean text over the course of the term, students will be asked to remix and tinker with this code to ask questions important to the given Act they finished reading as a way to demonstrate their learning and as an opportunity for formative assessment.

Introduction:

The hook or ‘Minds-On’ activity for this lesson will be to pose questions to the class such as “Who was Shakespeare?”, “Which of Shakespeare’s works have you read so far?”, and “What was happening in England during the life of Shakespeare?”. The main idea for this hook activity is to facilitate class discussion and begin to consider the life and times of Shakespeare as an individual rather than only focusing on his works. This Minds-On discussion serves to set the stage for a lesson on the life and times of Shakespeare in Tudor & Stuart England.

Working Progress:

The main/lecture portion of the lesson will focus on Shakespeare’s life in 16th/17th century England and his path to becoming a famous playwright. It will cover Shakespeare’s upbringing in Stratford-Upon-Avon, join Lord Chamberlain’s Men as playwright, the opening of the Globe Theatre in 1599, King James I taking the throne in 1603 and it’s implications on Macbeth, as well as the plague sweeping through England in the 1590s and inspiring Shakespeare’s writing such as the case with Romeo and Juliette.

Consolidation:

After the lesson is taught introducing the class to the greater world of Shakespeare, they will be asked to log into Scratch and take an “Intro to Shakespeare” Quiz as a consolidation of the lesson. Students will then be given time to explore Scratch (as will be done throughout the term) and tinker with the code for the quiz to ask questions about any play of Shakespeare’s that they are familiar with. Engaging in the tinkering early will help familiarize students with Scratch and will be crucial in their upcoming work where they will create a short quiz for each Act of the play they read during the term to demonstrate their learning and understanding of the content from said Act.

Resource Information:

Tags: Shakespeare, Shakespeare Code, Coding, Scratch

Grade(s): Grade 10

Main Subject: English

Other Integrated Subjects:

Computer Science (Coding)

History (focus on the life and times of Shakespeare)

Learning to Code: Yes

Coding to Learn: Yes

URL Link to Code: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1141196334