William Shakespeare’sWilliam Shakespeare’sMuch Ado About Much Ado About

NothingNothing

Picture taken from: Folger Shakespeare Libraryhttp://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB-3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE

A Cyberlesson created by Leah Smith

MaterialsMaterials

You will need the following materials to complete this Cyberlesson

1. Computer

2. Your Reader Response Journal

3. A writing utensil

4. A copy of Much Ado About Nothing

5. Access to both the internet and a printer

6. Your imagination!

Are you ready to test your knowledge about Shakespeare and one

of his best comedies, Much Ado About Nothing?

IntroductionIntroduction

• Last year, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. This year, we will be reading another of his comedies, Much Ado About Nothing.

• Before we read and act out the play, we will refresh our minds with a little Shakespeare Trivia.

Click on the door to the right to unlock the magical world of Shakespeare!

Before Reading:Before Reading:Shakespeare’s VerseShakespeare’s Verse

XVIII (Sonnet 18)Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd,And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Shakespeare is known for his strange rhymes. If you remember from last year, Shakespeare often reversed the words and/or pronounced words differently just to complete a rhyme pattern! Look at the following sonnet below, one of his most famous. In your Reader Response Journals, do the following:

1. Record the rhyme pattern

2. What do you think Shakespeare is talking about? Write YOUR interpretation of the sonnet below.

Before Reading:Before Reading:Shakespeare’s Verse 2Shakespeare’s Verse 2

• Did you know that Shakespeare even wrote his own epitaph in rhyming verse? Back in Shakespeare’s days, cemeteries were full, so many people dug up existing graves to bury their loved ones (they even went so far as to burn the bodies to hide the evidence). Shakespeare was terrified that this would happen to him when he died. Therefore, he took advantage of the fact that the English were very superstitious and religious. He wrote a “curse” on his tombstone.

• Read his epitaph below.

Good friend for Jesus' sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here

Blest be the man that spares these stones

And cursed be he that moves my bones

1564-1616

William Shakespear

e

• What is the rhyme pattern for this epitaph?• What are your reactions to his epitaph? • Record your responses in your journals.

Readers’ ResponseReaders’ Response

Create Your Own Epitaph!Create Your Own Epitaph!

Now, create your own epitaph! Using Microsoft Word, design your tombstone and write your epitaph. It doesn’t have to be serious, but it must rhyme. Click here to link to an on-line rhyming dictionary. Click on the keyboard to link to Microsoft Word.

Before Reading:Before Reading:Shakespearean InsultsShakespearean Insults

• One of the reasons that Shakespeare’s comedies were so funny to the audience is because of the insults that the characters made to one another!

• Though the insults sound a lot different than insults that you may be used to, many of them have the same meaning!

• In Much Ado About Nothing, you will meet two characters, named Beatrice and Benedick. ALL THEY DO is argue and insult one another. When you read the play, we will be analyzing the language to determine what the characters are actually saying. For example, what are the characters below saying to one another? These are real Shakespearean insults. Take a guess in your Reader Response Journal.

You show yourself

highly fed and lowly

taught!

Thine face is not worth sunbathing!

Your turn! When does a teacher ALLOW you to insult someone in the class? Click here to explore some of Shakespeare’s many insults. After you create some, choose five of the meanest insults and copy them into your Reader Response Journal. You will later be allowed to insult someone in the class!

Before Reading:Before Reading:Anticipation GuideAnticipation Guide

Print out the following slide. Mark each statement as trueor false. Discuss the statements with your group.

1. Men and women should marry persons of a similar social and economic status as themselves.

2. People choose with whom they will fall in love.3. It is better not to marry than to marry and risk being cheated on by your

spouse.4. Most people can be trusted to be faithful in marriage.5. Men are attracted to women who are assertive and bold.6. Jealousy in a romantic relationship is usually a sign the relationship has

problems.7. Because parents usually know what is best for their children when it comes

to choosing a mate, children should go along with their parents' wishes in this regard.

Anticipation Guide taken from: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html

While Reading:While Reading:Anticipation GuideAnticipation Guide

• We will be acting out the entire play of Much Ado About Nothing. After each scene, the class will vote for the best actor and best actress, who will receive chance coupons!

• As we read the play, please have your Anticipation Guide with you at all times. When we come to one of the statements listed in the Anticipation Guide, you will be asked to compare and contrast your answers with what really happens in the play.

• We will resume this cyberlesson when we have finished the play.• Happy acting!

Click on the theater to advance to the “After Reading” activities.

After Reading:After Reading:Do You Know Your Stuff?Do You Know Your Stuff?

• Before you begin the following activities, let’s make sure you understand the play. Below are the links to two interactive quizzes about Much Ado About Nothing. After you take each quiz, print out the results page so you have the answers, and record your scores in your Reader Response Journal.

QUIZ 1QUIZ 2

After Reading:After Reading:Rate the CharactersRate the Characters

• While reading the play, you were exposed to many characters who changed along the way. For example, though you initially believed that Claudio was a romantic man, we soon learned that he is NOT who we thought he was. He gives up too easily, he is quick to judge, and he is even uncaring sometimes.

• Below is a MORALITY METER. Rate the following characters from the play. Who is the most moral of the group? Who is the most immoral? Click on the meter (ruler) below to rate the characters! You will be sharing this with the class.

Moral

Immoral

After Reading:After Reading:Changing FacesChanging Faces

• While reading the book, we saw the characters changing as the story progressed. For example, Claudio continued to change—though we all thought he was a great character in the beginning, we soon saw that he gave up too easily and did a bad job of proving his love for Hero.

• Based on what you now know about the characters, answer the following questions in your Reader Response Journals.

1. What character changed the most and why?2. What character changed the least and why?3. What character changed for the better and why?4. What character changed for the worst and why?5. Which character are you most like and why?

To help you make your decisions, you may use the text and/or SparkNotes.com.

After Reading:After Reading:Pick a Punishment!Pick a Punishment!

• At the end of the play, we know that Don John is guilty, but his punishment was never decided! Benedick said, “Think not on him till tomorrow, I’ll devise thee brave punishments for him.”

• During the Elizabethan Era, the punishments often involved torture, misery, and even painful death!

• Your task:

1. What do YOU think Don John is guilty of? Slander? Deception? Treason? Research the following websites.

2. Based on the information you read, devise an appropriate punishment for Don John. Make sure it fits the crime. For example, if you feel that Don John is only guilty of lying, he would probably not be beheaded and displayed on the London Bridge.

3. In your Reader Response Journals, write Don John’s crime and the punishment you created. Also, print out the information you found on the website to prove your point (and use as a rationale) during our discussion.

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html

Beyond Reading:Beyond Reading:Compare/ContrastCompare/Contrast

• As you have already learned, the punishments in the Elizabethan Era were MUCH worse than those of today.

• Using the following websites, research both the punishments of Elizabethan England and those of the U.S. today.

U.S. 3 U.S. 4

U.S. 5

U.S. 2 U.S. 1

Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment

in the U.S.in the U.S.

Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment

in Elizabethan in Elizabethan EnglandEngland

England 1 England 2

England 3

•Print out the following Venn Diagram. When you have finished, complete the Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the differences.

Beyond Reading:Beyond Reading:More Shakespeare Please!More Shakespeare Please!

• You have now successfully read two plays by William Shakespeare and are ready for your last assignment.

• You have probably heard of several other plays by William Shakespeare. Some of you have even acted in Shakespearean productions.

• Browse the internet to find information about other Shakespearean plays. Choose the one that you find to be the most interesting. It can be a comedy, history, or a tragedy.

• You will then create a poster and present your poster and a summary of the play to the class. You must write the summary yourself! Be sure NOT to plagiarize from the internet!

• Here are some websites that may be useful to you, but feel free to browse the web and discover other great sites as well!

Suggested sites: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/ http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm

http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm

http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html

William Shakespeare

presents

HAMLET

Evaluation: Cyberlesson RubricEvaluation: Cyberlesson Rubric

Points 1 2 3 4Student Teacher

Epitaph Epitaph is not complete. It does not rhyme.

Epitaph shows minimal effort; does not follow a rhyming pattern.

Epitaph shows satisfactory effort. The rhyming pattern is clear.

Epitaph is well done and shows a conscious effort. The rhyming pattern is clear.

Anticipation Guide

Anticipation Guide is not complete; minimal effort.

Anticipation Guide shows moderate effort, but is not completed.

Anticipation Guide is mostly completed, but does not show changes after reading.

Anticipation Guide is completed with before and during reading checklists.

Morality Meter

Handout is not complete.

Characters were added, but the list shows no understanding of the play.

The list is complete and shows an understanding of the text, but explana-tions are not provided.

The list is complete and demonstrates understanding through the ranking and the explanations.

Venn Diagram

Venn Diagram is not com-plete; shows minimal effort.

Only two of the three sections have been completed; minimal effort.

The Venn Diagram is completed, but only topics are provided; there are no explanations.

The Venn Diagram demon-strates an understanding of the concept; explanations are provided to show the similarities /differences.

Poster Presentation

Only one of the two require-ments is com-plete (poster or summary)

The poster and summary are complete, but show minimal effort.

The poster is well-illustrated, but the summary is weak and lacks clarity or key details.

The poster is beautifully illustrated and appeals to the audience; the summary is well-written and shows an understanding of the play.

Reader Response

Journal

RRJ is not complete; minimal effort shown.

RRJ is mostly complete; lacks several elements and key ideas; minimal explanations provided.

RRJ is complete, but lacks full explanations to demonstrate understanding.

RRJ is complete; an understanding of the text is shown through detailed explanations.

TOTAL POINTS

ResourcesResources1. Websites

– Rhyming dictionary: www.rhymezone.com– Shakespearean Insults: www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker – Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html – Spark Notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/ – Elizabethan Punishments: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html– U.S. crimes and punishments: http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html http://ask.yahoo.com/20020111.html http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s219/s219b.html http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendVIIIs10.html

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/correct.htm – Shakespeare Summaries: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/ http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm

http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html

2. Handouts– Create your own epitaph: Created by Leah Smith– Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html – Morality Meter: Created by Leah Smith– Venn Diagram: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/graphicorg/pdfs/venndiagram.pdf

3. Graphics– Photograph of Shakespeare:

http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB-3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE

– Various Clip Art pictures: http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/