Grade: 4th grade
Title: Putting Shakespeare Into My Own Words
Project Description: Students depict their understanding of a
play (Shakespeare) through movement and vocal interpretation.
Artists: William Shakespeare
Materials: Open Space.
Shakespeare’s “All the World’s A Stage” (As You Like It, Act 2, scene
7), Shakespeare Glossary Sheet, Dictionary.
Procedure:
1.
Students will hear a sample of how Shakespeare used words to
express an idea, tell a story and to teach his audience.
2.
Speech will be read aloud and students are broken up into
groups to break down the passage in their own words.
3.
Questions asked: What
type of character might be speaking (man, woman, old, young, etc)? What is the main message? Paraphrase it in your own words.
4.
Group translations are read aloud.
5.
Students will then make comparisons to each other’s
translations to deepen understanding.
Students will compare and contrast use of speech in modern day
instances.
6.
Guiding question will be:
How many comparisons does Shakespeare use in the speech “All the World’s
a Stage”?
Objectives:
- How
words are used to express ideas, etc.
- Character
building. Who am I as a character?
- Intensive
study of voice projection and articulation (speaking clearly and being
heard)
- Comfortably
and confidently speaking in front of an audience
Vocabulary: Shakespeare, articulation, resonance,
projection, metaphor
Visual and Performing
Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools:
1.0
Artistic Perception -
1.1 Use the vocabulary of theatre, such as plot,
conflict, climax, resolution, tone, objectives, motivation and stock characters
to describe theatrical experiences.
1.2 Identify a
character’s objectives and motivations to explain a character’s behavior.
1.3 Demonstrate how
voice (dictation, pace and volume) may be used to explore multiple
possibilities for a live reading.
2.0
Creative Expression -
2.1 Demonstrate the
emotional traits of a character through gesture and action.
2.2 Retell or improvise
stories from classroom literature in a variety of tones.
3.0
Historical and Cultural Context -
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing -
4.3 Describe
students’ responses to a work of theatre and explain what the scriptwriter did
to elicit those responses.
5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications -
5.2 Use
improvisation and dramatization to explore concepts in other content areas.
