- 1.Teaching Shakespeares Macbeth 10th/11th Grade English Alyssa
Dunn Spring 2014
2. Rationale for Technology Integration We all know that
Shakespeare can be a little difficult to get through. Due to
complex language, plot, and character development, high school
students may have some difficulty grasping the main concepts and
themes of his works. In teaching Macbeth on the high school level,
teachers can use technology to conduct fun and engaging lessons to
help maintain student interest and help cultivate student
understanding. This presentation provides examples of how teachers
can use technology in the form of internet resources, podcasts,
software, and social media to bring Shakespeares Macbeth into the
21st century. 3. Internet Content The websites gathered and used in
this presentation are reliable sources of educational or government
organizations. Sites were included only if they contained relevant
and educational information and material. Hyperlinks are placed in
the notes section under the slides in the presentation. By clicking
on these links, you will be directed to the referred sites. 4.
Podcast This podcast is taken from the Folger Shakespeare Library
website and is referred to as the Insiders Guide to Macbeth. In
this podcast, the director and cast discuss themes and meanings of
the play as well as insights into the characters. The teacher can
play this podcast during class to initiate a discussion, or assign
it for homework by providing the link in an email or on the
teachers page of the school website (if possible). Click on the
speak to listen! 5. Macbeth Rap Music Video The link below is for a
music video on Youtube by Flocabulary. The song is an overview of
the plot of Macbeth through rap. The teacher can play the song
during class to provide a modern depiction of the play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4cMHnWIR9k 6. Blog The website No
Sweat Shakespeare has blog page that is modern and humorous, but
serves to bring Shakespeare and his works into the 21st century.
There are posts about words that Shakespeare is documented for
inventing, the meaning of thee and thou, what Shakespeare might
look like today, and so on. This blog is useful for the teachers
own background knowledge of Shakespeare as well as ideas for class
activities. 7. Internet Resources The Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library lists numerous resources like lesson
plans and teaching modules. The archives contain plans for reading,
acting, and analyzing the text.PBS PBS has a page called
Shakespeare Uncovered, which provides videos of interviews with
actors of many of his plays as well as lesson plans for different
topics regarding Shakespeare.No Fear Shakespeare Regardless of
Sparknotes bad reputation, No Fear Shakespeare is a great resource
where students can parallel original text to modern text to get a
better understanding. The teacher can conduct a class annotation if
the text is placed on the board via an overhead projector. 8.
Inspiration Above is a graphic organizer that maps out Macbeths
character changes throughout the play. Each act has two boxes: The
left is for students to write the events of that act The right is
for students to write Macbeths characteristics This will help
students analyze the connection between the plot and Macbeths
character 9. Teaching Materials: Facebook Based on the reading of
Macbeth, students will make a fake Facebook timeline for the
characters, through a wiki page. Each profile must have pictures,
status updates, and friends. This lesson requires students to
analyze the characters and their motivations in the play. 10.
Teaching Materials: Text Translation Students take a single
monologue or a short scene of dialogue and translate the text to
modern text. The practice of translating the original text into
modern day language portrays a full understanding of what the
students have read and analyzed. 11. Teaching Materials: Project
Explorer With Project Explorer, students can go back in time to
Shakespeares England. Clicking on the location will bring students
to a site with tabs that lead to information, pictures, and videos
about Shakespeares home, childhood, and career. This exploration
can be done in class in groups or individually at home, with the
assignment of the students documenting at least 10 facts they
learned about Shakespeares life and England at that time. 12.
Teaching Materials: 6 Word Stories Shakespeare once said: Brevity
is the soul of wit. Of course thats Hamlet and not Macbeth, but
assigning students to write a six word story version of Macbeth
would allow for their creativity to shine and for them to show
their understanding of the themes and plot. They could then post
the stories to the website shown below. 13. Shakespeare has an app!
Shakespeare at Play is an app for both the iPhone and iPad. Its
categorized under books, but this app plays a video for the length
of the play while providing the text underneath. This makes in
class reading very easy because the teacher can rent out iPads for
the class and have individual reading with headphones, or a group
reading with the projector. 14. Subject-Specific Resource
ReadWriteThink Mission Statement: To provide educators, parents,
and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality
practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the
very best in free materials. They provide resources and lesson
plans for several topics within the English and Language Arts
discipline. Alls Well that Sells Well: a Creative introduction to
Shakespeare Outlines a three class lesson that aims to have
students research the Globe theater and learn about the differences
of theater in Shakespeares time period in comparison to modern day
Students research, discuss, then perform 15. Uses of Internet
Websites such as Dictionary.com are an important resource for
students when reading Shakespeare. If a student does not know the
meaning of a word in the text, such as besmirch, the student can
look it up on an online dictionary. Dictionary.com has other tabs
that are helpful to students: Thesaurus Reference Quotes 16. Uses
of Internet Bartleby.com is a great resource for teachers who need
access to texts online. Macbeth is split up by act on this site
Teachers would be able to use Bartleby.com to project a specific
scene onto the board for class reading, annotation, or discussion.
17. Web 2.0 Prezi is a great tool for students to make innovative
and engaging presentations. At this site, students can collaborate
or work individually to create non-linear presentations with fun
and creative backgrounds, themes, and patterns. Once the Prezi is
made, it is made public on the students profile and can be accessed
by others in the classroom and the teacher. 18. Web 2.0DoInk is a
fun resource for students that can be used on an iPad or iPhone!
Students can draw and animate their own works or they can
collaborate with other classmates by sharing props. Teachers can
use this tool for a fun assignment in which students must draw or
animate a character or scene from the play. This requires students
to analyze the text and character development as well as to take
risks and be creative.
