LESSON THREE: Choosing Sides

LESSON DESCRIPTION

Students explore point of view, tone, and alliance.

GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS

R2A        Recognize the text features of drama in grade-level text.

R2C         Use details from text to comprehend point of view and the effect of the dialogue.

LESSON MATERIALS

§         Source of Literature

o           Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

§         Supplies 

o        Note cards with designated role for each student

§         Handouts provided

o        Alliance Graphic Organizer

§         Words to know

o        grade-level

o        tone

o        text features

o        point of view

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 

Students describe the point of view and tone for each of the following characters: Brutus, Cassius, Marc Antony, and Caesar. Students note alliances at the beginning of the play.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. Assign each student the role of Brutus, Caesar, Cassius or Marc Antony.

2. Post the word tone on the unit chart. Define the word tone and give examples. Students add additional tone examples to post on the unit chart.

3. Divide students into groups. Students meet in character groups to discuss point of view and tone of their character as seen through the dialogue in act 1 scene 2.  Students complete the alliance organizer.

4.   One student from each group (jigsaw) reports to the class point of view and tone for each of the four characters.

Jigsaw

What is it?

Jigsaw is a co-operative learning structure that promotes the sharing and understanding of ideas or texts.

What is its purpose?

Jigsaw facilitates learning in two areas; the social skills of positive interdependence and equal participation and the academic skill of acquiring knowledge and understanding. Expert group members share that information with home team members so that each member of that team puts a piece of the ‘jigsaw’ together, forming the basis of holistic understanding of a topic.

How do I do it?

• Organize the class into co-operative home groups of, say, three and hand out three different sets of information which relate to a particular topic for example, rules for language usage, structure of a novel (page one, two and three)

• Organize the class into co-operative expert groups by teaming up students with like materials. For example, all page one- Brutus’ characters in the class together, page two, and so on. This group reads the materials and discusses the best methods of sharing their acquired knowledge and understanding with their co-operative home group.

• Organize the expert groups to return to their home groups. Each student presents their understanding of their part of the topic and the home group must then demonstrate understanding of the whole topic. For example how the conventions of a capital letter, a full stop and a comma is used in a sentence, or how the setting, plot and characters, work together in the structure of a novel. The demonstration of that understanding may be a written or an oral activity