Romeo & Juliet Lesson 30: Act 5 - Lesson Plan

The learning objective for this English drama lesson, focusing on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," is to develop the students' knowledge and understanding of the theme of violence that permeates the play. Through targeted activities, students will explore how the opening scene sets the tone for the feud between the Montague and Capulet families. The lesson aims to accomplish this through a combination of discussion, analysis, and specific tasks that prompt students to consider the servants' roles in showcasing the family rivalry.

To assess progress, students will engage in a task that asks them to reflect on what the servants reveal about the ongoing feud. Expected outcomes are tiered according to the depth of student comprehension: from conveying basic knowledge of the plot, characters, and theme in Act 1, Scene 1 (must), to showing a sound knowledge (should), and finally demonstrating a detailed understanding (could). Differentiation opportunities are provided to cater to varying student needs, including the ability to edit PowerPoint presentations, personalise tasks, and balance teacher guidance with independent study. The lesson begins with a starter activity where students read and discuss the first 64 lines of Act One Scene One, followed by the main teaching activity which includes comprehension questions and a creative 'The Verona Chronicle' newspaper task, with an extension for students to use tabloid style in their work. The lesson concludes with a plenary session where students feedback on the comprehension questions and view examples of newspaper covers.