Middle School Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 7-10

National Arts Education Standards:
Theatre: 5-8—8a, 8c; 9-12—7a, 8a, 8d

Arizona Theatre Standards:
Strand 1—Create. Concept 4—Playwriting. PO 104—Create original, brief stories through improvisation that include a storyline and characters.

Strand 2—Relate. Concept 2—Acting. PO 203—Analyze the historical, cultural effects on the characters and story of a dramatic concept, class improvisation, and theatre or other media production. 

Strand 2—Relate. Concept 4—Playwriting. PO 204—Discuss a class improvisation or performance’s storylines, characters, dialogue, and actions and how they relate to real life situations.

Materials:
*cut versions of the letter, dagger, and sleepwalking scenes from MACBETH

Preparation:
*Tell the story of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, emphasizing that they are two people willing to do anything to get power.

*Have the students give examples of people from real life, or characters from television, film, or books who gained power by cruel or corrupt acts.

*Using the letter, dagger, and sleepwalking scenes, explain how MACBETH is a series of choices and temptation manipulated by peer pressure and ending in madness and death.

Procedure:
*Give small groups of students the cut version of one of the scenes.

*Give the students time to rehearse a presentation in which part of the group reads the scene aloud while the others pantomime and move to the action of the scene.

*Discuss with the students similar scenes in a modern context, e.g. receiving exciting but frightening news through a letter, being pressured to do something wrong, observing and reporting on another's actions.

*Have the students in the same groups prepare an improvisation based on a modern situation parallel to their pantomimed scene.

*Guide them as they choose characters, setting, action.

*Share the scenes.

*Discuss the similarities of character and situation as well as how and why the characters and situations differ for the different time periods.

*Video tape the read/pantomimed scenes from Macbeth and the improvised scenes.

*Select scenes for the letter, dagger and sleepwalking scenes and show the scenes to peers in an English class.

*Students facilitate a discussion about the motives and emotions of the characters.

Adapted from a lesson created by the National Theater Standards Writing Committee

Copyright © 2002 by Arizona State University and the Arizona Board of Regents.