Literary Analysis
A Midsummer Night's Dream Unit
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
Abstract
This is a work for HRD 472.
Keywords
Shakespeare, Literary Analysis
This is a work for HRD 472.
Shakespeare, Literary Analysis
Big Idea:
When is it appropriate to challenge the rules?
If rules are put in place to keep us safe, is there ever a time when we should be fighting against them? This unit explores the tension between the expectation that people should follow rules for the sake of order, and instances in which the “right” decision might be to challenge established rules. In addition to the unit’s theme, students will understand how literary devices impact the meaning of a text in order to identify the author’s purpose in this unit.
Summative Performance Tasks:
Literary Analysis Writing
When is it appropriate to challenge the rules? After reading William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, write a literary analysis in which you analyze the author’s use of literary devices to support the overall theme/central idea about when it’s appropriate to challenge the rules. Support your position with evidence from the text/s.
Unit Rationale:
This learning module was designed to help students learn the theme, characterization, and figurative language. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare will be used to help discuss the topics of the unit. Students in English 10 are usually in 10th grade. This learning module will include videos from Rice University's Performing Arts Students and utilizing the full text of the play. The classroom would need to have access to 1:1 technology for students to fully engage in this learning module. Students may also want access to the hardcopy version of the play to act out in class. The use of the technology would support an active, reflexive learning approach where students are central to their learning, thus creating a community of learners that collaborate together. This unit of learning should take approximately five weeks of 45 minute class periods or about three weeks of 85-minute block class periods.
Priority Standards:
RL. 1 - Text Evidence (best evidence to support students’ own arguments - instead of supporting the author’s argument)
RL. 4 - Meaning of words & phrases (vocab in context, tone, mood)
RL. 9 - Allusion
RI. 8 - Delineate/evaluate argument/claims (identification and basic use)
W1: Claim & Evidence (effective use)
SL.1 - participate in collaborative discussions (Socratic seminar)
SL. 4 - Evaluate Sources (informational texts)
Supporting Standards:
RL.2 - Theme/central idea (identify, author’s purpose, author’s POV)
RL. 3 - Characterization (character development)
RI. 2 - Central Idea (identify)
Essential Questions:
Thematic:
When is it appropriate to challenge the rules?
Topical:
How does an author use language to create time, place, and meaning?
How does an author make claims and counterclaims?
Enduring Understandings:
Students will understand...
Tier 2 Academic Vocabulary
Theme, Central Idea, Symbol, Omit
Tier 3 Academic Vocabulary
Figurative Language:
Personification, Simile, Metaphor, Idiom, Symbolism, Tone, allusion
Objective: In this update, you will be able to identify and create motifs and themes for specific texts.
1. You will need to first take notes on the differences between Theme and Motif.
2. Once you have taken your notes, you will need to read the text below. Analyze the text for all the motifs and then create one theme that best represents the overall theme of the text.
Comment: What are the following, a motif or a theme? Why? “Power” “Too much power can be deadly”
Make an Update: Select a text you have read before. List the possible motifs of the text. Then, using your list of motifs, create themes to go with each motif. Have your peers comment on your update to see if you are correct.
Theme Notes:
Motif Notes:
The Giving Tree:
Teacher Notes:
Teachers can differentiate this lesson by adding more short stories/fairy tales for students to work together in small groups. I would usually have the students present their themes, motifs, and morals from the story. This activity helps to lead/prepare the students for their final essay that asks them to look at the theme of the text and prove it with textual evidence.
Objective: In this update, you will identify figurative language elements in a text for a deeper understanding of the author’s purpose.
1. Take notes on figurative language elements that we will continue to use in this unit. Pay close attention to the examples from the notes.
2. Once you feel you understand the notes/figurative language elements, take this formative assessment. This Google Form will provide you feedback as you go. You may take it as many times as you need to prove/show mastery.
3. Need extra practice? View the video below and identify the main elements of figurative language at use in the video/song.
Comment: What do you believe is the most difficult concept you learned today? Why are you confused? What do you need clarification on?
Make an Update: Select one element of Figurative Language. Define it, provide three examples of it in a sentence, incorporate a visual aid (image, video, etc.), and ask a peer to check your work in the comments.
A good practice for applying what students have learned to the text is a station activity listed below.
Teacher Notes:
For more differentiation, the teacher could change the song lyrics and examples. The teacher could also limit or expand the options for students in the carousel depending on the level of their student. The teacher could even do this activity multiple times if they choose to break up the notes into separate days.
Objective: In this update, you will identify and analyze the similarities and differences between two different text structures: Comedy and Tragedy.
1. First, read each of the articles below. Be sure to annotate for key elements of each text structure.
2. Still need more clarification? Here are some videos to help:
Comment: What are the five main elements in a Comedy and a Tragedy? Provide an example with a rationale for both a Comedy and a Tragedy.
Make an Update: Select either the Comedy or Tragedy structure. Using that structure, pick an example that has all five main elements. Analyze each element to prove your text example is a clearly Comedy or Tragedy.
Top Five Elements of a Comedy:
Top Five Elements of a Tragedy:
Teacher Notes:
The teacher could have students identify these elements of comedy and tragedy in Midsummer as the students are reading as an exit or entrance slip.
Objective: In this update, you will identify and analyze a Shakespeare play for its structure and poetic elements.
1. Take notes on Shakespeare's Poetic Elements and The Five Act Play Structure.
Comment: What do you believe is the most difficult concept you learned today? Why are you confused? What do you need clarification on?
Make an Update: Select one of Shakespeare's plays. Summarize each act of that play, and connect those summaries to the notes you have taken in this lesson. Ask a question of your choice to your peers at the end.
THEN
Create a five-act play of your life as a sophomore.
Find an example play students might already know (Romeo and Juliet) and use that play while mapping out the Five Act Play Structure. It will help them comprehend the materials even more.
Teacher Notes:
For more student engagement, the students could also make their life or their year in school (for example, my students are sophomores, so their sophomore year would be the focus) and have them create a five-act play following the five-act play structure to create their story.
Objective: In this update, you will read for understanding, to analyze, and to identify Shakespearean elements of Comedy/Tragedy and Figurative Language.
Before you Read: Complete this anticipation guide to start to get a feel for some of the themes and motifs that you will see in the play.
Make Several Updates: For each Scene in each of the five Acts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, make an update using the note-taking guide as an outline. Each update should include a summary, an image or video to represent the scene, text evidence, figurative language identification, and analysis of the text evidence.
Putting it all Together: After reading the play and before writing your Literary Analysis Paper, complete this practice synthesis activity with your peers. Be sure to follow all directions closely.
Formative Assessment: Before writing your Literary Analysis Paper, complete this practice analysis paragraph. The paragraph has already been started for you. All you need to do is correctly analyze the text and tie it to the theme/idea listed in the topic sentence.
Comment: Is this play a Comedy or Tragedy? Why?
Allow students to read the online version of the text here: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html
Students can also view the play here:
Teacher Notes:
If needed, do not hesitate to create a reading schedule for students. If this unit is performed in the classroom, students could act out the play in class, and perform their updates outside of class.
Objective: In this update, you will write a literary analysis.
Using all of your knowledge you have gained this unit, you will need to create a Literary Analysis about A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Your essay must be a least four paragraphs. It should be well-organized and well-written using correct grammar and mechanics. Use the prompt, organizers, and all of your notes from the unit to help you create your first draft.
When is it appropriate to challenge the rules? After reading William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, write a literary analysis in which you analyze the author’s use of literary devices to support the overall theme/central idea about when it’s appropriate to challenge the rules. Support your position with evidence from the text/s.
View an organizer for your essay here:
View the rubric here:
Update:
Post your essay to the community for peer feedback.
The rubrics being used are for holistic, rubric-based grading. The scores, in the end, are not added up together to come to an overall score out of 20 but are rather out of 5. There are no calculations in the grade book. The score of 5 reflects mastery of all the skills on the rubric.
Learn more about holistic grading here:
Facione, P. & Facione, N. (1994). The holistic critical thinking rubric [PDF]. Insight Assessment/California Academic Press.
Objective: In this update, you will provide clear and thorough feedback for your peers.
Using the rubric, provide your peers with a critique of their work. All of your comments should show your teacher knowledge of the rubric, and you should provide a rationale for your scores in each of the categories of the rubrics.
Once you receive your peers’ feedback on your essay, provide your reviewers with feedback on their feedback.
Then make your revisions and re-post your final draft of your essay to the community for teacher review and publication.
The rubrics being used are for holistic, rubric-based grading. The scores, in the end, are not added up together to come to an overall score out of 20 but are rather out of 5. There are no calculations in the grade book. The score of 5 reflects mastery of all the skills on the rubric.
Learn more about holistic grading here:
Facione, P. & Facione, N. (1994). The holistic critical thinking rubric [PDF]. Insight Assessment/California Academic Press.
C. Ardito, M. De Marsico, R. Lanzilotti, S. Levialdi, T. Roselli, V. Rossano, and M. Tersigni. 2004. Usability of E-learning tools. In Proceedings of the working conference on Advanced visual interfaces (AVI '04). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 80-84. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/989863.989873
Kalantzis, Mary. Cope, Bill. Tzirides, Olnancy. and Francis, Kara. 2019.”The Digital Learner: Continuity and Change in Pedagogical Practices.” Learning Module. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Kalantzis, Mary and Bill Cope. 2016. "New Media and Productive Diversity in Learning." Pp. 310-25 in Diversity in Der Lehrerinnenbildung, edited by S. Barsch and N. Glutsch. Münster DE: Waxmann.
Facione, P. & Facione, N. (1994). The holistic critical thinking rubric [PDF]. Insight Assessment/California Academic Press.
Mulllan, J. (2015, November 24). An Introduction to Shakespeare's Comedy. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/an-introduction-to-shakespeares-comedy.
Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). A Midsummer Night's Dream. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html.
Shambaugh, N., & Magliaro, S. (2001). A Reflexive Model of Teaching Instructional Design. ETR&D, 49(2), 69–92. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.465.6721&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Simpson, D. (1998). Comedy and Tragedy. PDF. Chicago.
Storyboard That. (2019, March 11). Five Act Structure: Plot Diagram Activities: Dramatic Structure. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e/five-act-structure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-bJjrVOtI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqPyC6o3JQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5qaTeDC6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjAqfh9aY9Y