Lesson

Plan: Romeo and Juliet

Curriculum Area
English
Year Level: 10
Class overview
In a class of 25, there are no students that require extra, explicit help with tasks; however, there
are several students who have been identified as achieving above their grade band. As they tend
to finish their tasks before the rest of the class, they are generally instructed to go on with one of
their homework tasks or silent reading. The whole class have been seated in assigned seating for
the duration of the study of Romeo and Juliet in an effort to foster new group dynamics and group
interaction, as well as separate any students who do not work well together.
Learning objectives
Students will know the plot and characters of Romeo and Juliet Act 4
for this particular
Students will understand what subtext is and its purpose within drama texts
lessons
Students will be able to identify and explain instances of subtext within Act 4 of Romeo and Juliet
Lesson number
Lesson 14 of 18
Length of lesson: 45 minutes
Suggested content or Whole class: Teacher will settle students, before asking them to raise their hands and give a
outline of lesson
summary of what happened in Act 4. The aim is twofold: this acts to check for their understanding
whilst also providing some background information for any students who were away in the
previous lesson. Next, a discussion of subtext will occur; students will be asked what they already
know, or can infer, from the name, before a definition is given. As a group, the class will look at
two sentences that change according to the subtext of the scenario; then students will break off
into their groups for 5-10 minutes and discuss another sentence. After the allocated time, each
group will read aloud one of their interpretations of the statement. This will get harder as you go
around the circle, so the groups need to be paying attention to make sure theirs has not already
been said. Following this brief task, the teacher will begin instructions for the main classroom
activity: identifying subject in Act 4.

Activity: Students will begin working on identify the subtext of what their allotted character is
really thinking in either Scene 1 or 2 of Act 4. Students are already sitting in groups, and the
teacher will verbally instruct which character each group is doing. They will be instructed to think
about what we already know about the character from the previous Acts in order to read between
the lines and determine what they are really saying in their scenes. The teacher will be walking
around the room, offering help to all those who need it.

Whole class debrief: In the last 10 minutes of the lesson, the teacher should regroup the students
and ask them to come out the front as a group and teach the rest of the class about their character
and the subtext behind what they are saying. The teacher needs to ensure all students are listening
and absorbing all they can. To finish, students will be reminded that their discussion posts are due
Friday, and that they are to continue working on both their Twitter profiles and their diary entries.
Check for
The teacher will verbally assess the level of student knowledge at the beginning of the lesson by
understanding
quizzing them on what has happened in Act 4 of the play, which was read as a class in the previous

lesson. Different students will be asked to recap the plot as an effort to check they are listening in
class and understanding the plot and language. Another verbal understanding check will occur at
the end of the lesson, whereby students will be required to teach the class all they have learned
about subtext pertaining to their specific character.
Visual, verbal, tactile The teacher will be present and wandering around the classroom offering verbal support and help
and technological
to those students who require it. All students have access to their own laptops; they may use these
supports
to go on No Fear Shakespeare in order to decode Shakespeares language, but for no other
purpose. The teacher will have to monitor their usage.
Instructional
The lesson will begin with a teacher directed approach, whereby the teacher gives the instructions
approaches
of the days work and lead a discussion on subtext. Then, the lesson will segue into more of a

student-focused approach, as they will begin working within their groups to find the subtext in Act
4. At the lessons conclusion, the teacher will reconvene the students; however, it will still be
students-focussed learning, as they will be instructing the class on what they have learned.
Resources or
Students will be provided with a handout sheet, which has the various subtext tasks on it that they
supplementary
will be completing in the lesson. They should also all bring their own copies of the text, Romeo and
materials
Juliet, however there will be a couple of spare copies should an student forget.
Classroom
Students will be working in groups to decipher the subtext of their scenes, and thus discussion will
environment
occur on assigned tables. The teacher will also need to ensure the students feel safe within their

learning environments as during the whole class debrief, the groups will teach the class about their
chosen character and subtext. This will require students to share their work with the rest of the
class.