Unit: Hamlet

Instructor: Katie Appel

Grade: 12th Grade On level

Big Idea: Is justice an unattainable ideal in the real world?

Essential Questions:
Do revenge and vengeance provide satisfaction?
Can a lust for power lead to loss of humanity?
Does Hamlet deserve what he gets?

Unit Assessment:
Students will write an argumentative essay using research based evidence as to whether madness

is a valid defense for murder.

Standards:
Reading: 11-12.RL.1, 11-12.RL.2, 11-12.RL.3, 11-12.RL.4, 11-12.RL.5, 11-12.RL.6, 11-

12.RL.7, 12.RL.10
Writing: 11-12.W.1, 11-12.W.4, 11-12.W.5, 11-12.W.6, 11-12.W.7, 11-12.W.8, 11-12.W.9, 11-

12.W.10
Speaking and listening: 11-12.SL.1, 11-12.SL.2, 11-12.SL.4, 11-12.SL.6
Language: 11-12.L.1, 11-12.L.2, 11-12.L.3, 11-12.L.4, 11-12.L.5, 11-12.L.6
Informational Texts: 11-12.RI, 11-12.RI.5, 11-12.RI.7
Materials needed:
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Hamlet clips from Laurence Olivier (1948) version and the Gregory Doran (2009) version
Hamlet Vocabulary Handout
Renaissance and Hamlet Clip
CRAAP test worksheets
Laptops
Graphic Organizers
Shakespeare | Hamlet Act 4 Audiobook (Dramatic Reading)
Handout Hamlets To be or Not To Be soliloquy from Act 3
Peer review worksheet
Writing Analysis worksheet
Week 1 Topic/Objective Activities
Monday Hamlet pre-reading Quick Write: Think about a news

strategies and story or a personal experience dealing

background knowledge. with revenge. Is the desire for

Students will be able to create a vengeance ever a positive emotion?

concept map illustrating main What happens when a person takes

themes. revenge?
Hamlet Vocabulary Handout Two

columns, what you think it means,

actual definition.
Renaissance and Hamlet Clip
Concept Map: Students will create a

concept map illustrating key themes.

Tuesday Discuss setting and begin Think Pair Share SCENE I.

group reading of Hamlet Elsinore. A platform before

Students will be able to answer the castle.

Where does this first line of
questions on the exit slip that
the play take you? What do
discuss themes of justice, tone,
you see in your minds eye?
tragedy and betrayal.
Hear? Smell? How do you

feel?

Students are assigned roles and begin

reading Act 1, Scene 1 and 2

Exit slip and class discussion

How would describe the mood of

Hamlet? Why is he upset with his

mother? Do you think he is being fair

to her?

How do Claudius and Gertrude

respond to Hamlets melancholy?

Are they being fair to him?

Wednesday Continue reading and QAR How far does family loyalty
Week 2 Topic/Objectives Activities
Monday Listen to Shakespeare | Note Taker: Students will follow

Hamlet Act 4 Audiobook along to the audio recording with

(Dramatic Reading) their text books and take Cornell

Students will be able to actively notes.

Conversation Roundtable: Students
participate in a conversation
will select and write down a line
roundtable after listening/reading.
from this Act that was most

meaningful to them and explain

why to the class.

Tuesday Assign roles and group Quick Write How do you feel

read Act 5. about Ophelias death? What were

Students will be able to summarize her motives for drowning?

Group read Act 5
Hamlet using a graphic organizer. Graphic Organizer Cause and

Effect. Students will summarize the

play by sequencing events.

Wednesday Socratic Seminar Think Pair Share How do you

Students will be able to actively feel about the end of the play? How

participate in a Socratic Seminar does Hamlet exemplify a tragedy?

Socratic Seminar Students are
and will be accountable for
taught the rules of participation and
individual participation.
participate in a Socratic Seminar

around the main themes of justice


Thursday Introduction to essay
assignment and working on
research.
Students will be able to research
from the database and cite
evidence that supports their claim.
Students will be able to evaluate
their sources using the CRAAP
test worksheets.
Friday Students will be able to peer
review essays by completing a
worksheet.
Students will be able to analyze
their own writing by completing a
writing analysis worksheet.
Students will be able to apply
feedback from the peer review to
their final draft.
and revenge.
Research - Students will work on
the classroom laptops to research
evidence from the database to
support their thesis and cite these
sources in MLA format.
Source evaluation Students will
fill out the CRAAP test worksheet
on each of their sources to
determine their worth.
Closing survey Students will rate
themselves from 1 -5 if they were
able to find relevant sources to
support their thesis.
Peer Review Students will bring a
rough draft of their essay to class
for peer review using a guided
worksheet.
Writing Self Analysis Students
will review their own essays using
guidelines a writing analysis
worksheet.
HW Students will submit their
final draft of their essays on Turn It
In by Sunday.