Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (ages 13-14)
This scheme of work introduces students to Shakespeare’s tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet, using extracts of text as well as simple exercises to enable the students access to the language and the ever relevant themes. The lessons explore the relationship between the feuding families of the Montagues and the Capulets, as well as the main characters. The class will develop key Drama forms including frozen pictures, mime, aside, thought aloud, split scenes, dramatic pause, repetition of language and its rhythm and narration. Through this the students will learn how to use the language of Shakespeare and why it is still pertinent in today’s society.
This scheme of work contains 6 drama lesson plans.
- Lesson 1: Feuding Families. This lesson introduces students to the Montagues and Capulets using Shakespearean swear words to see how they really felt about each other. Great fun!
- Lesson 2: Love at First Sight. This lesson looks at the first time Romeo sees Juliet and the idea of love at first sight, set in a school disco.
- Lesson 3: The Balcony Scene. Using quotations from the play, the students explore Romeo and Juliet’s feelings for one another and develop their own version of the famous ‘Balcony scene’.
- Lesson 4: The Death of Mercutio. Lesson 4 enables the students to experience the fight scene between Mercutio, Tybalt and Romeo. They learn why this is the turning point in the play and how this impacts on the star-crossed lover’s relationship.
- Lesson 5: The Division of the Lovers. The consequences of the fight, with Romeo being banished and Juliet being told she will marry Paris, sets the scene for the tragic last scene.
- Lesson 6: Death in the Crypt – Assessment. This is an assessment piece based on the Friar’s speech which tells what happened to Romeo and Juliet in their final hours together and how tragic it really is. All key Drama forms learnt and revised in the topic are used by the students to recreate their own story, recorded for self-evaluation.
Supporting materials include
- General Knowledge Grid
- Extract from Act 1, Scene 1
- Extract from Act 1, Scene 5
- A Cut-out Rose
- Quotation Cards
- The Friar’s Speech
- Powerpoint of Shakesperean Swear words
Additional resources are included in the appendices
- End Of Unit Self-Assessment Form
The scheme of work is supplied as a downloadable zip file containing a PDF file, readable on most computers and 1 PowerPoint file.
