Lesson Plan

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

I. Objectives/NCTE Learning Standards:

Students will develop an understanding of character development by reading and documenting character traits throughout Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Students will also make connections between Shakespeare's version and modern day adaptations, such as the movie, She's the Man.

1. Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.


2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.


3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).


4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.


5. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.


6. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information)

II. Before Reading Activities:

Prior to reading Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, students should know and understand the difference between comedies, tragedies, and histories. Shakespeare generally wrote plays that could fit into one of these categories, and plays within each category often share similarities. For instance, in this particular play, as in others, Shakespeare presents mistaken identity to create comedy. Furthermore, he includes gender confusion, as women hide their identities to accomplish a goal. To get students excited about reading Shakespeare, the teacher might show a clip from a recent movie, She's The Man, starring Amanda Bynes. It is a modern day adaptation of a high school student, Bynes, who disguises herself as her brother and ends up falling in love with his roommate. As in Twelfth Night, the plot thickens, as she becomes tangled in other love affairs. Showing a clip from the movie prior to reading the play is a bit unconventional, as teachers often show clips during or after the movie, but it may get the kids excited about the content they are going to read. Their interest is key because students can often have a negative attitude about reading Shakespeare.

III. During Reading Activities:

Throughout reading the play, have students keep track of character development. Throughout each act, have students mark traits that describe each character or illustrate personality. For each act, students will make what looks like a tic-tac-toe board, so they can list all traits for each act in front of them. Students should keep separate records of Viola and Cesario. Although Cesario is Viola in disguise, see if students can find differences in their behavior, as they play different roles. Let students know that they will be doing a project about character development following the reading of the play, but don't let them know what character they will be plotting because they may ignore the others.

IV. After Reading Activities:

Once students have compiled enough information about each character, put students in pairs or groups of three, and assign or allow them to pick one character to focus on developing. Once all characters are covered, have students create posters with an illustration of their character, character traits from the play, (i.e. textual examples) and symbols (either drawn or from magazines) that represent that character. Students should also include a written statement, one to two paragraphs, about the role their character plays and how their character developed or changed throughout each act. The group that chooses Viola should be a group that volunteers to do a little extra work. That group should plot the development of both Viola and Cesario. All groups will present to the class.

Time permitting, the teacher may want to return to the modern adaptation, She's the Man, to see if students can determine similarities and differences among the characters in the play and the characters in the movie.

V. Assessment:

Students should be assessed on the accuracy of their character development poster, including their written statement, textual descriptions, and visual presentation. The teacher should also check their written annotation completed daily as students were reading the play.