Lesson Overview - Macbeth doth come!  - The Macbeth Acting Circle

No quiz today (YES! Again - perhaps the only two days in a row in my class that the students don't have a quiz).   Remember - DON'T let the students read ahead - it's important that they come in to today's lesson  without knowing about the play.  Before the students come in - you will want to arrange the desks in a circle - with a copy of the bare scene (large print with plenty of room for notes - but absolutely no footnotes or annotations on it).  Ask the students to NOT look at the handout (the scene) until told to do so.

Have the students limber up their hands - they will be taking a lot of notes in the next few minutes.  By the end of the period - their copies of the scene should be covered with their notes, circles, underlining, and stage directions.

The Macbeth (Actors') Circle  - please see Shakespeare Set Free - Teaching Macbeth - "All Hail, Macbeth" (page 207).  I will not be producing that handout here with its instructions and urge you to purchase a copy of Shakespeare Set Free - it is indispensable.

1) A first go around - vocabulary

Students are often intimidated by Shakespeare's language.  It is very different from our own - but, for the most part, comprehensible.  This is especially true when you look at it through performance.  We will be going around our circle of students TWO TIMES.  The first time we will be looking for words we don't know.  Tell the students to "circle every word that you either don't know at all - OR don't know it as its being used in the context of this scene.  Don't worry about what's happening in the scene - let's concentrate on the words for now.

How do students do the reading?  Announce that every student gets to read UNTIL they get to a piece of terminal punctutation.  Ask them what they think terminal punctuation is.  You'll get some great answers:  It is a period, question mark, exclamation point, colon - but not semi-colon and not a comma.  This is a great way to read - every student gets to read, it keeps them on their toes waiting for when "they are up."  And it continues what we began in the last lesson - getting the rhythm of Shakespeare's language.

A drum, a drum.  Ok so now you go around in a circle (start clockwise - the next time you can go counterclockwise).  Each student reads until they get to terminal punctuation  For instance, the first student will read aloud: "A drum, a drum!".  The next students picks it up (try to get them to go fast - to eliminate pauses between each reader) with "Macbeth doth come."  

The first problem you will run into is that students won't be circling enough words.  Either they feel they know the word or they don't want to appear dumb by circling a lot.  Tell them: "You cannot circle too many words."  Tell them how many words you have circled in the first 5 lines.  I have 9 words circled in the first 8 lines.  Start over - insist that they constantly are writing - circling.  If they don't - this doesn't work.

Go around the room until you finish the scene: I always ended with Banquo's line: "To the selfsame tune and words.  Who's here?"
Ok now you have to quickly go over what was circled.  I usually just ask - "What is the first word that you circled?  Usually that word is "doth".  Ask them - "What do you think that means?"  Someone will say "does" - excellent!  You are off to a great start!

Here are 5 examples of words I have circled and how you can get students to figure them out - you don't have to tell them!  All of the words I circled along with some notes of how to figure them out are below in a pdf of my Macbeth Circle Notes.

1. Posters - ok what word do you recognize in there?  Post - as in what?  Post office, Postman.  So what these witches?  Ones who travel - who move.   

2. chappy - Ask them - What part of that do you recognize?  Answer: Chap - as in "chapstick lip balm".  What do you take chapstick for?  Dry lips.  What is Banquo saying about their fingers?  They are very dry.

3. rapt - Ask - What did Shakespeare write in?  Answer: Iambic pentameter.  Ask - "So what do you think he had to do sometimes to get that meter right - to get the right amount of syllables?  Answer: Change words?  Contract.  What could "rapt" be a contraction of?  raptured   enraptured (this is less likely but still possible a student will know).  You can alternatively give them enraptured and ask - WHY change it?

4. get - another contraction.  You shall get kings.  Is he going to the king store.  What could be cut off?  "BEGET"

5. insane root - this is mixed with the next round - the meaning round when you try to figure out what's happening.  But - Macbeth and Banquo have just seen some crazy impossible stuff.  What do they want to know?  Answer: "What have we been smoking".

See my handwritten notes on the scene (a PDF found below) for even more.

2) A Second Trip around the Circle - meaning, comments, and questions

After you finish - or run out of time (you have to plan your time well here - you will have 3 1/4 activities today: 2 trips around the circle, acting out the scene, and having students finding small groups and assigning who will bring what for tomorrow's shoebox activity) - you are now ready to do another trip around the Macbeth Circle - this time concentrating on "what is actually happening in the scene".  Tell students that you expect them to be continually writing (unless they are the one reading the lines).  

They should write down (very quickly - give them time to limber those hands again)

• comments they have based ONLY on what's happening in the text

• what IS happening based on the text

• questions about why lines are spoken or what they mean in this scene

Rather than give you a highlight of the observations, comments, and questions, as I did with vocabulary; I have decided (because this exercise is so crucial to EVERYTHING that comes after it) to create an annotated PDF with most of the comments that were generated over a nearly 30 year period.  Remember - the first go around is vocabulary that the students circle - this trip around the circle (perhaps in a counterclockwise movement - though I usually go around the same way - if for no other reason than the students have established a rhythm and an expectation of those readers that are before and after them).

REMEMBER: Students (and you for that matter) should be writing constantly.  Underlining, commenting, questioning.  If they are not - stop the circle and have them do so.  At the end of the period - you will want to hold up one of your students handouts - and it should be COVERED with circles (they should take notes on the vocabulary after you do that go-around and talk about what they circled) and notes.  Remember - all students read until they get to terminal punctuation.  I have included an audio of a class doing the Macbeth Circle below to help you see how it goes.

After the second go around - have the class give themselves a round of applause for doing it so well.  And then ask - "What's the first thing you noticed or had a question on?"  It should be about the drum - Why is there a drum sound? - notice the students are doing the questioning (or commenting) you are only facilitating.  So go ahead and facilitate - "Why would there be a drum sound?"  You will get a lot of answers - but one of them will be about a battle or military operation or troops...  Zero in on this.  Ask them "What does this mean?"  Answer:  Macbeth and Banquo are associated with a battle.
DO NOT ALLOW ANY OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE - MAKE SURE YOUR COMMENTS AND THE STUDENT COMMENTS ARE GROUNDED ONLY ON WHAT OCCURS IN THIS SCENE....

When you done with the second circle - hold up a student's sheet - and remind them: "This is what you can figure out on your own - without a teacher, without footnotes... - just keep asking yourself questions."

3) Acting Out the Scene

Now that the students have an understanding (that they have come to themselves - give yourself some internal applause for doing such a great job facilitating), it is time to act out the scene (where even more understanding will come.  Remember - I'm including an audio recording of this class below, so you can see how it goes.

You will need five volunteers - Macbeth, Banquo and the three witches.  Get them quickly - tell them to bring their handouts (with the scene up there).

Now - tell the rest of the class that they are the director.  The actors will listen to their stage directions.  Begin with - where do you want the actors?  All standing together?  Where? And why? 

I've decided to create a second document (PDF, Docx)  with some of the stage directions that will come from the students - you can find it below in the handout section.  Remember - let the students direct, not you.  Be aware of how much time you have.  You will need to give the students 5 minutes at the end to find a group (and assign who is bringing what) for the next lesson (Shoebox Macbeth).

See that handout for the acting out of the scene.  After you are done make sure the actors and the directors (the whole class) give themselves a big round of applause.

4) Getting ready for the next lesson

Tomorrow is their first quiz (Act I, scenes 1 & 2) - Finally now they can do the reading.  They should have the confidence after today's activity and what has been done with text-centered teaching the previous 15 weeks or so.  Tomorrow they will be staging a Scene and need to bring in Three Things to Block that scene.  They will also need groups - usually 7-8 students is perfect.  For times sake - I tell the students to get into groups of 7-8 (with the last 5 minutes of class) and they can just combine their usual groups they work in (which are usually 3-4 students).  Once in the groups they need to decide who will bring what tomorrow.  They can also double up on supplies if they want to be extra cautious (with extras that can then be used by groups who are missing something).  Here are the three things each group needs.

1. A shoe box - large or small

2. Magic markers for decorating the box (drawing their scene)

3. Small characters for moving around on their shoe box "stage" - like 

Thoughts on the Lesson 

I have probably spent two or three times as much time posting this lesson as any other lesson.  That really makes sense, because it is THAT important.  Everything else comes from this.  If the students can have confidence in their own reading - when they come into class they make what happens there so much better.