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"This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, / To love that well which thou must leave ere long."
Nothing like the Sun: Shakespeare's Sonnets Group Work: After a class discussion of Shakespeare's Sonnets, this lesson has a two-fold reason-to-be. The first, is to see how well they can apply that last lesson (on Shakespeare's Sonnets) on three new Sonnets - and second, to give them a chance to see how much they know - and how engaging literary analysis can be. In this group work, they will use three very techniques for analyzing a literary work (in this case, sonnets). The first method is to answer very pointed (typical group work style) questions about the sonnet that leads them to an answer. The second method uses much more general areas of questioning - "who is speaking? What are the questions and resolution of the sonnet, etc. The third method has them replicate what we've been doing in class (for Raleigh and Shakespeare): covering all but one line at a time - reading that line aloud - and asking their own specific and general questions, and then moving on to the next line. Finally, the group work asks them which method they prefer and why.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Have them put their text books away - the poems will be given to them - you do not want them to have footnotes - that would defeat the purpose of this. No quiz. You will have the Group Work as a record - and if you do want to quiz them on the reading - it would be done in the previous lesson. My above general intro to this lesson really goes through the important reasons and methods for this lesson. Here is my general introduction to the Group Work - taken directly from the handout.
"There is no “trick” to understanding poetry. There are some ways though that we can gain a deeper understanding of a poem by asking ourselves the “right” questions (like we do in our class discussions). Most of all it is a matter of confidence: confidence in ourselves, in our abilities and in an inherent belief that the poet wants to be understood; and by more than foddy old English teachers, for that matter."
The three sonnets are - Sonnet 71, Sonnet 73, and Sonnet 130. Have the students follow the directions on the Group Work. It is SO IMPORTANT that they follow the directions explicitely. For Part 3 - where they are asked to physically cover all lines below the one they are discussing - make sure that they are actually doing that.
Also - make sure that they spend an equal amount of time on each part of the Group Work - if you want to put the times on the board and let them know when it's time to move on to the next part - by all means, please do that.
REMEMBER - they need to leave 5 minutes (and this should be in their time allocation calculations) for the final part - to discuss and say which method their group prefers and why. As the teacher - make sure you walk around the class towards the end (something I always try to avoid during Group Work) and discover for yourself which method they prefer. It may be surprising!
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
This can all be done remotely of course - I've actually had great success with Group Work remotely - it does take some planning though.
I'm glad Macbeth was the play that I was stuck with some 35 years ago. I grew into it - and I can't imagine a better play for the students introduction (in my class - though most have read "Romeo & Juliet" before and possibly other plays in grammar school). It is perfect for our times - it is perfect for their time (15-17 years old). Because the culminating activity for the unit is planning and acting out a scene in front of all the junior classes that I taught - Macbeth is a wonderful candidate for having the students find a theme (from Rugrats to Breaking Bad) that makes sense for the play - and for their scene (all in the original Shakespeare).
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
I gave out this Group Work for many years and the overwhelming favorite for analyitical method is Method #3 - the uncovering of lines with students asking their own questions and coming up with their own answers. That makes me very happy. I told them on the first day of class that my job is to ultimately make myself unnecessary - and when I hear that answer - I know that I am well on my way to that goal.
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