1/27/24

Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victors.” That’s why if you want to learn about British history and simmering soup that forged the ultimate British super king, you have to ask the playwrights. The elites are “This royal throne of kings, this
scepter’d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,” Richard II, Shakespeare. It’s important to have a healthy disgust of Richard II and his spoiled, mush-mouthed personality to understand his history. The spoiled, entitled King Richard II, inherited his
throne, was un-athletic, and inspired no-one in his kingdom. The playwrights had access to this kind of juicy gossip, while historians worked for the crown and only for the crown. Playwrights like William Shakespeare jotted down all of the interesting scuttlebutt from a time that was called the “dark-ages” because we all believed nothing was happening. The magic of Shakespeare is that he took his observations from the
most compelling personal narratives of the time and created hypnotizing theater from them. This is the highest bar of achievement in the writing process. The students will learn how to take scenes from their own lives, and analyze how the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas affect the text. By the end of the year students will read and comprehend literary nonfiction, while raising their knowledge of text complexity independently and proficiently. The students will also learn scaffolding techniques that are needed to understand texts at the high-end of the range for middle school readers. This is done through a formal teaching of the writing process. The vehicle for learning their craft is Shakespeare. The students will walk alongside the playwright as they take their turn at making their literal reality into a play for all to enjoy. Success is measured and identified through differentiated levels of scaffolding for students’ abilities. Level one is the student’s ability to craft a personal narrative. Level two is the students ability to adapt that narrative into a screenplay worthy of publishing. Students then will produce and direct their own screenplays, which is benchmark three. While this is going on, we will be reading and understanding the context of the Shakespearen history plays. Transference will occur as students learn how adaptation works when done by the masters. This serves as benchmark five. The Shakespearen history plays are the part of The Bard that garners the least amount of attention in early secondary education. Yet, it adds so much levity and color
to a time that had little context. In education transference is a strong assessment criteria. Shakespeare’s obsession with prince Machiavelli, teaches kids that the idea of manipulation isn’t new and something to be on the look for. The unit grows from our course study on personal narrative. Students will have
written formal essays three times when the unit begins. The Statement of Inquiry is; Students utilize intertextuality and apply their point of view on a unique personal life experience. By utilizing self expression, students develop a greater sense of identity. The biggest payoff in the unit is through the expression of transference as it is applied across the bends of the unit. The path begins with the personal narrative. It’s then transformed into a short play about what students know best, themselves!
Transference gets a chance to occur again, because we are reading the Shakespearen history plays in Sportscenter-like clips and highlights. It will be inspiring for students to have Shakespeare as their muse. Book publishing with a hardcover, binding, fifty-pages and an engraved title and author’s name is $2.14per student at Barnes and Noble Press, based on an estimate received 1/27/24. I have approximately one-hundred and
twenty 7th-grade students. The big, big, big payoff in the end is the trip to the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, to watch the finale, King Henry V. Currently, they’re ten show times with
matinees, beginning April 23. When the perfect king finally takes his spot as the leader of England, and the angry viking hordes are banging down their doors; the king’s men will be outnumbered, and the Saint Crispin’s Day speech will drop in a climatic, mic drop
shakespearean moment experienced only when the histories are read in order. Our goal is that students will have accomplished something great and have a formal artifact to show for it. Tickets will be less than $29 per student.

● $2.19×120 students ~ $262.80
● $29×120 students ~ $3,480
● Bussing ~ TBD
● Staffing ~ TBD