|
|
|
|
| Overview |
This lesson makes use of the differences between Elizabethan and Modern English to introduce concepts of language change and dialect. Students use print and online resources to explore changes in English vocabulary. They list words recently added to the English language, search for archaic words, and try their hand at inventing new words using existing roots, prefixes, and suffixes. After studying some of Shakespeare's vocabulary, students write dialogue for a comic strip and embellish it with Elizabethan terms. An improv activity offers students a chance to try speaking a few phrases in the Bard's dialect.
|
| From Theory to Practice |
Graves, M.F. (2006). Teaching word-learning strategies. In The vocabulary book: Learning & instruction (pp. 91–118). New York; Newark, DE; and Urbana, IL: Teachers College Press.
- Students need a strategy to help them formulate an understanding of unknown words.
- Students who have knowledge of word parts—roots, prefixes and suffixes—can use this knowledge to infer meaning.
|
| Student Objectives |
Students will
- Become aware that vocabulary and usage are subject to change in different historical periods and different social contexts
- Understand processes of word formation
- Demonstrate an understanding of Elizabethan language and apply their knowledge to original writing
|
| Instructional Plan |
Preparation
| 1. |
Choose a recorded (audio or video) production of the Shakespeare play students will be studying. Arrange for the necessary audio or video equipment so students can listen to (or watch) the opening scene in Session 1 of the lesson.
|
| 2. |
Print out The Love of the Language handout, and print each of the listed words invented by Shakespeare on an index card (one word per card).
|
| 3. |
Make a copy for each student of the Elizabethan Language Terms handout, and make an overhead transparency of the handout.
|
| 4. |
Using the ReadWriteThink.org Comic Creator, create two (or more) three-panel comics with blank speech bubbles. Make copies for students of both these comics, and make an overhead transparency of one of them.
|
| 5. |
Familiarize yourself with the website How to Improvise Shakespeare. Be aware that this website is designed for adults and you may find some of the material inappropriate for your students. If you prefer that your students not visit this site, create and reproduce a handout on improvising Shakespeare using ideas and suggestions borrowed from the site. Also create a set of "Elizabethan Expressions" index cards using the phrases and definitions listed on the webpage (under "Words like:"). Copy the word on one side of the card and the definition and its usage on the other. These cards will be given to students to use for improv. [Note: If you are comfortable having your students visit this site, students can make their own sets of cards in Session 4, which they can then use as a study tool for learning Shakespearian expressions.]
|
| 6. |
Bookmark Greek and Latin Root Words, Haney's Pub: Elizabethan Language Lexicon, and (if desired) How to Improvise Shakespeare on students' computers.
|
| 7. |
Choose an excerpt from a Shakespeare play (preferably with colorful and characteristic dialog) for students to read at the beginning of Session 4. Reproduce the excerpt as a handout for students and as an overhead transparency. You may wish to print your selection from the online texts at No Fear Shakespeare or The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
|
| 8. |
Schedule access to computers for Sessions 2, 3, and 4.
|
Instruction and Activities
Session 1: Language Change
| 1. |
Begin by playing the opening scene of the Shakespeare play students will be reading in the recorded version you have chosen, explaining only that they will be watching (or listening to) a scene from a play. When the scene has ended, ask students questions such as:
- Can you tell what is going on from listening to this dialogue?
- What language were the actors speaking?
- If it is English, why is it so hard to understand?
|
| 2. |
Explain to students that our language did not just happen, but is the result of many hundreds and even thousands of years of development. Explain to them that English is constantly changing. New words are entering the language, while others are dropped. Tell them that this is why when they read Shakespeare they may come across words they do not recognize or terms that have a different meaning than the one we are familiar with.
|
| 3. |
Ask students to think of words that have been added to the language or have acquired new meanings in their lifetime, such as online, iPod, x-treme, and hybrid (vehicle). Make a list of these new words and ask students to identify areas of society that may foster new word formation (e.g., technology and youth culture).
|
| 4. |
Ask students to contribute to a list of English words that are no longer in common use, such as knickers, plowshare, and rube. Have students browse through their dictionaries looking for words marked as archaic or slang to find additional words for the list.
|
| 5. |
Introduce the concept of language change through borrowing from other languages. Work together as a class to compile a list of words "adopted" into English, indicating the language from which they came (e.g., adieu from French, manga from Japanese, piano from Italian).
|
| 6. |
Explain that English also often adds new words by extending the meaning of an existing word [e.g., hybrid (vehicle with two fuel sources), text (verb—to send a text message); burn (to write files onto a CD or DVD). Work together as a class to compile a list of recently added words in this category.
|
| 7. |
Return to the scene students listened to at the beginning of class and examine the written text. Ask students to identify words and phrases that are not used in Modern English or that seem to have a different meaning.
|
Session 2: New Words
| 1. |
Ask students whether they and their friends have certain words that only they use and understand. How did they come up with these terms? Why do they use them? Use their answers to point out how the language continues to grow and change.
|
| 2. |
Introduce the idea of a personal vocabulary. Explain that the English language contains about 300,000 words, but the average person's vocabulary consists of only about 3,000 words, and students probably get by on a daily basis with about 150. Then tell students that William Shakespeare used a vocabulary of about 15,000 words, some of which he invented.
|
| 3. |
Form pairs (or small groups) of students and give each group one of the index cards made from the handout The Love of the Language (see Preparation, Step 2). Explain that Shakespeare invented all of these words, and some of them became accepted as part of the language. Have students discuss what their word might mean and write a possible definition on the back of the card.
|
| 4. |
Have students look up their word in the dictionary to see whether it has become part of the language. If the word is listed, they should compare its definition with the meaning they proposed.
|
| 5. |
Ask students to make up an original word, using common root words, prefixes, and suffixes to construct its meaning. They should provide the definition of the word and identify its part of speech. For example
- protoist: (noun): one who practices being first. < John was such a protoist that every time we went to lunch he pushed others aside to be first in line. >
- extact: (adjective): out of touch < After missing a week of school, Marissa was completely extact. >
Suggest that students use the list of roots, prefixes, and suffixes found at Greek and Latin Root Words or a similar list from your own grammar text. They might also wish to revisit the lists of new words compiled in Session 1 (see Steps 3 and 6), and choose one of these words as the root for their invented word. Check in with individual students as they are working, to answer any questions they may have and offer suggestions.
Note: If students have not had much practice with word analysis (roots, prefixes, and suffixes), you may prefer to have them work in small groups for this activity.
|
Session 3: Vocabulary of Elizabethan English
| 1. |
Distribute copies of the Elizabethan Language Terms handout and display the handout using the overhead projector. Read the words aloud with the class so to familiarize students with their pronunciation. Work as a class to label each word according to its part of speech (e.g., noun, verb)
|
| 2. |
Have students access the website Haney's Pub: Elizabethan Language Lexicon. Each student should choose three or four words from the site to add to the list of Elizabethan Language Terms. You might suggest that students choose words beginning with the same letter as their own names, so they do not all get stuck in the A's and B's.
|
| 3. |
Explain that students will be writing Elizabethan comic strips, and ask them to use the lists of first names and surnames at Faire Names for English Folk to create a name for a comic strip character.
|
| 4. |
Display a comic strip with blank speech bubbles on the overhead and pass out copies of the corresponding strip. Ask students to identify what is going on in the scene. Have them brainstorm what the characters' emotions are, who is speaking, what they are speaking about, and how they are speaking (e.g., questions, exclamations).
|
| 5. |
Ask students to suggest some appropriate dialogue, and fill in the speech bubbles to complete the comic. (Don't worry yet about using Elizabethan vocabulary.)
|
| 6. |
Ask students to identify words in the comic that could be replaced with Elizabethan equivalents. Also have them suggest places where Elizabethan terms or phrases could be added. Write the suggested changes and additions on the overhead transparency, and have students write them on their own copies.
|
| 7. |
Hand out the copies you have made of the second comic strip with blank speech bubbles. Have students work with a partner to complete their own comic strip. The title of the strip can be the two names the partners chose for their characters. When everyone has finished, have students exchange and read each other's comics.
|
Homework: (optional) Distribute copies of additional comics and ask students to complete them at home, including as many Elizabethan words and phrases as possible.
Session 4: Improvising Shakespeare
| 1. |
Distribute copies of the excerpt you have selected and have students read the scene aloud (see Preparation, Step 7). You may wish to divide the class into several groups so that every student has a part to read.
|
| 2. |
Display the selected scene on the overhead projector and ask students to identify words (or phrases) from the lines they just read that are no longer used in Modern English. As each word is identified, invite a volunteer to make up an original sentence using that word. If necessary, call attention to the part of speech to verify that each word is used correctly in the new sentence.
|
| 3 |
Distribute copies of the handout you have created based on the How to Improvise Shakespeare website. Alternatively, you can have students visit the How to Improvise Shakespeare website for ideas about doing improv in an Elizabethan style (see Preparation, Step 5). Provide blank index cards and have students create their own "Elizabethan Expressions" cards for use in improv and in vocabulary study.
|
| 4. |
Have students work in pairs to write brief original dialogues in Shakespearean style. Have them use the Elizabethan Language Terms handout as a resource. If time permits, have students perform their dialogues for the class.
|
| 5. |
Distribute the index cards based on the How to Improvise Shakespeare site so that each student receives one card. (If students have created their own sets of cards, ask them to choose one or two cards with their favorite expressions.) Invite two students at a time to improvise brief dialogues, incorporating the words from their cards.
|
Extensions
- Extend students' reading and understanding of the Shakespeare play by using the ReadWriteThink.org lessons "Introducing Shakespeare: Exploring Persona and Character Motivations" and "Introducing Shakespeare: Character Journals and Point of View."
- Have students "translate" an excerpt from a Shakespeare play into Modern English. They may wish to compare their version with the No Fear Shakespeare Modern English version.
- In addition to changing through history, languages have different contemporary versions and dialects shared by certain geographic regions or social groups. Examine some of the regional differences in English vocabulary and accent, perhaps by watching excerpts from Australian, British, or Indian movies.
- Have students repeat the comic strip activity, this time incorporating the new words that they created in Session 2.
- Introduce students to the Shakespeare Insult Kit and have them practice incorporating insults into the dialogue and comic strips they have created.
|
| Student Assessment/Reflections |
- Note students' contributions to class discussions in Sessions 1, 2, and 3.
- Evaluate comic strips based on the number of Elizabethan words or expressions used, whether they are used correctly (correct part of speech), and whether they are appropriate to the situation depicted.
- In Session 4, note whether students use the Elizabethan language correctly and appropriately in the sentences they write.
- Evaluate dialogues and improv performances using the following criteria:
- Student correctly uses vocabulary to express ideas
- Student incorporates both modern and Elizabethan terms
- Student uses appropriate tone and inflection as a tool for expressing the meaning of words (performance)
- When all sessions have been completed, ask students to reflect on the lesson by responding to the following questions:
| 1. |
What did you learn about language and its development since Shakespeare's time? How might this help you when you read one of Shakespeare's plays?
|
| 2. |
How comfortable do you feel with Shakespeare's English now that you have studied some of the words? Explain.
|
| 3. |
What was the most difficult thing you had to do during this lesson? Why?
|
|
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.
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 employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - 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 nonprint texts.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
|
|
|
