WiS Lesson 6C Shakespeare

The original Writing in Stereo was published online back in the late 1980's.  Its purpose was to apply creative radio dramatics to all aspects of the teaching of high school English.  Each lesson included a lesson plan and notes.  I'm sharing these with you here. UNIT OBJECTIVE: (VI) The student will adapt to radio drama a passage from one of Shakespeare's plays. LESSON OBJECTIVE: (C) The student will write the adaptation and record the passage. MATERIALS REQUIRED: Paper and pencil, Shakespeare play text, audio tape recorder/player, some recording space INTRODUCTION: Now we're ready to try adapting the passage and recording it. PROCEDURE 1. Students should write prose translations of passages as they did in the poetry unit. 2. Each then reads the passage to their partner. The partner interrupts when action is not clear to the ear. 3. Plants that duplicate Shakespeare's language are carefully inserted. 4. Students may wish to add sound effects and music. 5. Collaborative pairs join other partnerships for recording if the scene requires it. EVALUATION FOCUS: Concentrate on the script. The adaptation should be imaginative and understandable to the ear, but the text of Shakespeare should seem unaltered.