Over the summer, we (7th grade English) worked to develop a "new" unit for 7th grade. I say "new" because we had copies of A Midsummer Night's Dream, however we do not know when they were lasted used. We decided that this text provides students with a number of different exposures: (1) challenging material, (2) play/ drama, (3) classic text. Many of you probably read A Midsummer when you were in school. Hopefully, you have fond memories of the silly story. We hope to create those same memories with students while also challenging them with a difficult text. Knowing that Shakespeare is still taught in high schools (as well as other old English materials), this piece is a great introduction for students who are not used to reading old English. We have the No Fear Shakespeare copies, so students can engage with both the old English and modern standard English.
We both took time to re-read the play. Then, we started drafting a unit plan, quizzes for each Act, and a pre-assessment. We are hoping for students to be assessed through written analysis and performance of a section of the play.
The unit plan lays out essential questions, assessment lines (unit goals) and key vocabulary. We started the learning plan, however it is unfinished. We plan to continue building out the unit as we get closer to the start date.
The Pre-Assessment is a monologue from Titania early on in the play. Students will have both the Shakespearian English and Modern English translation to work with. They will answer a number of comprehension questions to demonstrate where they are coming into the unit.
The Act quizzes are short answer comprehension questions that will help us ensure that students are reading the material.
Realizing that the amount of characters, and relationship dynamics we be confusing, we created character posters (via Canva) that will hopefully help students keep track of who is who (and who is in love with whom).
We hope that this unit sticks and becomes a staple of 7th grade English!