William Costanzo Sample Lesson

By Kristen Romano

 

Using Film to Discuss and Understand Tone and Characterization in The Crucible

 

  1. General Objective: Students will gain an understanding of tone and characterization and they will become familiar with how these elements are perceived differently by different people.
  2. Behavioral Objectives: Given a worksheet, Ed 360 students will answer and meaningfully discuss the questions presented after reading and again after viewing a segment of the play. Given 10 minutes, students will perform a few lines of the play in class.
  3. Rationale: This lesson will allow students to explore their own understanding and interpretations of tone and characterization in the play. They will also be given the opportunity to focus on another personís interpretations of these things and thus broaden their minds and compare and contrast their views with the views of others. The introduction of the film allows for an interesting change from merely reading the play and gives students the chance to engage their audio/visual skills.

    Directing and performing a few lines of the play will enable the students to illustrate their interpretations to the rest of the class. Also, students will see the difficulty in exhibiting such emotion and will possibly gain a deeper appreciation of the film.

  4. Content of the Lesson: Segment of Act I from Author Millerís The Crucible, text and video form.
  5. Instructional Procedures:
  6. Introduction: Students will be asked if they have ever seen a read a book and then saw the movie. Those who answer yes will be asked to discuss whether or not this experience was positive or negative and why. (2 mins.)
  7. Students will be asked to read a section of The Crucible. (8 mins.)
  8. Students will be given a work sheet and asked to independently answer the questions. (5 mins.)
  9. Students will then be asked to share their answers with the class. (5 mins.)
  10. Students will then watch the same segment of the play that they have just read. (10 mins)
  11. Students will be given another worksheet and will be asked to answer the questions independently. (5 mins.)
  12. Students will then be asked to share their answers with the class. (5 mins.)
  13. Students will be asked whether or not viewing the film helped their understanding of these elements. They will be asked whether they think watching a film after reading the text inhibits their imagination. The final question to be asked is whether they are more apart of the play when they are viewing or when they are reading and if the two dimensionality of the play has anything to do with their reaction. (3-5 mins)
  14. Conclusion of the Lesson: Students will then be asked to discuss how they would act out the play. One (or two) students will be asked to direct a short impromptu performance of a few lines of the play in class. Students will then be asked to read the play aloud, adding to it their own inflections and gestures that portray their interpretation of the text, while the directors offer their input. Roles will be chosen by a random distribution of folded slips of paper with character names or director written on them. (Some students will also be asked to simply remain as audience members) (12 mins.)
***This lesson would need the full hour offered on the syllabus. If we happen to run over or if discussion goes past the allotted time, I will omit the final exercise and simply explain this section to the class as another use of Costanzaís theory**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Reading Questions for

Arthur Millerís

The Crucible

 

 

  1. In your own words, describe the tone of the play. Point to a few instances in the play that support your ideas.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. What pictures/images came to mind during your reading that helped you to establish this sense of tone?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  3. Of the characters you have met thus far, which one is most appealing to you and why?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  4. What does this character look like in your mind? How does this visualization reflect the characterís attitude or personality?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Viewing Questions for

Arthur Millerís

The Crucible

 

  1. What were your first impressions of the film?

     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. What elements in the film reflect tone? (Think about things such as lighting, camera angles, music, actorís gestures)

     

     

     

     

     

     

  3. How does this compare or contrast with the idea of tone that you extracted from your reading?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  4. Do you think the appearance of the characters complimented their personalities?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  5. Think about the character you visualized after your reading. Were you pleased or disappointed with the actor chosen to play this role?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot comment on the success of this lesson because it is scheduled to be delivered on the final day of class. However, I conducted a similar lesson during my field practicum which I will include below. I have changed the group work aspect of the lesson to include more individual work. I feel that this lesson is based on self-reflection and should therefore come from the individual. Ideas will then be shared in class so students can listen to and reflect upon the comments of their peers.

In this lesson I have also included and aspect of drama. This was done so students can fully appreciate the actors they have witnessed and get a feel of what goes into creating a piece of drama. This activity also breaks up classroom monotony.

 

 

 

Macbeth Lesson Plan

Tuesday, November 24

1st Period/12th Grade

 

General Objective: Students will compare and contrast the difference between reading a play and watching a play focusing on such elements as setting, characterization and tone. Students will also be given the opportunity to view a Shakespearean play, which will allow for the enhancement of their reading. Students will also understand the concepts of tone, setting, and characterization.

 

Performance Objective: Given a worksheet before viewing the play, students will join in groups and list their interpretations of the play at this point. After they view the play, students will return to the worksheet and discuss and list how their ideas about the play have changed.

 

Rationale: Through this experience, students will become familiar with the aspects of Shakespearean plays and acting. They will see first hand the way text can come to life on the stage or screen and also, with the aid of the worksheet, they will gain the experience of bring text to life in their own minds. Students will also have the experience of working in groups during this exercise, which will aid in the refinement of their social skills through group collaboration.

 

Content of the Lesson:

Shakespeareís Macbeth, Act I, Scenes 1-? (Text)

Focus will be on setting, the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs; characterization, the method the author uses to describe charters and their personalities; and tone, the overall feeling, or effect, created by the authors use of words.

Shakespeareís Macbeth, Act I, Scenes 1-? (Video)

Focus again will be on setting, characterization, and tone, however, students will be asked to discuss how these elements are exhibited in the production and how this coincides or differs with the text. For setting, students will be asked to pay attention to lighting and scenery and discuss how these elements set the scene and whether or not it meets their expectations based on what they have read or imagined for themselves. For characterization, students will be asked to think back to their Chaucer unit and determine whether or not the physical appearance of the character fits their personalities exhibited in the text and constructed in the studentsí minds. For tone, students will be asked to look at elements such as lighting, color, framing, and motion to determine the overall feel of the play. They will also be asked to think about whether or not the same tone is given in the written version as in the performance.

 

Presentation of the Lesson: At the start of the class period, Students will be introduced to todayísí lesson by way of an advance organizer. Students will be asked to think back to the Chaucer unit in terms of tone, characterization, and setting. (This will serve as a review of these terms and get them thinking about these elements.) Students will be asked when and where the story took place. They will then be asked what this is called, with the desired answer being "setting". They will then be asked to think about how the character descriptions fit the charactersí personalities, and what this element is called (characterization). Finally, they will be asked to think back to the feeling of the literature. (Answers will vary.) They will then be asked what this is called (tone). I will then write the definitions of these elements on the board.

I will then ask students how many of them have read a book and then watched the movie. I will then ask if the experience changed their ideas about the book, if they were similar, and if the experience was a positive or negative one.

Students will then be asked to form small groups (4-5 students per group). They will be given a handout, which they will work on in their groups for about 10 minutes. (Students will be permitted to use their books.)

When time is up, students will view the first few scenes of the play with a focus on the three elements previously discussed. Students will then get back into groups and complete the worksheet. If time permits, students will be asked to share their responses with the entire class.

 

Evaluation: For homework, students will be asked to write a paragraph on one element discussed in class and how the viewing of the play either changed or reinforced their initial interpretations.

 

 

 

Shakespeareís

Macbeth

Directions: Please answer all questions on a separate sheet of paper and return this sheet and your answer sheet to me at the end of class.

 

General Questions

  1. Define tone
  2. Define Setting
  3. Define Characterization

 

Text Question

 

  1. In your opinion, what is the overall tone of the play? Find 3 specific examples in the text to support you answer.

     

  2. Describe the setting of the play as you picture it in your own mind when reading. Point out one instance in the play that leads you to feel the way you do about the setting.

     

  3. Pick 3 characters we have met so far in the play and describe what you picture them to look like. Then describe their personalities.(count the 3 witches as one character)

 

Post Viewing Questions

 

  1. In your opinion, does the performance portray the same tone as the text? If yes, what types of things present in the play give off the tone you described above? If no, what should have been done differently in the play so it portrays the same tone of the text? (*Hint*: think about things like lighting, movement of the camera, movement of the actors, tones of voices, body language of characters)

     

  2. What did you think about the setting? Did it fit the text? What changes, if any, would you make?

     

  3. What did you think about the actors/actresses chosen to play the roles of the characters you discussed above? Did they fit your expectations? Do you have any suggestions for actors/actresses for future productions?

 

Homework

Select one element discussed above (setting, tone, or characterization) and discuss in one paragraph how your watching the play either changed or supported your interpretation of the text.

 

 

 

This lesson went fairly well. When I began talking to them about the Chaucer lesson, one student said, "Yo Miss, weíre on Macbeth." I had to assure the student that I was aware of that and I wanted to get their brains warmed up. I was surprised to learn that very few of them actually knew what tone or setting was. It took a little longer than expected to get them to fully understand these concepts, but I continued with the lesson as planned.

I proceeded to ask them to get in to groups of four and I distributed the handout. I had some problems keeping them focused on the handout because the cooperating teacher was not there and I didnít assign groups so they all joined with their friends and began chatting with each other about everything except Macbeth. The department chair and a fellow Ed 360 student observed from the back of the class. The department chair told me that I should have had them count off for group assignments, but because my cooperating teacher never assigns groups, I felt that if I did that the students would waste more time arguing about groups. Looking back on the situation, I feel that I should have taken that chance just to see how it would have worked. I circulated the classroom encouraging the students to think about the assignment. The conversations I had with the students proved to me that they understood the material but they were simply too lazy to write down their answers.

The video the cooperating teacher had left for me would not have been my first choice. It was horribly out of sequence from the play and the students had a difficult time following along. When the students returned to their papers they complained that they didnít understand the video enough to complete the worksheet. I encouraged them to focus on that aspect and to think about what they would do differently if they were directing a version of the play. This exercise got a lot more response than the first part of the exercise. Students actually began discussing things like how they would like Macbeth to look, the language used, the music used, and scenery changes they would make to fully portray their interpretation of the mood and tone.

Unfortunately, by the time the discussion became intensely focused on the material, the bell rang and the students handed in their papers and left.

I looked over their papers and found that many of the students put a good amount of effort into this second half of the exercise. This leads me to believe that this lesson, if handled a little more carefully, could be a successful one. It is a bit difficult because many of these students do not fully understand the reading or they do not do the reading because of their busy lives (many of them have children and/or nearly full time jobs). This lesson was good for these students because the focus was on their opinions and concepts they could easily pick up via their senses. Beginning a unit with such an exercise could lead to more advanced reader response type discussions in future lessons.

 

Works Consulted:

Costanzo, William. Reading the Movies. National Council of Teachers of English: USA, 1992.

 

 

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