Title of Lesson: Getting to know the characters in Julius Caesar

Grade Level of the Lesson: 2^nd - 3^rd

Reason for Developing This Lesson: I developed this lesson as a way to get children to easily understand Julius Caesar and at the same time, explore their creativity by being able to draw out the main characters in Julius Caesar and how they see them. This will also help the children to develop their creative/descriptive writing skills when they do a brief one paragraph write up about the main characters. I believe that most children learn better when they are doing something that they are interested in and that is more hands on. This also helps to show kids that learning can also be fun.

Goals or Objectives: My goal or objective for this lesson is to help develop the child's creativity through art by allowing them to draw out the characters of Julius Caesar, Brutus, Antony, Cassius, Octavius, Casca, Calpurnia, Portia, Flavius, Cicero, Lapidus, and Decius and how they see them and imagine them to look. The children will also be asked to write out a brief character description of their drawing and that character. I hope that out of their writing they will learn more about the art of descriptive writing as well as learn more about the characters in the play.(See; Appendix A for brief character list)

Procedures or Activity: First the children will be given a brief description of the characters on a hand-out. They will be divided into 12 groups (one group for each character) and they will be asked to read, as a group, the character description that they have been given. (See; Appendix A for brief character lists and descriptions) Next, each student will be given drawing paper as well as be asked to take out a lined sheet of paper. They will then, individually, draw a picture of what they think their character would look like. After they have completed their drawings they will be asked to write a brief description on how they think their character would act on their lined sheet of paper. (See; Appendix B for what questions the students will be asked to answer in their descriptive paragraphs) Then the students will be put into larger groups, 12 in each group (if possible), one of every character in each group, they will then be allowed to share their drawings with their group members and asked to teach their group members about their own specific character. Each students work will then be staple together, containing their descriptive paragraph directly below their drawing. All of the drawing will then be displayed according to character underneath the original character description that they were given and if possible, a picture of the actual characters themselves to give the students many different perspectives of the character which will include their own, their classmates, as well as the way history portrays them. The students will later be asked to act out their favorite character while the rest of the class guesses who they are acting out.

Materials Needed: List of characters from Julius Caesar will be provided for the students. Drawing paper. Crayons, Color Pencils, and/or Markers. Lined paper. Writing utensil (pen or pencil). Stapler to staple paragraph and drawing together and display in the classroom.

Arts and Elements of Expression: Not only did I include creative dramatics into this lesson plan by having the children act out their favorite character of the play, I also included visual art by having them draw a picture of their interpretation of the character they were assigned. The elements of expression that they used in this lesson were definitely color, which they used when they drew their picture of the character. They used line as well, in the pictures that they created as well as in the descriptive write-up that they did. The last element that was used in this lesson was sound, when they got into groups and told each other about their characters.

Bibliography:

Julius Caesar, as told by William Shakespeare

Character list obtained from: http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/julius_caesar/charlist.html

The Last source I used was from my Theater 360 notes on the Arts and Elements of Expression. Obtained from Ruth Cantrell

Appendix

Appendix A:

Julius Caesar: the titular character. When the play starts, he is the only man capable of giving orders and ensuring they are carried out. Caesar fails to understand the many signs indicating a plot against him and is killed by a conspiracy led by Cassius and Brutus. His ghost haunts the remainder of the play, and his name is invoked by both Cassius and Brutus before they commit suicide in the final act.

Calpurnia: the wife of Caesar. She has a dream in which she sees a statue of Caesar bleeding from multiple wounds, and begs him to stay at home the day he is killed. Caesar ignores her and goes to the Senate House anyway

Brutus: a noble Roman opposed to Caesar. He is an idealist who upholds honor above everything else. Brutus only agrees to kill Caesar after becoming convinced that it is necessary for the Roman Republic. He dies on the battlefield by impaling himself on his own sword.

Portia: the wife of Brutus. She proves her courage and strength by stabbing her thigh with a dagger in order to force Brutus to tell her about the plot to kill Caesar. She kills herself by swallowing hot coals from the fire after Mark Antony and Octavius assume power in Rome.

Lucius: a servant to Brutus.

Cassius: a man opposed to Caesar. He assembles the conspirators and is the man who convinces Brutus to kill Caesar. He commits suicide at the battle of Philippi after falsely thinking his army has been defeated.

Decius: Convinces Caesar that Calpurnia misinterpreted her nightmare, and no danger awaits Caesar.

Antony: a ruler of Rome after Caesar's death. Antony is Caesar's friend from the beginning and he gives a rousing speech to the masses which causes riots in Rome. Brutus and Cassius are chased out of the city in the ensuing chaos, and Antony forms the second triumvirate with Octavius and Lepidus.

Octavius Caesar: a ruler of Rome after Caesar's death. Octavius is a young general who joins the second triumvirate. He and Antony fight against Brutus and Cassius; he historically becomes the future emperor of Rome.

Lepidus: a ruler of Rome after Caesar's death.

Flavius: a tribune of the people. He is removed from office after derobing the statues of Caesar.

Cicero: a senator. He tells Casca that men construe omens the way they want to. He is later killed by Antony and Octavius when they purge the Senate.

Appendix B:

Using the picture you have drawn of your character, what do you think they are like in person?

Do you think this Character is likeable?

What do you think your character likes to do for fun?

Where does your character live?

Who are your characters friends?

#1

How to Dramatize a Story

Read/tell a story

Cast the characters/roles**

Rehearse the story

Present/act out the story

**when casting roles may be done as follows

To add characters

Cast environment characters ie: trees, flowers, etc.

Cast a narrator

Add characters who are family members

To delete characters

Cast one actor to play several roles

Cast a narrator to play roles

#2

Pass the Pad

Split students into small groups

Give each person in the group a piece of paper with a single, unfinished sentence

Allow time for the students to finish the sentence and continue the story**

Each paper is passed to the right

Allow those students to take the time to read the paper that has been handed to them

Continue until students end up with their own papers

**Students should be given enough time to read what the person before them has written

Each time the paper is passed, allow a little more time than the pass before

#3

How to Write a Poem

Separate students into four different groups

Assign each group a season**

Have each person in the group say a word that reminds them of their season

Each person will say more than one word in order to make a long list of words

Give your students the basic layout of a Haiku poem; 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables

Ask them to write a Haiku poem using their words, as a group

**Haikus can be used for any subject, depending on what you are teaching.

Ex: characters from a book, famous historians, etc.

#4

Archeology Activity

Collect "artifacts" pertaining to the lesson you are teaching (preferably a story)

Make sure the kids are familiar with the lesson or story

Assign a number to each artifact

Assign students a coinciding number with one of the artifacts

Students will study the object thoroughly**

**After the student has looked at and studied the item in class, allow them to take them home if given as homework.

Students will write a history on the artifact**

**History should include who the artifact may have belonged to and the story of what it does or the importance of it, in their own words.

#5

Getting to Know You

Go around in a circle and have each student introduce themselves**

** Student will introduce themselves by saying their name and acting out an activity that they enjoy doing

After each student says their name and acts out their hobby, everyone will repeat the name and act out the activity.

As the introductions go on each name and activity will be repeated and acted out in sequence.

#6

Neutral Position

Teach every student to stand in the neutral position**

**This is arms at the side feet shoulders length apart

In between acting or any physical activity kids can be told to stand in the neutral position

Helps to regain their attention and focus

#8

Assume the Position

Put two students in two physical positions, ex: bending, standing on one foot, hunched over, etc.

In this position the first two students will make a scene using the way their body is placed**

**This could be whatever the position they are in reminds them of. Ex: doing a chore, playing a sport etc.

After a scene has developed the students will freeze in all new positions and one will be replaced by a new student.

The new addition to the position will be in charge of making a whole new scene.

This continues until all students have participated and several scenes have been acted out.

#9

Evil Twin

Two students are given the role as good twin and two as bad twin.

Good twins will sit in on a scene of your choice**

**Ex: in a barber shop, sitting in a waiting room, etc.

The two will start in the scene very friendly to each other then the scene will be frozen and one evil twin will replace one good **

** Only one evil twin is allowed in the scene at a time

The evil twin will go in and wreak havoc in the scene

Scene will be froze once more and the good twin will once again take their original place, 'oblivious' as to what happened.

This can continue on until scenes end.

#10

What Else Could It Be?

The students will be asked to look at an everyday object **

** This could be a clothes hanger a set of headphones, etc.

One by one the students will be asked to act out or tell different things that the item in question could be used for besides its regular use.

This helps the mind be creative and helps to look at things in a different perspective

#11

Treasure Hunt-Getting to Know Your Classmates

Each student will be given a list of different facts that they have to find fit the description of someone in the classroom**

** Ex: things such as, find someone who has lived in this state their whole life, Find someone who can speak more than one language, etc.

Students will have to go around the classroom and find at least two people in the classroom who fit the description given.

Once they find two people who fit the description they will have them sign their name next to the description and introduce themselves.

#12

Where have you been and where do you want to go?

Kids will be paired up with a partner on the first day of school.

Each kid will trace their own foot onto a piece of paper

They will then exchange their footprint outline with their partner

It will be each student's job to find out information about each other and write it in the foot outline **

** Included in this will be the students name, the farthest or best place they have ever traveled, or even just a place they like to visit, like a friend's house. Each student will also tell one place in the world they would like to travel to.

#13

Spider Web - We're all connected

Students and teacher will form a circle

The teacher will start by holding a roll of yarn.

Grabbing hold of the loose end, the teacher introduces themselves then tosses the roll to a student who is across the circle from them

The student holding the roll of yarn will grab part of it in one hand and the bundle in the other.

This student will introduce themselves and tell something about themselves and then toss the bundle to someone across the circle from them.

This will continue until each student in the circle is holding a piece of yarn and a spider web is formed in the middle of the circle connecting all of the students.

Next, the last student to introduce themselves will toss the bundle to someone across from them and say their name.

This will continue until the web is undone and the yarn is raveled back up

#14

Being an Object

Students will be divided into different groups

The first group will stay in the classroom and the others will go elsewhere until the first group is done preparing **

** The first group will come up with a scene or an object that they can work together to act out without saying any words.

The other group will come out and watch the performance

After seeing the performance they will make guesses to what was being acted out in front of them.

The first group will leave the room, and the second group will create a scene or an object that they can act out.

The first group will make guesses about what was presented to them

Megan Montoya

"The Prettiest Flower: A Lesson in Art"

Grade Level: 2nd - 4th

This project is primarily for young children between the ages of seven and ten.  This lesson is meant to challenge your students to be creative and use their imagination to dream up any type of flower they can imagine! It is also the first lesson in a unit on flowers.

Objective: 

The objective is to challenge the children to stretch their creative muscles through art. Not only will the students be asked to draw a flower that may or may not really exist, they will be asked to present it to the class.

Goal: 

Students will learn to create using their imaginations. Students will also gain minor public speaking skills by presenting their flower to the class and sharing it with their peers.

Materials Needed: 

Students will be given a blank sheet of white, drawing paper.  Students will also be supplied with color pencils, crayons, and markers.  Glitter and glue is optional. Any other arts and crafts item can be used in order to make a creative flower and to display their creativity.

Procedures:

What the student will need to do is to take his or her blank sheet of drawing paper and uses the materials available to draw a flower, anything of their choice. The kids will decorate the flower as creatively as they can and then present their drawing to the class and share what their flower and how they thought of it.

Arts and Elements of Expression:

After the students have finished drawing their flowers and each student has presented and shared it with the class, they will all be asked to take part in acting out a scene in which they discover their flower for the first time and they are picking and gathering their own, along with their classmates flowers.

Megan Montoya

"The Story of My Flower: A Lesson in Language Arts"

Grade Level: 2^nd -4^th

The students will be given the opportunity to express themselves through their writing by writing or typing up a short poem about the picture they have drawn. This will be the second lesson in the unit on flowers. Students will work on their writing and grammar skills.

Objective:

This will help to develop the student's creative writing skills and critical thinking skills through the writing of this poem. This activity will also be used as a means of introducing the students to poetry and format.

Goal:

Develop writing skills as well as enhance creative side of your students. It will also learn how to write a simple poem in no particular format.

Materials Needed:

Students will need blanked lined paper and a pencil to write out the first draft of their poem. If available, students will be allowed to use either the school computers or a home computer in order to type up the final draft of their poem.

Procedures:

In order to do the assignment, the students will be asked to write a rough draft of their poems on lined paper to be reviewed by a peer and any corrections that need to be made will be done and final copy of the poem will be typed up using Microsoft Word.

Arts and Elements of Expression:

After the poems have been written and typed, the students will do a dramatic reading of their poem to the class. This will be done with the picture in full display so that the other students will have a clear view of what the poem is referring to.

Megan Montoya

"Watch My Flower Grow: A Lesson in Science"

Grade Level: 2^nd - 4^th

Here the students will be given seeds and a small flower pot or a cut milk carton and will be able to watch the stages of a developing flower. This will be given as the third lesson plan in the unit on flowers.

Objective:

The objective of this lesson plan is to allow the students to watch and take part in the life process of a flower while at the same time learning the different stages. The students will be able to see this first hand in order to give them a better idea.

Goal:

The goal of this activity is to teach students about the beginning life process of a flower and allow them to get a more hands on look at this while they care for their flower as it grows.

Materials Needed:

Flower seeds will be provided for the students. Potting soil will be needed as well as a small flower pot or the cut out bottom of a milk carton will also work. Students may also be allowed to decorate their pots or milk cartons with markers, crayons, glitter, glue, etc. in order to display their individuality and to be able to easily keep track of which belongs to them.

Procedures:

Show your student's the correct way to pot a plant and they will be taught the proper way to care for a flower, such as the amount of light it needs and the daily watering of the flower. After the pots are decorated and the flowers have been planted, the students will then be taught about the stages of development the flower will go through.

Arts and Elements of Expression:

After the students learn about the developing stages of a flower, they will, as a class, act out these stages. This will help to give them a better idea of what the stages are and how they work.

Megan Montoya

"History of Flowers: A Lesson in History"

The students will learn the practical uses that flowers were used for in the past and will be able to compare them to how flowers are use today. This will be used as the fourth lesson in the unit on flowers.

Objective:

The objective of this lesson plan is to teach students about the history of flowers and to show them that flowers had more of a practical use in history rather than the role that they play today, which is usually just as decoration.

Goal:

Allow children to take a look at flowers historical roles and brainstorm ideas of what else flowers could be used for. Students will be able to apply the knowledge that they have learned about the past uses of flowers in order to come up with creative ways that flowers can be used.

Materials Needed:

Children may use the aide of their History textbook or an encyclopedia, as well as the internet to find any information that they can on this subject. Pencil and paper will be needed to write down different things that they find. This can also be done as a class. The students will also be given hand-outs containing many roles flowers have played in our past. For example, flowers were used by the Native Americans in order to make the dyes that they used for their clothing. Flowers were also given as peace offerings and gifts. Some, at one point, were even thought to have contained healing powers, one such example still in use today is chamomile.

Procedure:

This lesson plan helps to show your students different cultures beliefs and the way people from the past used what resources they had in order to survive or live their daily lives. A discussion will be held as to the importance of flowers and what they think they could have used flowers for.

Arts and Elements of Expression:

After the discussion, the students will each be handed a silk flower and asked to act out one thing that they could use their flower for other than decoration or the ones that have been discussed.

Megan Montoya

"In My Own Backyard: A Lesson in Geography"

Grade Level 2^nd- 4^th

Students will be given a chance to explore their very own backyards or neighborhoods to discover different types of flowers that are native to their area. This lesson will be used as the fifth in the unit on flowers.

Objective:

The objective is to show your students different types of flowers that grow in their area in order to give them a better understanding as to why some flowers grow in this area and some do not.

Goal:

Help children to see for themselves why flowers grow in the various climates and temperatures that they do. This will also help them to understand why many flowers have to be planted in yards and do not naturally grow their.

Materials Needed:

For this very minimal materials are needed. Students may use the internet to research what types of flowers grow in a desert setting. Students may also be allowed to walk around their school yard in order to see the type of area that flowers need to grow in. For example, an unpaved lot, hills, mountains, cactus flowers, etc.

Procedure:

Children should be allowed to take a look around their area, either in the classroom or with their parents around town or at home. They will make notes of what they have seen and will report back to the class. Students will be given a handout or shown pictures of different flowers and learn about the climates these particular flowers need to be in to grow.

Arts and Elements of Expression:

Students will be broken up into small groups and will be assigned a type of climate and a type of flower. The students will then act out the life of this flower in that climate. They can also be asked to create their own type of flower that can withstand any weather and will be asked to act that out.

Megan Montoya

April 24, 2008

Language Arts Unit at the 8^th Grade Level

Theme: How effective can writing and journal keeping be?

Essential Questions:

What constitutes as journal keeping?

How can journal writing improve your skills as a writer?

Does journal writing have to be primarily for girls or boys?

What types of things can you write about in a journal?

Why should we rely on writing to document feelings?

8^th Grade Benchmarks and Performance Objectives:

Benchmark #1-A: Listen to, read, react to, and interpret information

• Performance Objective 2-Interact in group activities and/or seminars to:

- Share Personal reactions to questions raised

- give reasons and cite examples from texts to support opinions

- clarify, illustrate, or expand on a response

- ask classmates for similar expansion

Benchmark #2-C: Demonstrate competence in the skills and strategies of the writing process

• Performance Objective 1- Describe the significance of the subject to the author

Benchmark #3-B: Identify ideas and make connections among literary works

• Performance Objective 3 - Identify literary devices (e.g., metaphor, symbolism, dialect, irony) to understand the author's meaning and perspective

Novel #1:

Leeuwen Van, Jean (1989). Dear Mom, You're Ruining My Life. New York: Puffin Books.

• Samantha Slayton is the typical teenage girl. She feels awkward and unsure because she does not fit in with the kids at school. Her home life is far different from that of her peers so Samantha feels alienated in middle school. Her mother is an eccentric poet and her father, a brilliant mathematician. A lot of Samantha's interactions with her mother happen through notes that they write back and forth to each other on the refrigerator. It all comes to a head when Samantha is embarrassed by her mother at a student-parent basketball game. Samantha feels like she can not take anymore embarrassment or feeling like an outside and documents it all in her journal.

• I selected this book because it deals with typical feelings many middle school aged kids go through and is a great example of how to get feelings and emotions expressed through their writing, especially when it is things that they dare not say out loud. This book is a great example of what it is like to be a teenager and the feelings you have about being different and embarrassed by your parents. The book shows great examples of writing by Samantha which include wit and metaphors and would be a great way to teach this to a class.

• Activity: The students in this literature circle group will all write an imaginary letter to a parent or another adult in their lives. The letter will be a humorous way to get out their feelings about any given topic such as homework, chores, or curfew. The students will all share their example with their lit circle group and letters will be kept in file in order to document the productiveness of the lit group.

Novel #2:

Lubar, David. (2005). Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. New York: Penguin Group

• Scott Hudson has just started his freshmen year of high school. If that is not enough, he just finds out that his parents are having another baby. With all of the stress of starting at a new school, AP classes, bullies, and a new baby, Scott decides to keep a journal of his High School experiences for the new baby so that it can be prepared for what is coming to it in High School. He records each and every moment that is significant in his freshmen experience in a humorous and entertaining way for the reader.

• I chose this novel as one of my lit group books because it showed great examples of metaphor, irony, and other literary devices. It is also a great example of journal keeping and how effective it can be. The book also deals with real life issues such as suicide and bullies. It is a good way for students to learn about and begin discussions about such issues.

• Activity: The students in this literature circle will take one of Scott Hudson's guides to different topics and they will write their own. The students should add irony and/or metaphors to their guides and they each will share these with their group members. These will be put in their group folder in order to document their group's productivity.

Novel #3:

Fitzhugh, Louise. (1992). Harriet the Spy. New York: Harper and Row

• This is the story of Harriet M. Welsch, a young girl whose one aspiration in life is to be a spy or a journalist. Harriet takes to the streets in order to document things that she sees in her trusty, secret notebook. She is constantly writing all the things she observes which often leads her into some trouble. When Harriet's notebook is discovered it only gets her into more trouble and inevitably shunned by her classmates. In all of her adventures, Harriet remains true to herself and her love of writing.

• I thought this was a good story to choose in that it shows a passion for writing, which in some cases (hopefully,) will be contagious. Harriet is smart for her young age and passionate about her writing. It is also a good example of how certain things that you write can remain private but things that go public should never be offensive or hurtful to your peers. It is a great example of journal keeping/writing.

• Activity: The students will each observe something interesting or at home in their neighborhood and write up a small journal entry on it. They will share it with their group members. Their journal entries must include literary devices that they have been learning about. They will put their entries in their group folder for documentation.

Short Story:

Stimpson, Michelle. (2003). Zero.

• This is a story about a young woman named Angelica who is starting her freshmen year in high school. She meets a young man named David in her Freshmen English who is a senior that has failed the class more than once. They get to talking and Angelica offers to help him. They exchange letters until Angelica receives news that David has passed away in a gang fight. She receives his final letter in her locker.

• I chose this story because again, it deals with real life situations and opens the students up for a dialogue about these issues. It is also about a young man's struggle in his English even though he is very smart and from his letters, seems to be a very natural writer.

• Activity: The story will be read aloud in class and the students will lead a discussion about the story and their thoughts. They will be placed in small groups and will brainstorm alternate endings to the story and will share those with the class.

Poem:

Pordon, Judith. "The Poets' Room"

Retrieved on April 22, 2008 from http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/.html

• This poem describes a room in which poem writing takes place. It shows the emptiness of the room that is needed to cause minimal distractions.

• I chose this poem because I thought it was a good way to teach students about finding a place where they are comfortable and can write openly.

• Activity: The poem will be read aloud to the class. There will be discussion of the significance of the room to the author and his or her writing. The students will then write short poems of their own describing a room or place where they feel most comfortable. They will read these to the class.

Article:

Barecca, Regina. (2007, September 9). "Reflections from a Recovered Teenage Girl." Education World.

• This article is a reflection on the teenage life or author and teacher Regina Barreca. She reflects on how critical she was about everything when she was in school; the teachers, her classmates, and her mother. She recalls all of this in a humorous and entertaining way for the reader in which they too will be able to recall times that they have made similar judgments or felt the same way.

• I chose this particular article because I liked that it showed how teenagers really think and feel about particular things. Most kids are always embarrassed of their parents and it is nice for them to read that people their age feel the same. It also focuses on notes and writing about others, not particularly scholarly, but writing all the same.

• Activity: The article will be read aloud by the teacher so that the students are able to follow along. After discussion the students will be paired up and asked to share any time that they can think of when they made similar judgments. The confessions should not be incriminating but just to give each other an idea how it is easy to make judgments based on how someone dresses. The students will write down a couple of ideas of what the most 'hideous' outfit they could think of looks like and how it could be made 'fashionable.' They can draw a picture of it if they like but it is not necessary. Each pair will be sharing it with the class.

Culminating Performance:

Product-Book Trailer

Role-Camera crew and Actors

Audience-Middle School Peers (8^th grade)

Purpose- Get awareness out about their book

Task-the students will get together as a group, write a script, and make a movie trailer about their books.

Or

The students will make a book trailer in order to showcase their novel. The trailer will in include the importance of writing or journal keeping as the focus of their book trailer or skit. They must keep their audience in mind as their video will be shown to future classes in order to entice them to read the book as well. Their lit circle folders will also be shared with the class and the issue of what constitutes 'professional' writing will be discussed.