William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing

1. William Shakespeare’sMuch Ado About Nothing Picture taken from: Folger Shakespeare Library http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB-3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE A Cyberlesson created by Leah Smith

2. Materials You will need the following materials to complete this Cyberlesson • Computer • Your Reader Response Journal • A writing utensil • A copy of Much Ado About Nothing • Access to both the internet and a printer • Your imagination! Are you ready to test your knowledge about Shakespeare and one of his best comedies, Much Ado About Nothing?

3. Introduction • Last year, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. This year, we will be reading another of his comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. • Before we read and act out the play, we will refresh our minds with a little Shakespeare Trivia. Click on the door to the right to unlock the magical world of Shakespeare!

4. Before Reading:Shakespeare’s Verse XVIII (Sonnet 18) Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm'd,And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. Shakespeare is known for his strange rhymes. If you remember from last year, Shakespeare often reversed the words and/or pronounced words differently just to complete a rhyme pattern! Look at the following sonnet below, one of his most famous. In your Reader Response Journals, do the following: 1. Record the rhyme pattern 2. What do you think Shakespeare is talking about? Write YOUR interpretation of the sonnet below.

5. Before Reading:Shakespeare’s Verse 2 • Did you know that Shakespeare even wrote his own epitaph in rhyming verse? Back in Shakespeare’s days, cemeteries were full, so many people dug up existing graves to bury their loved ones (they even went so far as to burn the bodies to hide the evidence). Shakespeare was terrified that this would happen to him when he died. Therefore, he took advantage of the fact that the English were very superstitious and religious. He wrote a “curse” on his tombstone. • Read his epitaph below. Readers’ Response • What is the rhyme pattern for this epitaph? • What are your reactions to his epitaph? • Record your responses in your journals. William Shakespeare Create Your Own Epitaph! Now, create your own epitaph! Using Microsoft Word, design your tombstone and write your epitaph. It doesn’t have to be serious, but it must rhyme. Click here to link to an on-line rhyming dictionary. Click on the keyboard to link to Microsoft Word. 1564-1616 Good friend for Jesus' sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed hereBlest be the man that spares these stonesAnd cursed be he that moves my bones

6. Before Reading:Shakespearean Insults • One of the reasons that Shakespeare’s comedies were so funny to the audience is because of the insults that the characters made to one another! • Though the insults sound a lot different than insults that you may be used to, many of them have the same meaning! • In Much Ado About Nothing, you will meet two characters, named Beatrice and Benedick. ALL THEY DO is argue and insult one another. When you read the play, we will be analyzing the language to determine what the characters are actually saying. For example, what are the characters below saying to one another? These are real Shakespearean insults. Take a guess in your Reader Response Journal. Thine face is not worth sunbathing! You show yourself highly fed and lowly taught! Your turn! When does a teacher ALLOW you to insult someone in the class? Click here to explore some of Shakespeare’s many insults. After you create some, choose five of the meanest insults and copy them into your Reader Response Journal. You will later be allowed to insult someone in the class!

7. Before Reading:Anticipation Guide Print out the following slide. Mark each statement as true or false. Discuss the statements with your group. • Men and women should marry persons of a similar social and economic status as themselves. • People choose with whom they will fall in love. • It is better not to marry than to marry and risk being cheated on by your spouse. • Most people can be trusted to be faithful in marriage. • Men are attracted to women who are assertive and bold. • Jealousy in a romantic relationship is usually a sign the relationship has problems. • Because parents usually know what is best for their children when it comes to choosing a mate, children should go along with their parents' wishes in this regard. Anticipation Guide taken from: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html

8. While Reading:Anticipation Guide • We will be acting out the entire play of Much Ado About Nothing. After each scene, the class will vote for the best actor and best actress, who will receive chance coupons! • As we read the play, please have your Anticipation Guide with you at all times. When we come to one of the statements listed in the Anticipation Guide, you will be asked to compare and contrast your answers with what really happens in the play. • We will resume this cyberlesson when we have finished the play. • Happy acting! Click on the theater to advance to the “After Reading” activities.

9. After Reading:Do You Know Your Stuff? • Before you begin the following activities, let’s make sure you understand the play. Below are the links to two interactive quizzes about Much Ado About Nothing. After you take each quiz, print out the results page so you have the answers, and record your scores in your Reader Response Journal. QUIZ 1 QUIZ 2

10. After Reading:Rate the Characters • While reading the play, you were exposed to many characters who changed along the way. For example, though you initially believed that Claudio was a romantic man, we soon learned that he is NOT who we thought he was. He gives up too easily, he is quick to judge, and he is even uncaring sometimes. • Below is a MORALITY METER. Rate the following characters from the play. Who is the most moral of the group? Who is the most immoral? Click on the meter (ruler) below to rate the characters! You will be sharing this with the class. Moral Immoral

11. After Reading:Changing Faces • While reading the book, we saw the characters changing as the story progressed. For example, Claudio continued to change—though we all thought he was a great character in the beginning, we soon saw that he gave up too easily and did a bad job of proving his love for Hero. • Based on what you now know about the characters, answer the following questions in your Reader Response Journals. • What character changed the most and why? • What character changed the least and why? • What character changed for the better and why? • What character changed for the worst and why? • Which character are you most like and why? To help you make your decisions, you may use the text and/or SparkNotes.com.

12. After Reading:Pick a Punishment! • At the end of the play, we know that Don John is guilty, but his punishment was never decided! Benedick said, “Think not on him till tomorrow, I’ll devise thee brave punishments for him.” • During the Elizabethan Era, the punishments often involved torture, misery, and even painful death! • Your task: • What do YOU think Don John is guilty of? Slander? Deception? Treason? Research the following websites. • Based on the information you read, devise an appropriate punishment for Don John. Make sure it fits the crime. For example, if you feel that Don John is only guilty of lying, he would probably not be beheaded and displayed on the London Bridge. • In your Reader Response Journals, write Don John’s crime and the punishment you created. Also, print out the information you found on the website to prove your point (and use as a rationale) during our discussion. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html

13. Beyond Reading:Compare/Contrast • As you have already learned, the punishments in the Elizabethan Era were MUCH worse than those of today. • Using the following websites, research both the punishments of Elizabethan England and those of the U.S. today. Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England Crime and Punishment in the U.S. U.S. 1 U.S. 2 England 1 England 2 U.S. 3 U.S. 4 England 3 U.S. 5 • Print out the following Venn Diagram. When you have finished, complete the Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the differences.

14. Beyond Reading:More Shakespeare Please! • You have now successfully read two plays by William Shakespeare and are ready for your last assignment. • You have probably heard of several other plays by William Shakespeare. Some of you have even acted in Shakespearean productions. • Browse the internet to find information about other Shakespearean plays. Choose the one that you find to be the most interesting. It can be a comedy, history, or a tragedy. • You will then create a poster and present your poster and a summary of the play to the class. You must write the summary yourself! Be sure NOT to plagiarize from the internet! • Here are some websites that may be useful to you, but feel free to browse the web and discover other great sites as well! Suggested sites: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/ William Shakespeare presents HAMLET http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html

15. Evaluation: Cyberlesson Rubric

16. Resources • Websites • Rhyming dictionary: www.rhymezone.com • Shakespearean Insults: www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker • Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html • Spark Notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/ • Elizabethan Punishments: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-crime-punishment.htm http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/punishment.htm http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/crimeandpunishment.html • U.S. crimes and punishments: http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html http://ask.yahoo.com/20020111.html http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s219/s219b.html http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendVIIIs10.htmlhttp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/correct.htm • Shakespeare Summaries: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/ http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/shakespeare_summaries.htm http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/shakesum.htm http://www.bardweb.net/plays/index.html 2. Handouts • Create your own epitaph: Created by Leah Smith • Anticipation Guide: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-and-drama/activity/3712.html • Morality Meter: Created by Leah Smith • Venn Diagram: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/graphicorg/pdfs/venndiagram.pdf 3. Graphics • Photograph of Shakespeare: http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=865&CFID=2151668&CFTOKEN=2e9d00c7afb47223-2CAA03BB-3473-0E4E-CF09836AE6ECDEAE • Various Clip Art pictures: http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/