Showing your thinking and connections as you are reading the play.
For every reading assignment, create one post on our blog where you respond one of the possible prompts below. These should take you less than 30 minutes to complete.
TAG your post USING LABELS to the right with your name (same as your other posts) and RJ
Clearly title each post with the Acts and Scenes you are responding to. Add a creative title as well. E.g. ACT 1, SCENE 1: ROMEO ON THE REBOUND
Over the course of the play, respond to a variety of the prompts, so by the end, you will have answered each several times. In other words, do not choose the same prompts over and over.
PROMPT A
What is happening in the play that reminds you of something that is happening in your life, on TV, in the news, etc. Summarize the issue in the play and in your life in a minimum of 5 sentences.
Example:
Act I, Scene I Insults: It seems like my brothers are constantly putting each other down. It reminds me of the way the Capulet and Montague servants are putting each other down in Act I, scene i. They are “biting their thumb” at each other and really just acting like little boys. My brothers do the same thing. It seems like they are always bragging about which one is better or how the other one isn’t as good as him at shooting baskets, or doing hw, or making friends. I get tired of hearing them fight all of the time, just like the prince gets tired of them fighting in the streets. Obviously, it’s a bigger deal in the play because people are dying, but what is it about guys that always seem to show off as to who has the most power, who is better, and so on? It’s tiring to hear boys/men fighting all of the time and when they get more power (think Kim Jong-un and nuclear weapons in North Korea) the results can be deadly.
PROMPT B
Pretend you are a host on a talk show interviewing one of the characters. Ask the character 3-5 questions, and then have the character answer how you predict that character would respond (note, writing in old English is optional!) Be sure to reveal some deeper aspects of the characters (don't just summarize!) At least 7 sentences.
Example student response
Questions for Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, scene 1: interview with Benvolio
Host: How did you feel about the fight that went down the other day with the Tybalt and the Capulets?
Benvolio: That was just crazy. I don't know how everything gets so out of hand with these guys so quickly! I mean, my friends were just walking along, joking and everything and then Tybalt just goes nuts!
Host: How do you feel about Tybalt?
Benvolio: That guy is just such a hot head. He just loves to fight. I tried to break it up, and he tells me, "look upon thy death." I mean, really. That's sort of rude, right? Plus, I think he means it! He just takes it up all the way to life and death and we were just joking around.
Host: What did you think of the Prince's response?
Benvolio: Honestly, I don't blame the prince. I mean, the guy is just doing his job. If I were in charge, I'd be tired of all of the fighting, too! I mean, enough is enough. No one remembers what this dumb feud is all about anyway. It's just crazy... and it's the little guys who are getting hurt, not Lord Montague or Lord Capulet. While the death penalty might be a little extreme, I do understand where the prince is coming from. I guess he has to make it a pretty strong penalty in order to get these guys to listen. I hope all of this fighting will stop.
PROMPT C
Quote lines from the scene that you enjoyed and comment on them (5-10 sentences). Again, here is an example post from a student reading Hamlet.
Example student response
Scene 1.1—Horatio says, “Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.” This line really explains to us what all three of the guards are feeling when they see this ghost. They are all frightened by it, yet they wonder why it came to them and why it is dressed the way it is. It really sets the mood for the whole scene, because it lets us know that they are anxious. The first few lines of this scene shocked me, because we didn’t know anything about these characters and yet they were all so nervous and jumpy.
PROMPT D
Find an image *MUST BE FREE TO USE OR SHARE – CHECK GOOGLE SETTING (photograph, painting, etc.) online that you think is a good symbolic representation of the scene as a whole. Do not insert a picture of two people fighting and relate that to the Montagues and Capulets (that would be literal, not symbolic!) Instead, find an image that symbolically represents a relationship - like find an image of a lock and key and relate that to a specific character relationship. Insert the image and then discuss why you chose it and how it represents the scene. (5-10 sentences).
PROMPT E
Discuss the relationships between two or more characters. Assert an opinion about the relationship and back it up with some text evidence from the play. (5-10 sentences).
PROMPT F
Pretend you are a character in the scene. Get inside that character’s mind. Tell how the character feels about himself or herself. How does he or she feel about the other characters? About the situation? Remember, you are pretending to BE this character. Write a brief paragraph/monologue in the character’s voice. Think Reality TV Confessional. (5-10 sentences). If you’re feeling brave, record it and post the video.
Pretend you are a character in the scene. Get inside that character’s mind. Tell how the character feels about himself or herself. How does he or she feel about the other characters? About the situation? Remember, you are pretending to BE this character. Write a brief paragraph/monologue in the character’s voice. Think Reality TV Confessional. (5-10 sentences). If you’re feeling brave, record it and post the video.
