Students read Macbeth, analyzing and discussing universal themes of power, greed, and morality, while tackling Shakespearian language.
ELA
Unit 15
10th Grade
Macbeth has been archived. You are welcome to use the resources here, but there are no Fishtank Plus features offered within this unit. If you’d like to implement one of our complete Fishtank Plus units, including all in-lesson and unit-specific Plus features, check out 10th Grade ELA.
In this high school English unit for tenth graders, students will engage in an analysis of the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In ninth grade, students read Romeo and Juliet and now will explore one of Shakespeare’s darker works. This Macbeth unit allows students to tackle Shakespearian language and engage in analysis and discussion of universal themes of power, greed, and morality.
At Match, students have a Composition class 4 days per week in addition to English class. Below, we have included Supplementary Composition Projects to reflect the material covered in our Composition course. For teachers who are interested in including these Composition projects but do not have a separate Composition course, we have included a “Suggested Placement” to note where these projects would most logically fit into the English unit. While the Composition projects may occasionally include content unrelated to English 10, most have both a skill and content connection to the work students are doing in their English 10 class.
In the English lessons of Unit 5, students will focus on analyzing the Shakespearean drama Macbeth, focusing particularly on Shakespeare’s development of characters and theme. In these parallel composition projects, teachers will have a choice of two projects: one narrative and one literary analysis. The teacher may choose to do both or include other writing projects and/or writing focus areas that respond to students’ interests and/or writing development needs. Because at Match this unit typically falls near state testing window, we are allowing some flexibility so each individual teacher can choose projects that best align with the types of writing his/her students might benefit from the most.
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These assessments accompany Unit 15 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.
Students will focus on analyzing Shakespeare’s language and using it to support and defend various positions throughout the unit.
Literary Analysis Writing Focus Areas:
Below are the writing focus areas that are recommended for the projects described in this unit. Each focus area comes from a particular row and column of the rubric, and more detail about each area of focus is provided in the description of the specific writing project. The teacher should feel free to substitute or revise these writing focus areas in order to meet his/her students where they are and help them improve their writing in ways that authentically address the students’ areas for growth.
iambic pentameter, simile, mood, exposition, diction, aside, characterization, symbol, soliloquy, foil, personification, alliteration, denouement
Act 1.1–1.4: aside, foul, plight, noble, harbinger
Act 1.5–Act 2.1: ambitious, metaphysical, beguile, clamor
Act 2.2–Act 2.4: appall, multitudinous, equivocator, dire, amiss, scruples, foe
Act 3.1–Act 4.1: posterity, indissoluble, parricide, dauntless, rancor, predominant, malice, nonpareil\
Act 4.2–end Act 4: profound, haste, gracious, potent, sovereignty, vanquished
Act 5: diminutive, judicious, desolate, avaricious, boundless, avarice, perturb, guise, dignity, antidote, perilous, clamorous, abhor
Act 1.1–1.4: thane, kinsmen, prophecy
Act 1.5–Act 2.1: pall, raven, serpent, knell, Neptune’s Ocean
Act 2.2–Act 2.4: Beelzebub (also in Lord of the Flies), parley
Act 3.1–Act 4.1: Hecate, locks
Act 4.2–end Act 4: cauldron, something wicked this way comes, innocent lamb
Act 5: gentlewoman, flower and weeds
Students will become familiar with iambic pentameter and how Shakespeare uses language to create mood. Students will also become familiar with the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and his challenges of morality.
These projects are optional and serve as a great way to enrich students' experience and deepen their content knowledge in this unit. If teachers have flex days in their schedules, we strongly recommend any of the below options.
2 days
(ON DEMAND WRITING)
Read the excerpt from The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. Write a journal entry from the perspective of the Prince of Morocco, explaining why you selected the gold casket rather than the silver or lead casket. Use details from the excerpt to support your answer.
An effective journal entry:
(Prompt adapted from Question #14 in the MCAS 2014 Grade 10 English Language Arts Test.)
Standards
L.9-10.3W.9-10.3.a
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