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Lesson 8

We will revise and edit our draft responses to the Section Diagnostic from the previous lesson.

Lesson Goals

Reading and Knowledge

  • Attend to Details: How well do I recognize and interpret language and sentence structures to deepen my understanding of how a theme from Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet is further developed in Acts 2 and 3?
  • Determining Meaning and Purpose: How well do I determine a theme and explain how it is developed over the course of multiple acts in Romeo and Juliet?
  • Summarize: How well do I express an accurate understanding of themes in literary texts?

Writing

  • Form Claims: How well do I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim about how a theme is developed over the course of multiple acts in Romeo and Juliet?
  • Use Conventions to Produce Clear Writing: How well do I apply correct and effective syntax, usage, mechanics, and spelling to communicate ideas and achieve intended purposes?
  • Organize Ideas: How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, and evidence to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed claims about how a theme is developed in Romeo and Juliet?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library, Simon and Schuster, 2004

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

We will revise our work to make sure we fully support and develop our ideas based on the needs of the task, purpose, and audience. This will help us develop work that is clear and coherent.

Revision is the process of re-seeing your work with fresh eyes. Revision is a challenge for all writers. The art of making writing better is hard work that can feel very messy at times.

Share your draft response with your partner, and then ask your partner the following questions:

  1. Is my central claim clearly stated?

  2. Do I sufficiently explain how each supporting claim is connected to the central claim?

  3. Is the evidence I use to support my claims relevant?

  4. Is my evidence integrated effectively?

Repeat the process with your partner’s response.

Use notes to indicate any necessary revisions to the development and support of your response.

Activity 2: Write

We will edit our essays to include variation in internal punctuation.

Step 1

Re-examine the second paragraph of the Romeo and Juliet Model Claim 2 from the Section 2 Diagnostic.

Zeffirelli enhances the mood by using the sound of an ominous church bell and leaves the audience with the foreboding atmosphere for a moment before transitioning to the party scene. In Luhrmann’s film, the camera cuts to a vision of Romeo walking through a series of crosses, creating a haunting atmosphere; however, Luhrmann quickly transitions to the intense and chaotic party scene, and as a result, diminishes the importance of the lines.

The last sentence of the paragraph uses a semicolon (;). Semicolons help to connect closely related ideas and can be used to make your writing more sophisticated. Semicolons are most commonly used to link together two independent clauses with ideas that are related to each other.

  • A semicolon follows an independent clause.

  • A semicolon links together two independent clauses.

Step 2

Examine the following sentences:

  • “Edward DeBartolo took to the air to scout locations for new malls; Melvin Simon and Alfred Taubman built fortunes in malls.” (Phil Patton, “Agents of Change”)

  • “There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen.” (Malala Yousafzai, I am Malala)

  • “Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.” (Romeo and Juliet,1.1.68)

Now, respond to the following question:

  1. How are the independent clauses related?

Scan your draft for a good place to use a semicolon and make the edit. Both independent clauses must be related to each other.

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will edit our essays to maintain consistent verb tenses.

When writing a literary analysis, the convention is to use the present tense. Even though Shakespeare wrote the play Romeo and Juliet in the past and you have also read it in the past, you will still use present tense verbs when writing about the text (e.g., “Shakespeare uses figurative language . . . ” “Romeo and Juliet fall in love . . . ”).

Examine the Model Claim. Highlight the present-tense verbs in one color, past-tense verbs in a second color, and future-tense verbs in a third color. Discuss the following questions with a partner:

  1. What tense are the verbs in?

  2. Does the verb tense remain consistent?

Reread your draft essay, highlighting present-tense verbs in one color, past-tense verbs in a second color, and future-tense verbs in a third color. Respond to the following questions:

  1. Are my verb tenses consistent, or do they shift?

  2. What is the impact of my verb tenses on the reader? (Do I cause confusion or create clarity?)

Edit your draft to ensure you have a consistent verb tense and submit your revised response to your teacher.

Activity 4: Write – Discuss

We will reflect on our work on the Section Diagnostic and assess our progress toward the Culminating Task.

Step 1

Respond to at least three of the questions below:

  1. How well did you take the necessary actions to prepare for the task?

  2. What went well for you during the completion of this task?

  3. What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?

  4. How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?

  5. How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?

  6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge by answering the following questions:

  1. How prepared are you to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  2. What do you need to do to be successful?

Step 2

Review the Central Question of the unit:

Why do we still read Shakespeare?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

  1. What new knowledge do you have in relation to the Central Question?

  2. What are you still curious about in relation to the Central Question?

  3. What is the relationship between the question and the texts you have read so far? How do the texts shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the texts?

  4. How has your response to the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

In your Learning Log, write your response to Question 2. You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.