Shakespeare Unit

The last unit we completed was on Shakespeare.
The following activities were done in correspondence with the unit:

Shakespeare Article :this was a good introduction to Shakespeare and the Globe and it helped paint a picture of the time period and a little bit of Shakespeare's writing style. Specifically when they "decoded" one of the verses, that was very helpful.

Class Discussion on Globe/Shakespeare: this was interactive and also gave more background on the subject and the time period. Thumbs up

Writing how much we knew about Shakespeare/Globe Theater: The day you asked us to write about what we knew about Shakespeare and The Globe Theater, I thought I would not be able to elaborate in great detail but it turned out I knew much more than I imagined. I liked doing this because it not only gave me a good idea of just how much I did know but it was an easier alternative to a pre-quiz in which you could see the class' general level of knowledge.

Assigned readings: These were good and bad, I liked the fact that I got to read them for myself instead of listening to people in class/reading it out loud because then I tend to lose focus; however, it was very irritating when I did not understand what was going on and I would be lost until we went over it the following day. The reading sometimes gave me a headache as well because once I was confused about a rather important aspect of the play nothing really made sense and so it went downhill from there

Follow-Up Quizzes: I tended to loathe these quizzes because, as I said earlier, when I did not understand something I would be lost until we went over it and if we did not go over it until after the quiz I did badly. I also have a poor memory especially with detail so that did not help;however, I do like your note suggestion and in the future I hope I remember to use it.

Class Discussions: These were extremely helpful in understanding the play.

Putting into Layman's terms: This was not only a fun exercise becuase we go to do it in our groups, but extremely beneficial. When everything was in everyday language the play suddenly became a whole lot more interesting.

Ms. Chiang's Interruptions: Despite how much Ms. Chiang may not like her voice I loved it when we were reading out loud because it meant the scene that had been going on was finally about to make sense to me. I am like Lindsay, when I say that I mean, I get really impatient with the people reading and it is not their fault because I would read at the same speed and stumble over the same words, it is just I would rather the artistic quality of the play not be sacrificed.I realize this is practically impossible to ask since terminology is so old. This also goes towards the fact that I get bored when others read because I do not process the information at all. It goes in one ear and out the other, sometimes it does not even make it's way in. Back to Ms. Chiang's interruptions, I really did not mind them. Like Will was saying, "Sometimes there'd be something funny and you would have to tell us that it was funny and we would sorta laugh." Even though I did not get the benefit of comprehending the jokes and puns the first time around I really did appreciate you breaking it down for us.

Movie: When reading things I naturally imagine the characters a certain way in my mind, when watching the movies I was a little let down with some of the characters as I commonly am. Overall I enjoyed watching the movie, because seeing as Romeo and Juliet is a play it only makes sense to watch it. A lot more emotion was recieved after watching the movie since the actors used proper inflection when saying their lines. It was also a lot easier to follow.

CD: Listening to the CD was a step up from reading aloud but it was still missing the visual aspect. It was slightly easier to follow but over all I enjoyed the movie the most.

Summarizing in Journals: I also liked our periodical summaries because if I ever got lost I could easily flip to those.

Essay: This will be our first essay type writing assignment for the semester, if I am not mistaken. The short time limit is a challenge for me but overall its a good assignment. For me there is just enough freedom as far as the subject goes since we get to choose whatever aspect about Romeo and Juliet that we wish.