Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony Scene (Act 2, Scene 2)

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Lesson will help struggling readers to comprehend figurative language and overall meaning in the famous balcony scene. It will also compare text to two media depictions. This lesson has been created with exceptional children and limited English proficient (novice low) students in mind.

A lesson plan for grades 9–12 English Language Arts and English Language Development

By Elizabeth Mackie and Vicki Moats

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• Learn more about English language arts and English language development.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• identify and interpret figurative language.
• compare and contrast text with scenes from two clips of two different adaptations.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 days

Materials/resources

• Textbook or other source containing Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, Scene 2)
• 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann version) forwarded to the balcony scene
• 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet (Franco Zeffirelli) forwarded to the balcony scene
• Paper/pencil per student
• Review questions (attachment called Romeo and Juliet review questions)
• Compare/Contrast worksheet (Venn Diagram attachment) *Note: you will also need an overhead of this sheet.

Technology resources

• Overhead Projector
• Access to TV and VCR/DVD player
• Possible need for cassette for Novice Low LEP student.

Pre-activities

• Background information on Shakespeare
• Background information on the Montague/Capulet battle
• Reading/discussion of Act 1, Scene 1 - Act 2, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

Activities

1. I always begin class with a journal entry Give them ten to fifteen minutes to come up with a half-page response. Before the big balcony scene, there are a number of topics that will work to set the scene. Either write the following on the board, copy and paste to use on an overhead, or copy and paste for a hardcopy.
   • Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?
   • What do you think the difference is between love and lust? Where does “love at first sight” usually fit into this question?
   • Would you defy your parents to marry someone you love? Why or why not?
   • Can people fall in love in less than a day? Explain your answer.
   • Describe your ideal mate. What qualities would you be looking for when choosing a partner?
2. I suggest doing one of the following after students are allowed to work on journals:
   • Put people into small groups based on who chose which journal entry. Allow them to discuss amongst themselves and in their groups their answers (5-10 minutes). After they discuss amongst themselves, discuss as a class with the teacher guiding instruction.
   • OR discuss answers as a whole group. Go through each possible topic and call on students who wrote on that particular prompt. Encourage even those who didn’t respond to that particular prompt to contribute. Do this for all five choices.
3. Review Romeo and Juliet from prior day (brief review included in attachment called “Act1Scene5andAct2Scene1.rtf” at bottom) 5-10 minutes. You should read a question out loud then call on students who volunteer OR call on a child to let him/her know the question is his/hers then ask the question.
4. Read and somewhat interpret Act 2, Scene 2 together (time will vary based on your readers-- at least 30-45 minutes should be allowed). I usually like to take the part of Juliet and stand on a desk to play up the scene. I usually stand on a chair or desk and get a stronger reader to play the part of Romeo. It’s best to exaggerate. Remember that there are very few stage directions. You have to jazz it up in order to maintain the attention of your students. At this point, you’re not really analyzing text so much as explaining what’s going on as you read. In other words, sometimes you just have to stop where you are and talk about what’s going on.
5. At this point, the students have a general idea of what’s going on. The two are in love and planning to get married. Now it’s time to look at specific literary devices. Focus on figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification). I suggest and have included a worksheet with specific excerpts emphasized for discussion (entitled textual analysis). Look at specific lines and lead discussion on intended meanings (15-20 minutes). You may choose to do worksheet together as teacher directed, individually, or in small groups. You may choose to do all three-- the students can work individually first, in small groups assigned by teacher second, and as a class with teacher guiding last.
6. Now they have the gist AND know a couple metaphors and similes (ideally, of course). It’s time to give them a visual or two. Some teachers loathe the newest version of Romeo and Juliet. I happen to like it and choose to use it hand in hand with the older version. As students view each version, have them look for similarities to the text and to each other. Also have them look for differences and place those in areas around the diagram. I have included a chart (entitled “venn diagram”) so they can watch and note these things as they watch each video. Note: This will take some time. 30-45 minutes? Not sure… Determine a number of each (differences/similarities) that you expect. Note: each version of the video uses language that’s true to text. You should pause periodically to discuss what’s going on just as you did during the reading.
7. Create an overhead from the differences/similarities sheet. As a class, discuss and fill out sheet (about 15 minutes). You may choose to be the scribe, or you may want to let students put their ideas on the overhead individually (they seem to enjoy that aspect).
8. I’ve also included a review sheet for Act 2, scene 2 (entitled Act 2, scene 2). These worksheets can be done as homework, individually, in groups, or aloud with the teacher. It could also serve as a brief short answer quiz.

Assessment

• Take up the Venn-Diagram sheets. Based on your stated expectations, this can be a grade in and of itself. Remember that you went over it on the overhead, so most students should have a pretty complete sheet.
• Writing response. Your students have now been exposed to three different depictions of Romeo and Juliet-- the balcony scene- the text, the 1968 video and the 1996 video. Ask them to rank the depictions in order from one to three with one being the depiction he/she enjoyed most and three being his or her least favorite. Have them write the first choice on a sheet of paper, skip half the page, write the second choice, and on the back write the third choice. After ranking, each student needs to answer the following two questions about each:
  • Why was your number one depiction your number one (do for two and three also)? In other words, why do you like the one you like and dislike the ones you dislike?
  • Why do you think the author or director chose to present the depiction in the manner that he chose? In other words, who was the intended audience, and how did the author/director reach that audience?

  Grade based on effort, understanding, or rubric (site attached for quickly generating a rubric to evaluate writing).

• You may also choose to assign Act 2, scene 2 review (attached as same) as a homework assignment or as a quiz or review the following day.

Supplemental information

Attachments:

• Venn Diagram
• Textual Analysis
• NL Vocabulary
• Step-by-Step Mods
• Review
• Review Questions

To order a Spanish version of Romeo and Juliet (Romeo y Julieta)
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=660187

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/8481301515/102-0233012-6382567?v=glance

Related websites

Study aid for Limited English Learners
http://www.sparknotes.com/
Internet clips of Romeo and Juliet’s houses
http://www.intesys.it/Tour/Eng/VeronaGiuliettaRomeo.html
Clips from 1968 movie
http://www.itzalist.com/art/1968-romeo-juliet-pictures.html

Modifications

• Basic vocabulary activities (attached as Romeo and Juliet NL vocabulary)
• Allow students to respond to written prompts in own language and then translate a small portion into English
• Have text available in learner’s language when possible (see supplemental resources section below).
• Compare only the two movies on Venn Diagram rather than comparing movies and text.
• See attachment (Step-by-step mods) for step-by-step modifications.

Alternative assessments

• Vocabulary assessment on attached document (last page of Romeo and Juliet NL vocabulary attachment).
• Evaluate only two parts of Venn diagram.

Critical vocabulary

1. basic vocabulary list (attached at bottom as Romeo and Juliet NL vocabulary), 2. the words “similar” and “different.”

Comments

This lesson plan was developed during the English Language Development Standard Course of Study lesson planning institutes hosted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and LEARN NC, June and July, 2004. It includes specific strategies, instructional modifications, and alternative assessments which make this lesson accessible to limited English proficient students. Please note that this lesson has been aligned with the goals and objectives of the N.C. English Language Development standards.