In support of the GREAT PERFORMANCES telecast, WNET.ORG is distributing 30,000 copies of a Macbeth poster & teachers’ guide to schools nationwide, which will assist educators in utilizing the PBS broadcast in the classroom. This activity-based analysis of the play is illustrated by various lesson plans and activities.  After the October 6 premiere PBS broadcast, the complete film will be available for viewing online at here on the Great Performances Web site and video.pbs.org.

Download the Education Guide

Download the poster

In this production the actors decided that they preferred the rule of Claudius, a peace-keeping King who enjoyed a good party! This is important in the staging as it is when we, the audience, and the Court first see Claudius as King. The staging of this opening court scene is instrumental in revealing the relationships between the characters in Hamlet. When developing the world of the play the designer, Rob Jones, was inspired by photographs of contemporary European Royal Families in Hello Magazine. Have a look at this website and find pictures of contemporary royal families. Look at how the pictures have been taken and what they portray about the family. What are the most important qualities that these people have?

The above clip is for use in an activity found in the Hamlet Teachers’ Guide. [download the full PDF of the guide]

Every actor should understand exactly what they are saying in order to make the most of their role. For the first two to three weeks of the rehearsal process Gregory Doran gave the actors three key rules when they were reading the play: 1) That they don’t read their own part 2) That they can’t comment on their own part 3) That they can only use information that they already know and can’t see ahead in the play. These rules enable the actors to hear their part and discover new things from the rest of the cast. Each scene of the play was done twice; first, Greg asked the actors to read the Shakespearean text aloud, and then they discuss the meaning of the words and any misunderstandings, after this the actors paraphrased the scene in their own words to see if they discovered anything new.

Edward Bennett (Laertes), and Mariah Gale (Ophelia) worked from this basis and made further decisions about the relationships between the characters. They decided that the words of advice Polonius gives are so familiar that the children know what’s coming. Watch the scene and compare it to how you felt about the characters.

The above clip is for use in an activity found in the Hamlet Teachers’ Guide. [download the full PDF of the guide]

Hamlet’s Attempt to Kill Claudius -

Greg Doran decided to repeat the image of Priam hesitating with his sword in the air, as shown by the player, when Hamlet takes the dagger to Claudius.

Watch The Player’s speech immediately followed by Hamlet’s attempt to kill Claudius. What are the similarities? How important is it to look at these two speeches together?

The above clips are for use in an activity found in the Hamlet Teachers’ Guide. [download the full PDF of the guide]

In Greg Doran’s rehearsals, the actors decided that Osric is a ‘political flunkie’ – an ambitious young employee of the court, hoping to impress Claudius. They used clothes to convey this – the production is in modern dress so the designer used clothes that a modern audience quickly understands as conveying ambition and business: a sharp suit, slick haircut and shiny shoes! Does Osric know he is inviting Hamlet to his death? Greg’s company decided that Osric did know that he was asking Hamlet to come to his death. He uses charm and a big winning smile to manipulate Hamlet. Later in the production, Osric makes sure he gives the correct sword to Laertes, giving the audience another clue that he is definitely aware of the plan. Ryan Gage’s character is incredibly detailed – at the very end of the production, Osric silently shakes hands with Fortinbras because he has spotted that, now Claudius is dead, Fortinbras is his new boss.

Watch Osric’s scene. Does the audience see the fine detail mentioned above? Do they think it’s important for the actor to have this detail in creating their character?

The above clip is for use in an activity found in the Hamlet Teachers’ Guide. [download the full PDF of the guide]

The final scene. How did the choices the actors made differ from the choices of the group? What movements were the most effective and why? What was more significant gesture or looks? You might want to watch it again with the sound off to specifically look at how the actors tell the story with their bodies and their faces.

The above clip is for use in an activity found in the Hamlet Teachers’ Guide. [download the full PDF of the guide]

Download the full PDF of the guide here.

All the media referenced in the guide is posted here on the Great Performances Web site and can be accessed through the menu above.

Grade Levels: 4-6 (ages 9-11)

Time Allotment: One to two 45-minute class periods.

Subject Matter: Music

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

1. Respond to the tempo and rhythm of music. Tap feet and clap hands to music.

2. Analyze and compare sounds and melodies.

3. Use appropriate terminology to explain music, including “meter”, “pitch” and “beat.”

4. Describe the basic principles of meter and rhythm.

5. Respond to music through movement.

6. Create a model of a 19th-century opera set, design a unique 19th-century costume, or create a concrete example of something related to their research.

STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT:

Music Standards

From the MCREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) Benchmarks
(available online at http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=11&standardID=6)

Standard 6. Knows and applies appropriate criteria to music and music performances
Topics: 1. Musical awareness and appreciation; 2. Musical terminology Level II (grades 3-5)
Benchmark 2. Knows appropriate terminology used to explain music, music notation, music instruments and voices, and music performances

Level III [Grade 6-8]
Topic: Elements of music
Benchmark 3. Understands the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions

Media Components

Audio Clips

• Peter’s melody
• Duck’s melody
• Grandfather’s melody
• Bird’s melody
• Cat’s melody

Web Sites

How to Take a Pulse
http://life.familyeducation.com/cpr/first-aid/48241.html?for_printing=1&detoured=1
Tips on how to take a pulse from the Family Education Web site.

Materials

per class:
One large printout of each of the following (download .pdf here):

• graphic representation of grandfather’s melody
• graphic representation of Peter’s melody
• graphic representation of Duck’s melody
• graphic representation of Bird’s melody
• graphic representation of Cat’s melody

Tape or pins to affix the sheets of paper to a wall
Computer with internet access and speakers to play audio clips and/or an instrument to play melodies
(Optional) A variety of instruments for children to use for the extension activity (such as wind instruments, string instruments, percussion instruments, piano, etc.)

Per group of 2 students:

• one watch or stop watch to take a pulse

Per student:

• one sheet of tips on how to take a pulse
• paper and pencil

PREP FOR TEACHERS
Please listen to all of the audio clips (Peter’s melody, Duck’s melody, Grandfather’s melody, Bird’s melody and Cat’s melody) prior to the session.

Print out one copy of “How to Take a Pulse” per student.

Print out one copy of each of the graphic representations (for Peter’s melody, Duck’s melody, Grandfather’s melody, Bird’s melody and Cat’s melody) prior to the session or create your own graphic representations of each melody.

PBS Teachers is introducing a series of FREE monthly webinars featuring leading education technology experts, authors, or producers of PBS programs who will share ideas on using digital media to engage students in rich learning experiences.

March 2009

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are delighted to have representatives from the Folger Shakespeare Library as our guests for Remixing Shakespeare for 21st Century Students, the next webinar in the PBS Teachers LIVE! series. Mark your calendars for March 18 from 8-9:30 p.m. ET for this upcoming free webinar and join the discussion.

William Shakespeare’s plays offer invaluable lessons for students, but engaging the Net Generation in the Renaissance arts requires a new approach. In this webinar, the speakers will present and demonstrate methods for teaching Shakespeare using digital media. The educational activities to be presented were developed by trained workshop leaders and teachers during the Folger’s Teaching Shakespeare Institutes and sessions. Participants will learn practical and exciting ways they can incorporate Shakespeare’s King Lear and other literary works into history, social studies, English, and language arts instruction.

Great Performances: “King Lear” will air in late March 2009 on PBS (check your local listings).

Remixing Shakespeare for 21st Century Students
During the PBS Teachers Live! Webinar on March 18th, Shakespeare scholars from the Folger Shakepeare Library and innovative teachers from across the country demonstrated methods for teaching Shakespeare’s King Lear using digital media. Participants learned practical and exciting ways to use Web 2.0 tools to help students grasp Shakespeare’s language, characters, and more. The webinar also featured a sneak preview of Great Performances: King Lear, which airs in late March 2009 (check local listings).
Access Recording: Full version

Folger Shakespeare Library

Home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, Folger Shakespeare Library is a world-class center for scholarship, learning, culture, and the arts. Folger Shakespeare Library is a leader in how Shakespeare is taught today. It provides resources to millions of teachers and students in grades K-12 each year and provides local outreach programs for families and the community. It also publishes Folger Editions, the leading Shakespeare texts used in secondary schools in the United States. Learn more at www.folger.edu/education. Also, check out the Folger abridged version of King Lear for middle school students here.

Lesson plans from Folger’s Shakespeare Library:

• Fools for Love in King Lear
• Multiple Texts, Multiple Editions
• O, Lear’s Many Reasons
• Reader’s Theater, King Lear, and the Language of Gesture
• “The World’s Asleep”: But Not Your Classroom
• To Love, Honor and Obey (One’s Parents!)
• “Who is it that can tell me who I am?”: Performances of Lear’s Speeches
• Who’s the Fool in King Lear
• King Lear: An Abridged Version for Middle School Students

More will be coming to this section soon (May or June 2009).  If you are a teacher and would like to make suggestions about what you would like in this section, please post comments below.

Overview:
“COMPANY” centers on the life of Bobby, a confirmed bachelor who is celebrating his 35th birthday with his 10 closest friends, who happen to be five couples. The musical examines marriage and relationships and the reasons people come together, divorce, and stay together. The culminating scene shows Bobby’s transformation from an unattached bachelor playing the field to one who is beginning to see the benefits of love, marriage, and monogamy.

Time Allotment:
Approximately four 45-minute class periods

Subject Matter:
Sociology, Music, Drama, and Language Arts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

1. Form opinions about social attitudes and stereotypes and support these opinions with specific reasons.

2. View the musical “COMPANY” and analyze quotes and songs to determine character traits, themes, and conflicts within the story.

3. Discuss social attitudes and stereotypes presented in the musical and work in small groups to evaluate how these attitudes and stereotypes have changed and how they remain the same over time.

4. Analyze the specific events in the story that cause the main character to change his attitude and why this change is important in the overall message conveyed by the musical.

Materials:
A copy of GREAT PERFORMANCES’ “COMPANY”

Prep for Teachers:
Prior to teaching the lesson, record the broadcast of “COMPANY” (check local listings to determine if and when the program will air in your state), review the program for content (Note to teachers: The program contains some mature themes and language.), bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer, and download the necessary plug-ins. Print out and make copies of the related handouts: Anticipation Guide, Gathering Points of View, and lyrics to each song (two copies of each).

Bookmark the following sites:

All Musicals: “Company”
http://www.allmusicals.com/c/company.htm
Find lyrics to the songs from “Company.”

Sondheim.com: “Company”
http://www.sondheim.com/works/company/
Learn about Stephen Sondheim, his complete works, and the musical “Company.”

PBS.org: BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL: Memorable Musicals: “Company”
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/musicals/company.html
Hear song clips and learn about Sondheim’s “Company.”

Grove Music Online
http://www.grovemusic.com

STANDARDS:

Art Connections
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=9&standardID=1
Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines.

Theater
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=12&standardID=6
Understands the context in which theater, film, television, and electronic media are performed today as well as in the past.

Language Arts
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7

Writing
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process.

Reading
Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts.

Listening and Speaking
Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.

Viewing
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.

Working with Others

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=1
Contributes to the overall effort of a group.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=4
Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.

Thinking and Reasoning

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=21&standardID=1
Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=21&standardID=3
Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.

This lesson was prepared by Lisa Prososki, an independent educational consultant and instructional design specialist who taught middle school and high school social studies, English, reading, and technology courses for 12 years.