Romeo and Juliet Web Quest Review

http://www.mshogue.com/ce9/R_J/web_assign_rj.htm

This webquest would be good for an introduction to Shakespeare, a pre-reading activity. As the language and culture of Shakespeare seems distant and intimidating to middle school students, this activity does a nice job of separating the important skills and knowledge necessary to understanding Shakespeare. The activity requires the students to go to a variety of sites in order to obtain information about Shakespeare’s life, the globe theater, the culture and traditions of marriage and food, the language of Shakespeare, and Shakespeare Insults. There is a great deal involved in reading Shakespeare and having a solid introduction and background knowledge will allow Shakespeare to be a more enjoyable experience for students. While introducing Romeo and Juliet to my students, I had slight difficulty in determining how I wanted to organize the introduction, as introducing Shakespeare is key to hooking the students. Granted I was collaborating with my cooperating teacher and the school’s literacy advisor at the time, but the students needed an introduction to the language. The story of Romeo and Juliet was familiar, but it was the language that was preventing them from becoming engaged. This webquest allows the students to explore some of the more distant traditions and cultures of the time period, as well as methods of breaking down Shakespeare’s language in order to understand. In addition, Shakespeare was very clever with his insults and humor throughout the play. This webquest devotes a section to Shakespeare’s insults as well as has the students create their own insults. Thus, breaking down Shakespeare’s language and applying the language to their everyday lives.

Overall the web quest is quite dry until the last activity, which I think will engage students in actively reading Romeo and Juliet.