StudySync Lesson Plan
Macbeth
Objectives
1.
Students will read and listen to an excerpt from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth with the
opportunity for extension to the full text.
2. Students will respond to the text through writing and discussion.
3. Practice and reinforce the following Grade 9-10 ELA Common Core Standards for reading,
writing, speaking and listening, and language:
READING: LITERTAURE – RL.9-10.1-6, 8-10
WRITING – W.9-10.1-2, 4-7
SPEAKING AND LISTENING – SL.9-10.1-6
Time
100 minutes (with up to an additional 110 minutes of extension possibilities)
Materials
SyncTV Premium Lesson on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Overview
The StudySync Premium Lesson presents an excerpt from the fifth act of Shakespeare’s play
Macbeth. In this scene, a sleepwalking Lady Macbeth delivers her famous obsessive-compulsive
line, “Out, damned spot!” as she is tormented by the indelible stain of guilt over her part in the
murders of King Duncan and Banquo. This scene establishes how unchecked ambition, in
eroding one’s morals, destroys one’s sanity. It suggests that “normal” observers—in this case,
the characters of the doctor and the gentlewoman—are by contrast clueless to the horrors that
lurk inside the criminal mind. Close reading of this excerpt will prepare students to read the
entire play with interest and understanding, and to write thoughtful, informed, and textuallyrooted responses, consistent with the ELA Common Core Standards for the high school grades.
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
Background (10 minutes)
1.
Watch the Preview (SL.9-10.2). As a group, watch the video preview of the premium
lesson. Ask the students to share their impressions. Use the following questions to spur
discussion about the preview:
a. What do you already know about the play Macbeth? What image or scene does
the line “Double, double, toil, and trouble” bring to mind?
b. What mood or tone do the music and images in the preview convey?
c. What clues to Lady Macbeth’s “secret” are provided by the preview, including the
subtitle, “Shakespeare’s tragedy of murder, betrayal, and madness”?
Extension (additional 10 minutes)
d. Write Creatively (W.9-10.3–6). After listening to the preview, ask students to write
an inner monologue for Lady Macbeth, perhaps shedding light on her secret,
based on her actions, stalking the hallways, rubbing her hands, and other
information in the preview. Invite students to share their monologues.
Engaging the Text (90 minutes)
2. Read the Text (25 minutes)
a. Read and Annotate (RL.9-10.1–5, 10). Ask students to read the introduction and
the excerpt from Macbeth. If the classroom has a projector, model good notetaking skills by reading and annotating the first several lines as a class, especially
if students have not used this tool before. Encourage students to use the
inference and visualization skills for a deeper understanding of Lady Macbeth’s
character. If they are completing this as homework, ask them to write any
questions they have in their annotations. These will be visible to you using the
“Mimic” function before they submit their writing assignments or any time after
they submit.
Extension (additional 20 minutes)
b. Listen (RL.9-10.4 & SL.9-10.1-2). As a class, listen to the audio reading of the text.
Encourage students to use context clues to define unfamiliar terms (such as
perturbation). Ask students to share how their understanding of the text changed
after listening. What additional images came to mind? Did the audio reading
enrich the sense of the characters? In what way?
c. Comprehend (RL.9-10.1-4). Have students complete the multiple-choice questions
individually. Collect papers or discuss answers as a class.
3. Watch SyncTV (30 minutes)
a. Watch. Either watch the SyncTV discussion associated with Macbeth as a class or
ask students to watch it on their individual computers.
b. Focus (RL.9–10.2 and SL.9–10.1). Re-watch the portion of the SyncTV episode from
2:28-4:00. Here, the students discuss Lady Macbeth’s character: Is she
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
“cartoonishly evil” or does she genuinely feel guilt for what she did? Does her
insanity imply guilt? What was Shakespeare’s intent here?
c. Focus (RL.9–10.2 and SL.9–10.1) Re-watch how the SyncTV students tie the
power/ambition theme to gender from 4:00-5:00 and 6:50-7:21. Here, the
students contrast the evil queen with the vulnerable woman and explore the idea
that Lady Macbeth could only pursue her lust for power through her husband.
d. Discuss (SL.9-10.1–3). After watching the model discussion, divide students into
small groups (2-3 students). Move around the room monitoring the groups as
students follow the SyncTV episode as a model to discuss some of the following
questions:
i. Why do you think this excerpt was chosen to represent Macbeth? How do
you think Lady Macbeth was involved in her husband’s plots?
ii. How do the perspectives of the Doctor and the Gentlewoman differ? How
are they alike?
iii. Is Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth mainly designed to arouse
sympathy, horror, or condemnation? Why do you think so?
iv. What do you think Doctor is referring to when he says, “unnatural deeds
do breed unnatural troubles”? What does “unnatural” mean in this context?
v. What does Lady Macbeth’s compulsive hand washing tell you about her
state of mind?
vi. Why did Shakespeare construct this scene with two witnesses, and choose
to exclude Macbeth himself?
Extension (additional 20 minutes)
e. Evaluate (SL.9-10.1-6). Watch the SyncTV episode again (as a whole class if
possible). Before watching, assign each of your students one of the students in
the episode to follow. Have students examine each of the points that the
assigned student in the video makes.
4. Think (5 minutes)
a. Respond (W.9-10.1-2, 4, 6). Ask students to read the “Think” questions, watch the
corresponding video clips, and respond to the questions.
5. Write (30 minutes)
a. Discuss (SL.9-10.1). Either read the prompt as a group and clarify or have students
read it individually and ask for questions. In either case, be sure to specify and go
over the rubric that you will be using to evaluate students.
b. Organize (RI.9-10.1-3, W.9-10.1-2, W.9-10.5). Ask students to go back and annotate
the text with the prompt in mind. They should be organizing their thoughts and the
points they’ll address in their writing as they make annotations. This is an
excellent place to apply pre-writing strategies such as outlining.
c. Write (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6). Have students complete and submit their writing
responses.
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
d. Review (W.9-10.4-6). Use the StudySync “Review” feature to have students
complete five evaluations of their peers’ work based on your chosen review
rubric. Have the students look at the peer evaluations of their own writing. In pairs,
ask the students to discuss briefly the peer evaluations. Suggested questions:
What might you do differently in a revision? How might you strengthen the writing
and the ideas?
Extension (additional 40 minutes)
e. Write (W.9-10.1–6, 9–10). For homework, have students write an essay using one
of the prompts you did not choose to do in class. Students should publish their
responses online.
f.
Write (W.9-10.3-6). Have students change the setting of the passage to recreate
the scene or another scene from Macbeth. Instead of a castle in the 15th century,
they might set it in modern times. The doctor’s techniques may be different, the
setting may be a psychiatric ward in a hospital, but the character guilty for helping
with a murder, real or imagined, can surely be moved to any time period. This can
be further expanded with additional scenes from the play available from the full
text.
Extension (additional 20 minutes)
g. Self-Assess (W.9-10.4-6). Use the StudySync assignment creation tool to create a
“Writing” assignment that asks students to address the following prompt:
Reread your essay and the reviews of your essay on Macbeth. After
reading these reviews, what do you believe were the biggest strengths of
your essay? What were the biggest weaknesses? If you were to go back
and write this essay again, what would you change about your writing
process? How has writing this essay made you a better writer?
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Key Vocabulary
1.
perturbation (n.) – anxiety; mental uneasiness
2. agitation (n.) - state of anxiety or nervous excitement
3. meet (adj.) – proper
4. guise (n.) – manner of dress; outward appearance
5. taper (n.) – candle
6. fie (interj.) – expressing disgust or outrage
7. thane (n.) – a Scottish lord, often the chief of a clan
8. mar (v.) – spoil
9. charged (adj.) – filled with intense emotion
Reading Comprehension Questions
1.
What is the doctor’s attitude at the beginning of the scene?
a. He is shocked by Lady Macbeth’s behavior.
b. He thinks the gentlewoman is lying.
c. He is angry that he has wasted two nights.
d. He is skeptical of the gentlewoman’s story.
2. What behavior of Lady Macbeth does the doctor call a “perturbation in Nature”?
a. sleepwalking
b. talking in her sleep
c. violence
d. hand-washing
3. Why won’t the gentlewoman report what she heard Lady Macbeth say?
a. She doesn’t trust the doctor.
b. She doesn’t believe she heard it correctly.
c. She is too shocked to repeat it.
d. She was the only one who heard it.
4. Which of the following does Lady Macbeth NOT do in her sleep?
a. write a letter
b. strike her servants
c. wash her hands
d. carry a candle
5. What does Lady Macbeth smell on her hand?
a. flowers
b. food
c. blood
d. smoke
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
6. Why is Lady Macbeth trying to get rid of the spot?
a. She is vain about her appearance.
b. She is worried that her husband will be angry.
c. She is worried that it is a bad omen.
d. She is tormented by a guilty conscience.
7. What does the doctor think Lady Macbeth needs?
a. divine help
b. medicine
c. a good night’s sleep
d. someone to talk to
8. What is Lady Macbeth referring to when she says “…’tis time to do’t”?
a. go to bed
b. confess
c. run away
d. commit murder
9. Who is Lady Macbeth addressing in her speech?
a. her husband
b. the doctor
c. the gentlewoman
d. King Duncan
10. What is Lady Macbeth carrying?
a. writing paper
b. a candle
c. a shirt
d. a wash cloth
Answer Key
1. D
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. D
7. A
8. D
9. A
10. B
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth
Further Assignments
1.
Invite students to write an account by either the doctor or gentlewoman about Lady
Macbeth’s sleepwalking. The doctor might write a brief medical report for his own
records or to submit to a journal. The gentlewoman might write a journal or diary entry
for that night. Include both the writer’s observations, thoughts, and feelings. (RL.910.1-2 and W.9-10.2-5)
2. Have students research the world of Macbeth. How much of this story of thanes and
kings in 14th century Scotland is based on fact? Have students work as partners or in
small groups to do a presentation on the history and culture in Macbeth. (W.9-10.4-7
and SL.9–10.4)
3. Put students into groups. Assign a different scene from the play to each group, such
as the opening scene with the three witches, the murder of the king, and the
swordfight between Macbeth and Macduff. Students may wish to adapt their scene to
another setting using adapted language (e.g., a rap Macbeth, an alien Macbeth, etc.)
(SL.9-10.5-6)
4. Assign the entire play for students to read independently or to read aloud as a class.
Assigning parts and reading/performing the play can do wonders to make
Shakespeare more accessible. As a follow-up, invite students to write a review of the
play or informal personal response. (RL9-10.1-5, 7, 10 and W.9-10.1–2, 4)
5. Have students enact the premise of the SyncTV prompt. That is, have individuals or
partners write a director’s notes to actors playing the parts of the three characters in
the excerpted scene. Include instructions on how each character should be played
and any other suggestions to improve the staging of the scene. (RL9-10.1-7 and W.910.1–2, 4)
6. Select three to five excerpts from the play and work with students to “translate” them
into everyday English. Then have students read aloud or act out the simplified English
excerpts. (ELL)
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Lesson Plan: Macbeth