Progetto di una Unità di Apprendimento flipped
Dati dell’Unità di Apprendimento
Titolo: The “Dark” Side of Beauty: does ideal beauty exist?
Scuola: Liceo Scientifico Statale “Carlo Miranda”
Materia: Inglese
Classe: III
Argomento curricolare:
(indicare l’argomento curricolare che si vuole affrontare con approccio flipped classroom, esempi: la struttura
particellare della materia, , il Congresso di Vienna, le equazioni lineari, ecc.)
W. Shakespeare as a poet. W. Shakespeare’s sonnet 130. The Shakespearean and the Petrarchan sonnet. The concept
of beauty during the Renaissance and nowadays.
La Sfida. Come si attiva l’interesse e la motivazione degli allievi:
(indicare come si intende stimolare l’interesse, la curiosità e coinvolgere gli allievi in modo da renderli parte attiva
nella costruzione delle conoscenze indicate. Tipicamente ciò avviene lanciando una sfida che può consistere nel
porre una domanda a cui rispondere, un problema da risolvere, una ricerca da effettuare, un caso da analizzare in
modo coinvolgente e motivante.)
Pre-requisites: the students have already studied Shakespeare’s life and works, they can analyse a poem as a literary
text, they know the Petrarchan sonnet.
As homework the students are asked to look for images of famous paintings representing the stereotypes of beauty in
the Classical World, in the Medieval Age, in the Renaissance and in the Modern Age and bring them to school.
They have to reflect on the following question:
1. What is beauty in your opinion?
In this way students will be more involved in the activities they will perform in class.
Lancio della Sfida. Quali attività si svolgono prima o in apertura della lezione:
(indicare se l’azione didattica proposta prevede attività preparatorie da svolgere prima della lezione d’aula. Ed
esempio fruizione di risorse didattiche che costituiscano un quadro di riferimento, richiamino preconoscenze,
attivino la curiosità oppure attività di verifica delle conoscenze già affrontate per mettere meglio a punto l’azione
in classe. Indicare le risorse digitali eventualmente utilizzate quali LMS, video, presentazioni multimediali, testi...)
First Session. In class they are invited in pairs to observe the pictures brought to school and exchange opinions.
Then they are asked to answer the following questions:
2. Which aspects of beauty are highlighted by the artist in every age?
3. Is it possible to define the idea of the perfect human body?
4. What is beauty the result of?
5. Is the idea of beauty always the same? Is it possible to define an objective idea of beauty?
A class debate follows to give anyone the possibility to express their ideas and to practise the speaking skill.
Students are given a task for homework. In order to revise their knowledge of the Petrarchan sonnet they are asked
to watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbX5tuRlD4k
Then they have to answer the following questions:
1. What is a sonnet?
2. What feelings does a sonnet describe?
3. How is the Petrarchan sonnet organised?
Condurre la sfida. Quali attività si svolgono per rispondere alla sfida:
(indicare le metodologie didattiche che si intendono utilizzare in classe: lezione dialogata, lavoro di gruppo,
apprendimento fra pari, studio individuale per consentire agli allievi di rispondere alla sfida proposta e costruire
attivamente le conoscenze richieste, indicando anche diverse metodologie e più fasi successive.)
Second Session. In class, students are introduced to the “golden age” of poetry listening to W. Shakespeare’s sonnet
130.The text is not presented as a linear sequence of verses in order to raise their interest on the musicality of the
words and infere the meaning of the key words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWheBz-Jtok = False
Then, students have to fill in a chart with details from the poem (the beloved eyes, lips, breasts, hair, cheeks and
breath).
Students are given the text of the sonnet and they are asked to read it silently.Then the teacher asks a volunteer to
read it aloud. Some exercices are given to check the comprehension, the layout and the rhyme scheme of the poem (
fill in, close procedure etc).Then the teacher draws their attention on the first twelve lines asking them to circle the
terms of comparison and saying what their effects are on the reader’s expectations.
Third Session. Students are given Petrarca’s sonnet 90 to compare it with Shakespeare’s sonnet 130. Through the
following activities, they can establish the main similarities and differences between the rhyme scheme and the way
the two poets deal with the theme of love and beauty.
1- Point out the different descriptions of the two women focusing on: hair, eyes, face/cheeks, way of walking,
way of speaking.
2- Explain why Petrarch’s sonnet could be one of the poems Shakespeare’s refers to in the final couplet of
sonnet 130. They have to focus on the following: the description of the woman, the reasons for the poet’s
unconditioned love for their women, the concept of beauty.
3- Explain the reason why Shakespeare’s sonnet is considered a poem showing a complete reversal and even a
parody of Petrarch’s poetic model.
4- Prepare a prezi presentation about the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet.
Fourth Session. Now learners are asked to watch a video with full explanation of sonnet 130 as regards the content,
the style and the rythm. The speaker explains how W. Shakespeare deals with the theme of love and beauty, focusing
on the poet’s unconventional way of referring to the beloved, on the rhyme pattern and the stress. Watching the
video they can compare their analysis and see if their interpretation was correct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I00DXLQIxV0&nohtml5=False
Fourth Session. They are invited to watch commercials and find out how beauty is present even if the products
advertised are not directly related to beauty. Then they work in groups to discuss their personal ideas and finally
infere the stereotypes of beauty nowadays.
They are invited to write a few lines about the following topics:
1. Shakespeare’s assumption is that love and beauty are not necessarily related. Do you agree or disagree?
2. Has beauty become an obsession in modern times? Is beauty important in teenagers’ life?
Chiusura della sfida. Quali attività di verifica degli apprendimenti concludono l’attività didattica:
(indicare quali attività di sistematizzazione degli apprendimenti concludono l’attività, e quali metodologie e
strumenti di valutazione formativa e sommativa si ritiene di dover attuare per verificare e consolidare gli
apprendimenti e promuovere lo sviluppo di competenze. Tipicamente ciò avviene tramite metodi di valutazione
autentica. Esplicitare le tipologie di prova.)
Fifth Session. The teacher divides the class into mixed ability groups and asks them to perform the following tasks:
1. Looking at the structure and themes of sonnet 130 and the idea of 'real love' write a sonnet about someone
you love.
2. Choose a product you want to advertise and make a spot referring to your idea of beauty.
As regards the assessment, the teacher will refer to the following greeds:
In che modo l’approccio proposto differisce da quello tradizionale?
(indicare i vantaggi dell’approccio scelto rispetto all’approccio tradizionale e mettere in luce le differenze con
particolare riferimento all’argomento curricolare scelto.)
The Flipped Class approach allows both teachers and students to use different teaching/learning methodologies
according to one’s own needs. In the traditional approach students are given information by the teacher and then
they have to work on it whereas in the flipped class approach the teacher just gives the input to them, launching the
challenge and stimulating their curiosity. In this kind of lesson, students are given resources and materials with the
aim to encourage their self-learning. The lesson is essentially dedicated to discover and apply what they have learnt in
a context of mutual cooperation. The motivation, of course, is higher than the traditional approach, so the learning
process will be more effective and long-lasting.