Unit Overview
In this unit, we will take a close look at some of Shakespeare's sonnets with a particular attention to the specific form of a Shakespearean Sonnet.
Major Assessment: Either/Or Sonnets
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SONNET
SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS WITH ANNOTATIONS
EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY "SONNETS" #1
EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY "SONNETS" #2
Essential Questions
Common Core Standards:
Major Assessment: Either/Or Sonnets
- Students will create a short chapbook of their own "sonnets" in which they choose some criteria of the genre to imitate.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SONNET
SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS WITH ANNOTATIONS
EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY "SONNETS" #1
EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY "SONNETS" #2
Essential Questions
- How does form reflect content?
- Are Shakespeare's themes still relevant today?
- How can a particular form be pushed and challenged to create new meanings?
Common Core Standards:
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.