PLOT
These lesson plans are designed for teaching the plot of Romeo and Juliet. Follow along with them in order, or choose activities from them to supplement your teaching.
FREEZE FRAMES (LESSON)
Learning Objective
To establish the story of Romeo and Juliet.
Downloadable Resources
Starter (10 mins approx.)
Put students into groups of 4. Give each one the title of a statue they must make in their group:
- The perfect daughter
- Teenager
- Parent and child
- Love at first sight
- A Prince and his subjects
- Street fight
- A betrayal of trust
- A family in mourning
Ask each group to show their statue in turn.
What similarities and differences do they notice between each image? What themes are coming through from these images that might give us clues about what to expect in the play?
Write these themes on the board and ensure students copy them down in their notes, to serve as reminders to keep returning to as you progress through the scheme of work.
Main activity (25 mins approx.)
Ask students to work in groups of three. Give each group one of the plot points on the ‘Romeo and Juliet Plot Points’ resource.
Ask them to create a freeze frame to depict their plot point.
See the downloadable lesson plan for the full activity, prompt questions and more.
Download the Romeo and Juliet Plot Points.
Plenary (10 mins approx.)
Ask students to come up with a title for each of the moments in the plot that were depicted in the freeze frames/short performances.
What do they notice about how the plot progresses over time? What behavioural patterns can they see? Who appears to have/not have power? What themes are being explored in the story? Is this just a story about love or are there other elements at play?
Ask students to summarise in 5 bullet points what they have learnt about Romeo and Juliet today and record this in their notes.
Sarah Agha as Ensemble and Sharon Ballard as Lady Capulet in Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet in 2024.
THE OPENING SCENE (LESSON)
Learning Objective
To stage Act I, Scene 1.
Starter (10 mins approx)
Ask students to consider Act I, Scene 1.
Why do they think Shakespeare begins the play with the specific events of Act I, Scene 1? Ask them to recall who we meet, where we meet them, and under what circumstances. What key themes does Act I, Scene 1 introduce? How does it set us up for the coming action of the rest of the play?
Split students into small groups of 4-5 and ask them to decide on three key images that they feel exemplify the events of Act I, Scene 1. Ask students to create these images as three freeze frames or statues to present to the class. After everyone has shown their images, discuss them – what similarities and differences can we see in groups’ interpretations of the scene?
Main activity (30 mins approx.)
Remaining in their groups, ask students to work together to create a condensed version of Act 1 Scene 1 to perform to the rest of the class. They will need to decide which parts of the text they want to use, and how they are going to transition between each moment, remembering the whole time that the events of Act 1 Scene 1 all take place in the town square. They also need to consider carefully how lines should be said, and how characters should interact with each other.
Give them about 20 minutes to prepare their script, and then 10 minutes to rehearse.
Plenary (10 mins approx.)
Ask each group to perform their version of the scene – for a true Globe experience, you can arrange students in a circle to form the audience, with the performing space being in the middle. After each group has performed (or just a couple of groups if you have reluctant performers), discuss what each group chose to include – and not to include – in their performance and why. How has this helped them to consolidate their understanding of this scene?
Hayden Mampasi as Romeo and Saroja-Lily Ratnavel as Benvolio in Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet in 2024.
SHORT ACTIVITIES
Learning Objective
Exploring character and themes.
Downloadable Resources
Scene analysis (10 mins approx): Prologue
Give each student a copy of the Prologue and read it through together three times – the first to familiarise, the second to allow students to start to make sense of it, and the third to enable them to begin understanding meaning.
After the third reading, ask students if there is any vocabulary they don’t understand and spend some time going through to make sure that the sense of every line is grasped.
Don’t worry about interpreting at this stage – just ensure that the literal meaning of each line is understood.
Scene analysis (15 mins approx): Staging in Act III, Scene 1.
Ask students to independently reread Act 3 Scene 1 and write down any questions they have – this can be a question about meaning, or a question to Shakespeare about why he made a particular choice.
Give students an opportunity to ask their questions and have other students answer them – and if no one can, write them on the board so that they can remain there during the lesson. Perhaps by the end, they will be answered!
Scene analysis (20 mins approx): Aftermath of Romeo and Juliet’s death
Ask students to revisit Act V Scene 3 with a partner, going through from beginning to end and listing the events as they happen (summarising them in a short sentence, such as ‘Paris arrives with his Page to visit Juliet’s tomb. Romeo arrives with Balthasar to break into Juliet’s tomb’ and so on).
When they have finished, ask them to compare with another pair – have they got the same list, or do they need to add any details they missed? Share as a class what this list of events tells us.
Why do they think there are so many people in this final scene, and what purpose is their presence on stage at this point in the play serving to show us? How does the end of the play echo the beginning?
Cast members in Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet in 2024.
