Tots

Melissa Waugh

Dr. Pietruszynski

English 315

December, 16, 2008

Five Day Lesson Plan for The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew would be interesting to teach to a twelfth grade honors English class because we could talk about topics such as marriage, dress codes, women, power and money, and love. Societal values are always changing but in the core of society’s mind are the old values. The way marriage, women, dress codes, power and money, and love are perceived are always at risk for change. As the world grows smaller due to technology, it seems the world back in 1590 (which was when Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew was published) was a lot bigger. In 1590 and many years before and after you were lucky to find the right person to marry, and if you were a woman you did not have much of a choice, your status was perceived by how you dressed, power and money went along the lines of family and who you married, and the idea of love leaned more toward lust. Throughout this lesson students will gain an understanding of the play, some underlying reasons why it was written the way it was written, as well as influences of Shakespeare with regard to the time he wrote it.
My pedagogical concerns for teaching a twelfth grade honors English class are very limited. These seventeen or eighteen year old students should be able to think critically and abstractly. The art of critical pedagogy, in which I am constantly aware of ethical issues will influence my lesson plans for the class. The ethical implications of my lesson plans are to basically keep them appropriate for the public school classroom. I will really have to listen during discussion to ensure nobody gets out of hand. If a student wishes to bring in a picture of an outfit that models the time in which the play was written or wear an outfit to class from that period I must first see it to ensure that it is appropriate for the classroom. Being twelfth grade honor students I still can not assume that they know all the historical background from around the time the play was written to this current time. Throughout my lessons I will go back and fourth between the differences of each time period. I think it is important that students understand the differences in order to see how dramatically our future and our children’s future could possibly change.
Background Information: It is the middle of the semester in a twelfth grade honors English class which lasts a period of ninety minutes and contains thirty students. The week before the discussions begin I assigned students parts and we read the play out loud in class with a little bit of debate if students were puzzled about the play.
For our first discussion in class I have chosen to play around with the idea of marriage. I want to explain to students that in Elizabethan times that most men and women had pre-arranged marriages to help the family acquire more land or wealth. Also, a woman became the property of her husband and she was expected to bring a dowry to the table. Without a dowry many women were turned down. I would also ask students questions about how they think life would be different for them if they were forced into marrying somebody they may have never even met? I would also ask the opinions of male and female students and ask for the students to look at how the opinions may be different or similar. I can explain the situation King Henry VIII faced with his fourth wife Anne of Cleves and how he basically got rid of her because she was not beautiful enough for him, and went on to marry his fifth wife. I can ask students what they think about women being considered second class citizens and if they think they are still treated as such today. I also wish to explain the importance of the feast after the wedding. Marriage is often seen as something scary, but in Elizabethan times with parental consent girls could marry as young as age twelve and boys as young as age fourteen and I can ask students how they feel about that (Elizabethan Wedding Customs).
After about forty-five minutes I can steer the discussion toward the play. I would like for students to discuss why they believe Petruccio married Katherine. Was it because of the promised dowry he would receive from Katherine’s father Baptista? Why is it that Lucentio and Bianca married? What do the students think of the way in which Katherine dressed for her wedding and the way in which Petruccio dressed for the wedding? Considering the feast after the wedding is important, what do the students think about Petruccio preventing Katherine from attending her own feast? I will also tell students to keep in mind the differences between the late 1500’s and the present time. How do students feel things have changed?
I chose to teach marriage on the first day after students have read the play because it’s the play’s main theme. Marriage was the reason Katherine and Petruccio met. He needs a wife and she needs somebody to love her and calm her rage. I am choosing discussion rather than worksheets because marriage is something that is important to most people; whether they are going to marry someday and many other issues’s marriage or lack of brings into everyday life. Discussion is a good way for students to learn from one another. It is in the element of peer-tutoring but still with the guidance of the teacher. It will give students a chance to voice his or her opinion, unlike a math class, science class, or history class where there is only one right answer. These are twelfth grade students, many will be going on to further his or her education and discussion is one of the most common ways of learning in college. I proposed the above ideas concerning marriage of the late 1500’s, the play, and of today’s society in order to help students gain an understanding of the differences and similarities.
The next class period I will discuss the codes of dress for the 1500’s, the play, and today’s. Students have been told a week previous that if he or she desires to earn either five or ten extra credit points he or she may bring in a picture of Elizabethan style clothing and a style of clothing today. Or the student may make an article of clothing resembling Elizabethan style. If students have brought in such things the papers can be passed around or students can present the piece of clothing he or she brought in. This will lead into a discussion of how people dress today versus of the dress of men and women in the 1500’s. I will ask students what they think about the meaning of a white wedding dress. Do they know that in Elizabethan time’s black, orange, and many other colors were more than acceptable for a wedding dress?  We can also discuss that the wedding dress is to cover the bride’s entire body and how does that differ from the bride’s of today?  Brides usually wore flowers in their hair and on their dress. I can explain to students that while it looks pretty, it was mainly because people did not bathe then and it was done in order for the bride to smell pleasant. (I would bring in pictures of the bride and bride-groom) The Bridegroom would wear his best clothes which consisted of a doublet, breeches, hose, box pleated neck ruff and a cod piece (Elizabethan Wedding Customs). Also I would like the class to consider that children of the time often wore miniature versions of adult clothing (Christmon). Is this a good or bad thing? Were children perceived to be adult-like because of the clothing they had to wear? Could it have been hard for them to wear the clothes, especially young girls because gowns were usually heavy?
After about forty-five minutes concerning the discussion I would like to move toward the play. I want to question students about how they feel about the way Petruccio showed up dressed to his wedding. Petruccio looked clown-like, while Katherine dressed up beautifully. What kind of impact does this create for Katherine and the play as a whole? What does it do to her personally? Does it shame her, anger her, or both? Why does Petruccio dress in this manner? How would the play have been different if Katherine had dressed horribly and Petruccio dressed his best? What would happen in today’s society if bride, groom, or both dressed horribly at their wedding? Why it that the way a person dresses is such a strong statement about him or her?
I have chosen to teach dress-codes on the second day because it follows along with marriage and considering marriage is an institutionalization of society, the way in which people dress for it is important. Petruccio is showing power over Katherine by showing up to their wedding dressed bizarrely. It is just the way he is dressed that makes a statement in regard to how he feels about Katherine. I want students to understand the way in which somebody dressed in the 1500’s was more important than today’s society. We have relaxed the way in which we dress, even at weddings. I have attended several weddings in which the bride wore a prom-dress of various colors. (One was a virgin and still wore black.) In the 1500’s not looking your best for your own wedding was simply unacceptable. I think discussing dress-codes is a good idea for the classroom because so many schools implement dress-codes. This will give students a chance to give their opinion and in the process I expect them to have strong opinions and I can then explain to them that many of the student’s reasons are also justifiable in the reasoning of school dress-codes. School is a public place, another institution of society, and in order to help our society look well, should we dress good?
The next class period we will write a short answer and discuss the role of women in the 1500’s, the play, and in today’s society. I will give students a list explaining some of the differences between men and women in the ways in which society treated them. Then students will write two paragraphs of no less than five sentences and no more than ten answering the following question. How would you feel if these rules and/or beliefs came back to life tomorrow? Would you go along with them, or defy them? If you had to pick one rule and follow it which rule would you pick and why? (If you are male then place yourself in the role of a female.) (The following is the list preceding the question on the worksheet.) In the 1500’s women we considered inferior to men, women did not take care of herself but let others take care of her, women could not go to school or university but were highly educated at home and forced to learn the Bible, they could only work in domestic professions (cooks, maids, etc,) woman could not act on-stage, women were not allowed to vote, or inherit land or money, (with the exception of becoming Queen, a King or Queen could give the eldest daughter the crown.) A man had the legal right to punish his wife within reason. Also, it is important to remember that older, single women were often accused of being witches (Elizabethan Women).
Afterwards I would like to have a discussion with the class about the role of women in The Taming of the Shrew. Did Katherine defy the role of women for her time? How was Katherine different from most of the women in the play? What is the reason that Katherine conforms to Petruccio’s ideal wife in the end (if she really does conform?) Why do you believe Baptista would not let Bianca marry before Katherine? What is the role of women in the play? Is Shakespeare making fun of the fact that women during this time were treated as incompetent when he saw otherwise? Was Bianca a conformist?  If so, did she realize her conformity or was it something many women overlooked and saw as a way of life? Which is better to conform and be “safe” or to reach outside the box and be an individual?
I chose to start students off with a worksheet so each student can give his or her opinion and also jump into somebody else’s shoes. For the male it will be the perspective of the female and a different kind of life. For the female it will be a viewpoint of realizing that women were once oppressed and she can think about how far we have come now and how far we have to go. I chose for the rest of the period to be discussion in order to focus on the role of women in the play. Students can exhibit opinions relating to Bianca and Katherine. The students can compare and contrast the two female characters and I can present the idea of a “foil” which is a character that is in contrast to another character. Students can learn the differences between Katherine and Bianca and be informed of an important device used in literature. The device of a foil will come up again and again in texts students have read and will read. For example Beowulf, in which the foil of Beowulf is Grendel, or even in Harry Potter, which would be Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort)
I believe the next day’s topic would be best if it is power and money. For this subject student’s will discuss how power and money influence people and his or her decisions. In the 1500’s men controlled women, politics, finances, and numerous amounts of other issue’s concerning society and the household. Men also had control over money, accumulated wealth, inheritance, and even any money their wife brought in from doing domestic tasks for others. Women were essentially powerless and she was at the mercy of her husband, father, or brother. I will ask students to think about the game Monopoly. Considering the game Monopoly is all about acquiring land to gain wealth and power how does that or how does it not relate to society in the 1500’s? I want to ask students if they believe men were given an overload of work and women were left to become educated, care for children; as well as cook, clean, and care for her husband? I also want students to consider what it must have been like for females to be without the right to spend money how they would chose or have power in politics, etc.
After about forty-five minutes of discussion I would like to gear the topic to the play. How is power and wealth exhibited in the play? How are they acquired by characters such as Petruccio, Katherine and others? Before the turning point of the play (which is when Katherine submits to Petruccio and comes first when she is called, which is also at the end of the play) does Katherine have power over Petruccio? How does Katherine make Petruccio feel powerless? Is it the way she can belittle him with her words? How does Petruccio make Katherine feel powerless? Is it simply because he is a strong man who has society on his side? Do you believe it is in the mind of Katherine that she must eventually submit to (power) a man? Katherine is used to being very wealthy and her father giving into her material desires. Do you think Katherine also fears that Petruccio will not give into her material desires, considering that she is a woman and does not have the right to possess wealth? What are the dangers of money, and then I will write on the board; Money can cause us to lose the right focus, Money can grab hold of us, Money can lead to great pride, and Money can bring us much trouble (The Dangers of Money).
I chose to discuss power and money in the classroom because in the 1500’s the way power and money were distributed towards the sexes were completely different from today’s society. What you earn is yours, what you own is yours, and what you inherit is yours no matter what gender you are. I also decided to relate power and money to the modern game Monopoly to help give students an understanding of acquiring land and wealth. These students being under eighteen have probably never bought or owned a piece of property, but have probably played Monopoly. A good teacher strategically sneaks pop-culture into his or her lessons to help reach students on a more personal level as well as it being relevant to students. I chose to talk about the biblical dangers of money, but leave out “Money can affect our trust in God” and the fact that the sayings are from the Bible to avoid controversy within and outside of the classroom. Religion is not to be taught in the classroom, but the Bible can be taught as a text, just like Huckleberry Finn, and that is what I would be doing, teaching those sayings as a text.
The last topic for the last day of discussion concerning the themes in The Taming of the Shrew is love. The previous night I assigned two tasks for homework and it was to explain what love is in no less than one paragraph but no more than two and each paragraph can be no less than eight but no more then twelve sentences. (I limit sentence structure because students need to learn how to be concise with his or her wording.) Students will turn in his or her assignment and then each student will read his or her love quote he or she found or wrote. I will ask students what some of the quotes mean. I will also ask students what they believe the difference of lust and love is without (hopefully) being too graphic. What do students make of love in today’s society? Do the students see our society as a loving society or lustful society, or a mix of both and why? Why do students believe that our society has become the way it is concerning materialism? Are material goods becoming more important than love and actual people and why was this not so during the 1500’s?
I also want to discuss the idea of love and lust in the play. In the end are Petruccio and Katherine in love? Were they ever in lust? How does Petruccio show love for Katherine? How does Katherine show love for Petruccio? In the end are Bianca and Lucentio in lust? How so? How does love and the relationship between Petruccio and Katherine differ from the love and relationship between Lucentio and Bianca? What kind of love could Hortensio or Gremio potentially offer Bianca? Why are they so in love with Bianca? Is it her beauty, her father’s dowry, or rather that there is an obstacle in the way? (That obstacle being Katherine.) Why is it that Bianca does not return the same feelings to either Hortensio or Gremio? What is the relationship like between Baptista and Katherine and Baptista and Bianca? Does he favor one? What about the relationship Bianca and Katherine have?
By discussing love and lust within society and the play students can gain an understanding of the different types of love and relationships. Husband-wife, father-daughter, sister-sister, (two creepy older guys and a younger girl,) etc. when it comes to relationships within the play. It is important that students write about his or her idea of love in order to see where they stand. Are they more materialistic or giving? How can the student improve his or her own personalities as he or she sees fit. It is also important that students gain an understanding (from the quotes the students found) concerning the idea of glorified love, or love that is too pure and too grand to be true. I think the issue’s concerning class discussion is very important. It is vital that students follow relationships within a play (or any story for that matter,) in order to keep up with the plot and have a basic understanding of the play.
Five subjects of the play which are marriage, dress codes, women, power and money, and love have all been discussed and tied in with life from the 1500’s, the present, and life within Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In order to assess student learning a fifteen question multiple choice test concerning the play will be given. On the same test three essay questions will be asked and students will be asked to answer two of them in three paragraphs of no less than five sentences but no more than eight sentences. An example of a multiple choice question concerning the text is; For what reason does Hortensio direct Petruccio to Katherine? A.) To gain wealth and fame by meeting Katherine and her father Baptista? B.) To get Petruccio to woo Katherine and marry her so Bianca will be free to marry. C.) So Petruccio can take out his “witty” humor on a woman of equal match, thus producing entertainment for Hortensio. D.) So Katherine can meet a man that would let her be controlling and run wild. An example of an essay question for the test would be; Consider how Petruccio dresses as a bride-groom for the wedding scene. How does this defy the dress codes of the 1500’s and why do you think Shakespeare wrote Petruccio to dress him that way. Also consider how you would feel if your spouse showed up to your wedding dressed horribly. The first fifteen questions will examine the knowledge the students gained from the play. The two essay questions will observe what students gained from class discussion as well as knowledge of the play. It is important to do things to assess student learning because as a teacher I may be doing something wrong and not reaching my students. If students (for the majority) do horribly on the test, I, as an educator have probably (not always,) but probably done something wrong and should try a different approach to the teaching of the play, as well as the five topics along with it, (marriage, dress codes, women, power and money, and love.)
I hope to try and keep classroom discussions as discussions without any heated arguments or offensive language. I am concerned about discussing love and lust, because these are twelfth grade boys and girls and they have may have raging hormones, but they are still very young. Hopefully they will learn important lessons and be more careful concerning his or her heart as well as others and other matters of the body. I hope this lesson is able to open up students eyes to how life was once so unequal for women and how much women have progressed, and realize there still is work to be completed. I want students to realize (whether they like it or not) the way they dress often sets off opinions concerning one another. That the way we dress can reflect society, as in the wearing a suit and tie to give a speech for a computer company versus wearing a jogging a suit to give the speech. I hope for students to learn that power and money are often the focus of individuals trying to reach what is perceived to be the norm of society (to be rich) when in all reality very few American’s are extremely wealthy. I must remember my main ethical implication of my lesson which can be exhibited in the lesson about power and money. I am leaving the religion out and just using text from the Bible as only a book. Hopefully, with my help, and the help of peers, students will gain a basic knowledge of a Shakespearian comedy as well as other historical issues concerning major topics of the play.





















Works Cited
Christmon, Charlene; Hunter, Mario; Nash, Raquel . “Fashions:  Women and Men                    
Elizabethan England, Springfield Public Schools. 13 Nov. 2008                             
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"Elizabethan Wedding Customs." William Shakespeare info - Site Map. 2005. W Shakespeare
Information. 13 Nov 2008  .
“Elizabethan Women.” History of Women . Elizabethi . 11 Dec 2008
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“The Dangers of Money”. 11 Dec 2008
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