Before reading Act III
Step 24: Ethical Decisions in the drama
Go to the first reflection in your Readers Notebook where you thought about how you make decisions. You are now going to be introduced to some dilemmas in decision making.
Watch the first 16 minutes of PART ONE: THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER
After viewing, choose one of the questions on the handout to answer in your Readers Notebook.
Has your decision making process changed since the first reflection in the Readers Notebook?
NOTE TO TEACHER: The thoughts about when it is ethically and morally right to take another persons life included in this episode will prepare the student for a deeper understanding of the decisions made in Act III.
Step 25: Begin reading Act III.
Read Act III of Romeo and Juliet and then complete the following
steps.
Step 26: Readers Notebook - Responding to Informational Media
Watch Segment 2: The Wiring of the Adolescent Brain from "Inside the Teenage Brain" PBS Frontline. Click the above link. This will take you to segment 4 of the video. Click on the chapters button. Navigate to segment 2 and click this link.
Answer the following questions in the Readers Notebook based on your viewing.
- Knowing the information about how an adolescents brain is "wired," how does this impact the way you make decisions?
- How would the information from the video change the events from Act III? Would the decisions made have been any different if Romeo and Juliet had known the information in the video? Explain your answers.
Step 27: Readers Notebook - Responding to Multi-media
Review your answers to the handout completed after watching the Moral Side of Murder (step 24).
Answer the following questions in Readers Notebook based on your understanding of the moral decisions made in Act III.
- Based on your viewing of the video, PART ONE: THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER, was Mercutios decision to fight Tybalt consequential or categorical in nature? Explain.
- Based on your viewing of the video, PART ONE: THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER, was Romeos decision to fight Tybalt consequential or categorical in nature? Explain.
- Based on your understanding of how the adolescent brain works, why do Romeo and Juliet react the way they do to the events of Act III?
Step 28: Summative Assessment: End of Act III
Use the link below to review the information in Act III. The review assessment consists of questions about the characters, quotes, plot, and essay.