Unit+Plan+Outline+-+The+Merchant+of+Venice

Submitted by Kristen Hill Cormier, Robert. //The Chocolate War//. New York: Laurel-Leaf Books, 1974. Zusak, Markus. //The Book Thief//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. In //The Merchant of Venice//, //The Book Thief// and //The Chocolate War//, characters who take a stand against tyranny are marginalized and threatened. Friendships and alliances are not always what they seem; and in moments of crisis, power shifts unexpectedly. Issues related to money (borrowing, buying, selling, gambling, bartering, and stealing) are closely linked to power in all three texts. A young German girl is sent to live with a foster family in Nazi Germany. Illiterate and friendless, Liesel learns to read under the loving tutelage of her foster father, Hans, a known Jew-sympathizer. Despite the threat of unimaginably horrific consequences, Hans agrees to hide a Jewish man named Max in the family basement, bringing the horror and humanity of the Holocaust to Liesel’s consciousness. The powerful tyranny of Hitler’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and the stark cruelty of the Nazi regime are challenged in //The Book Thief// by a poor, seemingly powerless girl whose penchant for stealing books becomes her secret weapon and ultimately her saving grace. *Canonical tie-in: Hitler used //The Merchant of Venice// for Nazi propaganda. A new student, mourning the death of his mother, decides to “disturb the universe” at a New England prep school by refusing to participate in the school’s annual chocolate-sale fundraiser. At first admired, then punished for his non-conformity, Jerry must decide if “giving in” is an option he can accept. Defying a cruel faculty member and a frighteningly powerful secret society known as The Vigils, Jerry becomes the target of a school-wide campaign of hatred and anger. //The Chocolate War// explores a world in which authority figures and friendships are, at best, unreliable allies, and at worst, vicious enemies. *Canonical tie-in: Janza quotes //The Merchant of Venice// before the fight with Jerry (p. 237). 1) Attend a live performance of //The Merchant of Venice//, if possible; or view excerpts from director Michael Radford’s film adaptation in class. 2) Read “The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss in class. Briefly discuss students’ interpretations of the “star bellies” and the link between power and money in Sylvester McMonkey McBean’s business model. 3) Visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. 1) //Representative artwork - The power of symbolic objects// Inanimate objects have no inherent power, but they can be used as symbols of power, sometimes quite persuasively. Select one tangible object (or group of objects) from your choice of text which you feel the author or character(s) used to gain, maintain, transfer, or represent power. Create a piece of artwork in any medium to illustrate the object you have chosen and support your choice with a written justification of its power, making special mention of the item’s cost or worth. Your description may be written as prose, poetry, or free-association list, incorporated into your artwork or displayed alongside it. (Students are to brainstorm symbolic objects in small groups and suggest ideas to the class.) 2) //Dramatic reading - Personalizing Shakespeare// Words are an enormous source of power, and Shakespeare’s impressive command of language is one of his trademarks. Select a short group of words (a line, a phrase, a statement or question) from //The Merchant of Venice// which exemplifies Shakespeare’s power of the pen. Write your quote (with proper citation); paraphrase it in familiar language; and compose a brief soliloquy which either incorporates your revised quote or is inspired by it. Your anecdote may be true or fictional, humorous or sad, as long as it shows relevance to real life. Be prepared to do a dramatic reading of your piece. (Students may opt to co-write a dialogue and present their work together.)  3) //Creative writing - Character journals// The private thoughts and motivations of secondary characters may not be represented clearly in a text, perhaps because an author feels that the text is full, or because he or she wants readers to draw their own conclusions. Write a diary entry by your choice of secondary character from your choice of text. Try to see the text from the secondary character’s point of view, and write what you think the character would write. Consider the character’s quest for power (or willingness to relinquish power) in your writing. Please allow the general parameters of the original story to determine the boundaries of your imaginary entry. Characters such as Jessica (//The Merchant of Venice//), the mayor’s wife (//The Book Thief//), or Goober (//The Chocolate War//) would work nicely, but you may choose whomever you find most interesting. (Character and concept ideas will be discussed in small groups; drafts are to be peer reviewed in class.) 4) //Theater as a living medium - Casting call// [In-class group activity] Like modern movies, Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be seen and heard, not read in a classroom; so in order for the playwright’s intentions to show, it is important for a casting director to select the right actors for each of the parts. Pretend that you are the casting team for a production of //The Merchant of Venice// or a film adaptation of //The Book Thief// or //The Chocolate War//. Using well-known actors and public figures, cast the principle roles of your production. Briefly explain the qualities that make each person particularly suited to his or her part. You may cite an actor’s past performances in movies or television programs, if you like. Stay away from strictly physical attributes. (A fun follow-up would be to create "Cast of Characters" posters for each text, using magazine clippings or computer print-outs of the famous cast members, to be displayed in the classroom.) 1) Read //The Freedom Writers Diary// by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell; or watch //Freedom Writers//, the film adaptation by director Richard LaGravenese. 2) Visit __www.history.com/topics/the-holocaust__ or __www.ushmm.org__.
 * UNIT PLAN OUTLINE: //The Merchant of Venice// ** by William Shakespeare
 * Bridge texts: **
 * Unifying concept: ** Power
 * // The Book Thief: //**
 * // The Chocolate War: //**
 * Class activities: **
 * Response activities: **
 * Additional recommendations: **