Seeing, storms, and madness: King Lear
Teacher Mark Osborne
| Year
|
NCEA Level
|
Duration
|
| 13
|
3
|
6 weeks
|
| Achievement Standard Being Assessed
|
Achievement Criteria
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AS90722 (English 3.3): Respond cricially to Shakespearean drama studied.
(Formative assessment as this achievement standard is assessed externally)
|
- Develop a critical response to a Shakesprean drama using supporting evidence.
|
| Processes
|
| Thinking Critically
|
Interpret and evaluate a written text, identifying and discussing its language and literary qualities and relating them to personal, social, cultural, political, and historical contexts.
|
| Processing Information
|
Using a variety of resources and types of technology, retrieve, select, interpret, synthesise, and present accurate and coherent information, evaluating the processes used.
|
| Supporting Achievement Objective
|
Learning Outcomes
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| Transactional Writing
|
Write essays on complex issues that arise in the play, debate in depth propositions and points of view, structuring well researched material effectively, in an appropriate style for a literary essay.
|
Teacher background reading
Teaching and learning activities
Select and adapt these learning activities to best meet the needs of your students, and to fit the time available:
Learning task 1
Learning task 2
Learning task 3
Exam revision
Homework ideas
Give students a copy of the quotations from learning task 2 and ask them to:
- Translate them into modern English
- Identify who said them
- Comment on how they relate to other areas of the play
Alternatively, you can use them as a revision tool, quizzing students on who said them and to whom, when etc.
Assessment
Examination Paper 2004
Resources
- King Lear
- King Lear
(television series). Directed by Michael Elliott with Laurence Olivier
- King Lear
(film). Directed by Peter Brook.
- William Shakespeare: The Complete Works
. This is a very comprehensive website with links to the complete works including background information, biographical information and pictures, information about Elizabethan theatres, a Shakespearean dictionary, the first folio, quotes, a quiz and a discussion forum.
- How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth - A Lear Parody
- General sites:
- A nice summary of the play, characters, and themes and ideas
-
Shakespeare and the Theatre
The first known production of King Lear was at King James' palace at Whitehall on 26th of December 1606, but Shakespeare was also connected to the Globe theatre, a reconstruction of which now stands on the south bank of the Thames river in London.
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Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Educational resources, images and background information on Elizabethan society.
- Shakespeares' England
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Much Ado About Something
Is it possible that William Shakespeare was the nom-de-plume of Christopher Marlowe, the 16 century English playwright? This site explores the evidence and the conflicting viewpoints.
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Cordelia Restored
Includes notes on the play, a quiz and discussion of the idea that Cordelia was in disguise as the fool.
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Converse: Shakespearean Resources
Some excellent interactive resources to support the study of Shakespeare, including an animated depiction of the experience of viewing a Shakespearean play, an interactive 3D version of the Globe,plot questions on several plays, Shakespeare's insults and more.
- Sites suitable for students:
-
Images of Lear from several centuries:
Online criticism links
Essays
