A Curriculum Design for Introducing A Midsummer Night's Dream in Middle School

Abstract

This curriculum design introduces Shakespeare to middle school students by presenting portions of his play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, using a developmentally appropriate approach. These portions of the play were identified through the use of a grid that matched the concerns of middle school students with issues presented in the play. Therefore, only those parts of the play that are related to the concerns of middle school students are presented in this unit. The learning activities of dramatization of the text, character study, and story mapping are the activities implemented to help students access the intellectual, emotional, and imaginative experience of the play. At the same time, students learn reading strategies that can be applied to future experiences with Shakespearean literature.