Melissa Carlson

mcarlson@nscsd.org

WebQuest

Throughout our reading and discussions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, one of the common themes is violence. There are many factors fueling this violence: lust for power, greed, fear, ambition, betrayal of friends, revenge. Bloodshed is prevalent throughout Macbeth. The word blood is stated 42 times in the pages of Macbeth.

Every time you turn on the television, or pick up the local paper there is some show of violence. Many times talk amongst people is about the latest murder or gun victim. Violence is a problem in our world, our country and our city. Check out the local paper or Channel 9 news, there is always another example of some type of violent act. People often thrive on bad news.

Macbeth’s message of violence crosses generations, and years of learning has surrounded this timeless classic. This is possible because it speaks of social problems that are still prevalent in our society. With the examination of violence it is as if Shakespeare is writing directly to us.

You will analyze the social issue of violence portrayed by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. You will find a solution that could have been implemented in this time period to curb the violence. You will also find a solution that could be used for the violence in society today. You and a partner will be writing a 3-5 page comparative analysis on you findings. You will find the rubric in the evaluation section and you will also find a peer evaluation sheet that you will have to print out, complete and hand in with you paper. You will seal this evaluation in an envelope, therefore if you do not want your partner to see the evaluation they will not.

You have one partner that you will be working with. You are both responsible for an equal division of the work. Remember that you will be grading each other as well as yourself. I expect everyone to be honest with the evaluations of themselves and the peer that they are working with. Rubric is found in the resources section.

Your social problem has already been identified as violence.

You will complete the following process:

STEP ONE: Identify acts of violence in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

STEP TWO: Find evidence that violence was a social problem in Macbeth.

STEP THREE: Determine the causes of violence in Macbeth.

STEP FOUR: Determine solutions that could have been implemented to prevent the violence.

STEP FIVE: Write a comparative analysis of the violence in Macbeth and the violence in our time period.

Compare and contast essay Here is a few pointers on how to write a compare and contrast essay.

Macbeth Full text for those of you that don’t have your books.

Violence as social problem

• Compare and contrast rubric
• Working with a partner rubric

As you can see, the violence in Macbeth is still prevalent in our society today thus making Macbeth a timeless classic.

●English Standards

• E1c   Reads, understands and produces written and oral work.
• E3b   The student participates in group meetings.
• E4b   The student analyzes and revises the work to make it suitable for the audience.
• S5f    Students work individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.
• S7b   The student argues from evidence.
• S7e   Students communicates in a form suited for the audience.
• A2a   Student makes an oral presentation of project plan.

· Social Studies

• 5.Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.