Helpful Resource

Today I was asked by a friend to find some helpful resources so that she could teach Romeo and Juliet to her Stage 5 English Learning Support Group. I thought I would apply some of the things I had learned from this course so far in particularly the use of technologies. I came across an excellent resource that can be used for any English Unit From Read, Write, Think:

Modern-Day Interpretation Projects

1. Headline News Story Choose a modern-day event that mirrors an event that occurred in the text. Create a headline news Web page and two or three related links based on the event for a Web-based news site. To get an idea of length, format, and the kinds of links typically included in such stories, visit news sites on the Web.

2. Instant Messages or Text Messages Rewrite a dialogue between two characters from the text in modern-day format as if it took place online through instant messages or on cell phones or another tool using text messages.

3. Blogging Rewrite a monologue from the text (e.g., the speech of one person) as a blog entry or a series of blog entries. Include appropriate links to other Web pages, and comments that other characters from the text might leave on the blog entries.

4. Podcasting Rewrite a monologue or dialogue from the text as a podcast (a self-published, syndicated "radio shows"). Record your project as an audio file or create the transcript of the show that you might post online with the audio file. Be sure to include details on background sounds and music if you write a transcript for your project.

5. What if? Find a scene in the text that you believe would have been radically different given the existence of a certain piece of advanced high-tech equipment. Name the item and describe how and why the scene would have been different, and how it would have affected the outcome of the play.

6. Digital Artifacts Imagine that you find portable disk next to the computer of one of the characters from the play. It might be a floppy disk, Zip disk, USB keychain disk, or another device. This storage disk contains personal documents—letters, “to do” lists, data, and poems written by the character for his or her eyes only. Decide on four or five documents, recreate them, invent file names for each, and create a (fake) printout of the disk directory. Put all these together in a packet about the character.

7. Playlist Choose one of the characters from the text and create a playlist that that character would have on his or her iPod or MP3 player. Invent the name for the playlist, and create a list of the names of the songs, artists, the albums the songs came from, and other relevant details in your word processor. Alternately, if you have the resources available, you can burn a CD of the character’s playlist and create a CD label with the appropriate details.

8. Reality TV Show Imagine that the characters from the text are part of a reality TV show. Rewrite a scene from the text as it would have been caught from the surveillance cameras of the show. Film your scene using a video camera, or write a transcript of the scene (including details on background sounds, setting, and props).

9. Technology Product Endorsement Have a character in the text endorse a technology product—design a letter or short narrative where the character tells readers why they should purchase or support the product.

10. PowerPoint Presentation Rewrite a monologue from the text as a PowerPoint presentation. Imagine that the character is presenting the information to a modern audience using text, images, and other features available in PowerPoint (or another online presentation tool).Create the PowerPoint presentation that the character would use.