Page 278 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade6_Flipbook

Shakespeare in School
AcTIvITy 4.2
Learning Target
• Create and write an argument, introducing and organizing claims clearly, supporting claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence, and demonstrating an understanding of the topic.
• Participate in a class debate, evaluating other speakers’ arguments to be sure their claims are supported by reasons and evidence.
Preview
In this activity, you will read an article and participate in a class debate about teaching Shakespeare in school.
Setting a Purpose for Reading
• As you read the article, mark the text using two different colors to indicate support for the pro and con sides of the controversy.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
Shakespeare dumbed down
in comic strips for bored pupils
by Laura Clark
1 Shakespeare’s plays are being rewritten as comic strips for pupils who find his
poetry boring, it emerged today.
2 Thousands of teenagers are to study cartoon versions of famous plays such as
Macbeth, which reduce finely-crafted passages to snappy phrases.
3 The publishers hope the comics—illustrated by artists who have worked on the
Spiderman series—will inspire disaffected readers with a love of the Bard’s plays. 4 But the Queen’s English Society warned that “dumbed down” versions could
backfire by allowing pupils to avoid tackling the language and themes of the originals.
5 The firm behind the initiative, Classical Comics, will launch its first comic book plays next term.
6 They are targeted at older primary pupils and teenagers and have already won the backing of the National Association for the Teaching of English.
7 Three versions of each play will be produced to help teachers cater to children of differing literacy abilities.
My Notes
About the Author
Laura Clark is a British journalist. She is the education correspondent for the British newspaper Daily Mail.
Article
LeArNING STrATeGIeS:
Brainstorming, Diffusing, Marking the Text, Debating
Word coNNecTIoNS
Cognates
The Spanish cognate for comic is cómic.
emerged: developed
bard: a poet; “the Bard” is a nickname for Shakespeare
Unit 4 • The Final Act 251
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