Inspire and engage students with the epic story by William Shakespeare with Storyboard That's Romeo and Juliet lesson plan. Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play students are introduced to, and it's one that's constantly being retold. An introduction to Romeo and Juliet can occur in many ways as there are movies, graphic novels and shortened versions of the play available, making the classic tale accessible to all readers!
The tale of feuding families and star-crossed lovers, captivates audiences of all ages and prompts discussions about family, love and free will.
Please note this summary comprises the Romeo and Juliet full story and therefore contains spoilers!
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers from feuding families, who take their own lives. Through a series of unfortunate events, fate and chance turn against the lovers. Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, meet at a party thrown by Juliet’s family. Romeo only attends because his friend says it will help Romeo get over a girl, Rosaline. Romeo had loved Rosaline, but she rejected him. When Romeo lays eyes on Juliet, he forgets he ever had other devotions. Later that evening, he sneaks to Juliet’s balcony and professes his love. Juliet, who has also fallen in love with Romeo, asks him to make a serious gesture, to prove his love. He asks her to marry him, and she agrees.
Using Friar Lawrence and Juliet’s Nurse as intermediaries, wedding plans commence. However, Tybalt, a Capulet, goes out in search for the Montagues who crashed the party. A duel ensues, and Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio, is killed, causing Romeo to slay Tybalt. The Prince of Verona had previously warned the quarrelers that if one more disturbance was made, those involved would be put to death. However, because Mercutio was the Prince’s kinsman, Romeo is exiled instead of killed.
Juliet finds out that Romeo has killed her cousin and is devastated, not by the loss of life, but over the banishment of her lover. They again devise a plan to be together, but an obstacle presents itself: Juliet’s father has arranged for her to marry Count Paris in two days time. Friar Lawrence convinces Juliet to take a sleeping potion to appear dead, and promises to send word to Romeo.
The plan is for Romeo to wake her in her tomb, and take her away with him. The plan begins as discussed, however, a dramatic irony unfolds: Romeo does not receive the letter intended for him about the Friar’s plan. Instead, he hears Juliet is dead and decides to enter her grave and take his own life. He goes to an apothecary and purchases poison. When he reaches the tomb, he encounters Paris, who is also there to mourn Juliet. Upset, Romeo kills Paris and enters the tomb, drinking the poison.
Moments later, Juliet awakes and finds Romeo dead. Distraught, she takes the dagger from his belt and stabs herself. In the end, Friar Lawrence confesses the story to the Capulets and Montagues. Knowing that their enmity was the reason for the senseless loss of lives, the two men agree to end their longstanding feud.
William Shakespeare is perhaps the most well-known playwright of all time. Born in April of 1564 in a small city in England, little is known about his childhood life. He had two older sisters and three younger brothers, and enjoyed learning about history and poetry in elementary school. When he was older, William married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children.
William was part of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company in England. He wrote plays and acted for the company, and his plays became very popular in the city. As he became more and more well-known, Shakespeare wrote more and more plays, averaging about a play and a half per year and totalling 37 plays in his lifetime!
Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of 52, but is still known as one of the most influential writers of the English language. His works are the most often quoted, second only to the Bible!
These questions may be used during reading, or upon completion of the play. While it is best to get students discussing what they’ve read, these questions can also be answered individually in a reader’s notebook. It is always such a joy to hear the different opinions that students have, even though they are reading the same information!
Storyboard That is an excellent tool for students to create fun and engaging projects as a culminating activity after finishing a novel or a play. In addition to our premade activities, here are some ideas that teachers can customize and assign to students to spark creativity in individual students, pairs, or small groups for a final project. Several of these ideas include Storyboard That templates that can be printed out or copied into your teacher dashboard and assigned digitally. All final projects can be printed out, presented as a slide show, or, for an extra challenge, as an animated gif!
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Storyboard That is the perfect tool for novel lesson plans and activities because it's so easy to use and extremely versatile. With Storyboard That, you can create a wide variety of storyboards such as the story from the main character's perspective, or any other character's point of view.
You can also use Storyboard That to create a summary of the book, a movie poster, or analyze themes and events. Plus, our printable worksheets make it easy to take the fun offline.
Storyboarding is an incredibly powerful tool for educators because it helps students process and understand the information in a deep, meaningful way. When students storyboard, they are actively engaged in the learning process and can make connections between the text and their own lives.
Storyboards also promote higher-level thinking by encouraging students to synthesize information and think critically about what they have read. Finally, storyboards are a great way to assess student understanding because they provide a visual representation of student learning.
Select a character from Romeo and Juliet that you want to analyze. This could be Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt, or any other character that interests you.
Read and gather information about the chosen character from the play. Pay attention to their actions, dialogue, relationships, and how they contribute to the overall story.
Use Storyboard That's a biography poster template to create a character profile for the chosen character. Include details such as their background, personality traits, relationships, motivations, and key moments in the play.
Select key quotes from the play that highlight the character's traits, emotions, or important moments. Use the storyboard cells to illustrate the scenes or moments associated with each quote.
Analyze the character's development throughout the play. Consider their strengths, weaknesses, conflicts, and how they change or stay consistent. Use textual evidence from the play to support your analysis.
Reflect on the character's significance in the play and draw conclusions about their role in the story. Consider their impact on other characters, the themes of the play, and the overall message conveyed through their actions and decisions.
It is clear that the most important theme of this play is love. Some other themes that are evident throughout the story are family, conflict, and loyalty.
The main characters are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They are in love teenagers from two feuding families. Other main characters in the story are Friar Laurence, the Nurse, Mercutio, and Tybalt.
When they realize they cannot live without each other, Romeo and Juliet decide to take poison and take their own lives. Romeo dies, but Juliet simply falls into a coma and eventually wakes up to see Romeo dead next to her. Juliet then stabs herself and dies.
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