NORMANHURST BOYS HIGH

ENGLISH PROGRAM

Program prepared by: Claire Ormiston

Year: 9

Topic/Module: Power to the people! Power of the word!

Teacher:

RATIONALE: Through the study of a variety of texts, including Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, students look at the power of written and
spoken language. These skills will culminate in a task when students present a creative speech based on Shakespeare’s Caesar. This
unit builds and extends specifically on the debating unit that students do in year 8 and works towards both skill and analytical
development that will help them in the HSC and in their lives as communicators. This unit should be seen as a positive enforcer of what
language – and most famously English - can do.

This unit is rather dense and recognises that not all lessons will be able to be covered, but the guts of it is – get to know another
Shakespeare and get to hear and know how to write a variety of persuasive speeches/texts.

MANDATORY POLICIES:

Gifted and Talented Education:

Boys’ Education:

Aboriginal Education:
1.2.1 delivery of quality education and training to Aboriginal students in schools (including where relevant preschools), TAFE Institutes and community education settings
1.2.2 education about Aboriginal Australia for all students

Literacy:
SYLLABUS OUTCOMES AND CONTENT

A student:
Outcome 1 responds to and composes increasingly sophisticated and sustained texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis and pleasure
Outcome 2 uses and critically assesses a range of processes for responding and composing
Outcome 4 selects and uses language forms and features, and structures of texts according to different purposes, audiences and contexts, and describes and explains their
effects on meaning
Outcome 5 transfers understanding of language concepts into new and different contexts
Outcome 6 experiments with different ways of imaginatively and interpretively transforming experience, information and ideas into texts
Outcome 8 investigates the relationships between and among texts

Students learn to:

1.1 respond to and compose a range of imaginative, factual and critical texts which are increasingly demanding in terms of their linguistic, structural, cognitive, emotional
and moral complexity
1.3 analyse the effectiveness and impact of texts on responders in terms of ideas, perspective and originality
2.1 produce sustained spoken and written texts in rehearsed, unrehearsed and impromptu situations
4.1 identify, describe and explain the purpose of texts in personal, historical, cultural, social, technological and workplace contexts
4.2 describe, explain and evaluate the composer’s choices of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience and context
4.3 use appropriate language forms and features and structures of texts in their own compositions and describe, explain and justify their choices in terms of purpose,
audience and context
4.4 experiment with and explain altered perceptions of ideas and information that result from changes in language features and structures
4.5 identify purpose, audience and context of texts through consideration of the language forms and features, and structures used in the texts
4.6 adapt and justify language use appropriate to spoken, written and visual texts
5.1 apply knowledge of language forms and features and structures of texts to respond to, compose and adapt texts to suit new and unfamiliar contexts
5.2 compose written, oral and visual texts for personal, historical, cultural, social, technological and workplace contexts
5.3 adapt their own or familiar texts into different forms, structures, modes and media for different purposes, audiences and contexts
6.2 respond imaginatively and interpretively to an increasingly demanding range of literary and non-literary texts
6.3 compose texts that demonstrate originality, imagination and ingenuity in content and language
6.4 compose texts using a range of literary and non-literary texts as models
6.6 compose imaginative texts based on a proposition, premise or stimulus.
8.1 identify and describe the similarities and differences between and among more demanding texts
8.6 compose texts by complying with, adapting or subverting the conventions of form, genre and ideology.

Students learn about:

1.7 the ideas, information, perspectives and ideologies presented in increasingly demanding imaginative, factual and critical texts and the ways they are presented
1.8 the features of increasingly complex imaginative, factual and critical texts, including the cognitive, emotional and moral dimensions of the text and its linguistic and
structural features
1.9 the ways sustained texts use elements such as evidence, argument, narrative, dialogue and climax
2.10 the ways composers, including authors and film-makers, use processes of representation in composing texts
4.8 the ways in which spoken, written and visual texts are shaped according to personal, historical, cultural, social, technological and workplace contexts
4.9 appropriate language forms and features and structures of texts to use in an increasingly wide range of contexts
4.10 the metalanguage for describing, explaining and justifying the composer’s choices of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience
and context
4.11 the influence of purpose, audience and context on the use of particular language forms and features and structures of texts
4.12 the significance of the relationship between purpose, audience and context
4.13 codes and conventions, including emotive, evocative and impersonal language and signs, used to signal tone, mood and atmosphere in spoken, written and visual texts
5.9 the selection, organisation and coherence of information and ideas in texts.
6.9 the ways in which imaginative texts can explore universal themes and social reality.
8.7 the ways content, form and ideas of texts can be related
8.8 the metalanguage for identifying, describing and explaining relationships between and among texts
8.9 similarities of approach, attitude, intent, point of view, perspective and style in texts by different composers
 TEXT TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT QUALITY TEACHING

WEEK 1
LESSON 1
Begin the first lesson by outlining some of the concepts we will be looking at
within this unit – namely powerful speech and how it is used.
Obama’s 2009
• Brainstorm what speeches have been used for.
Inauguration and o Celebrate, empower, scare, persuade etc.
Address. • For each of these elements, consider the TONE that might be used –
expand on your brainstorm. (You may need to define and discuss
tone here).
• You may wish to introduce here the RAFTS model to be used in this
unit. HANDOUT 1.

LESSON 2
Students view http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=VjnygQ02aW4&feature=related
Obama’s 2009 Inauguration and Address. If you preload, 2:24-21:50. NOTE:
HANDOUT 1 You will need approximately 20 minutes to watch this speech.
Identify as a class, then students in their workbooks take notes on the RAFTS
INFORMAL: Student’s ability to
model (below) of persuasive writing. HANDOUT 1
Briefly: articulate ideas and concepts.
R = Role:               What is the role of the person? Student’s abilities to react to an
    A = Audience:       Who is the audience?  initial viewing of a text.
    F = Format:           Which format should be used?
    T = Topic:              What is the topic? Is it sufficiently focused?
    S = Strong Verb:   What is the composer trying to do in this piece of
writing?
INTRODUCING Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
HOMEWORK: You may ask students to do a bit of research about the
Julius Caesar difference in Plutarch and Shakespeare’s version of events. When discussing
Booklet it next lesson, ask students to hypothesise as to why Shakespeare altered
the order and timing of these events citing key differences between
 timelines as evidence.

LESSON 3+4

Students will perform a two-line play using lines from the first act of Julius
Caesar, introducing the students to the language and some of the issues of
the play. As an optional extension, they can look at descriptions of Caesar
and Brutus in the text, in order to begin to think about the roles of these
two main characters.
 
What To Do

1. The HANDOUT 2 below has a list of significant sentences from the first act
of Julius Caesar. Distribute the handout to the students and give each of
HANDOUT 2
them a specific line from the handout. Or, to make the activity easier for
students, give each student an index card with only one of the lines written
on it.

2. Divide students into pairs. Ask each pair to devise a short skit in which
their two lines are the only lines spoken. Students should choose a set of
actions to make sense of these lines. Allow students to converse and
experiment for about ten minutes.

3. Have each group perform their skits for the class. There should be a
thunderous round of applause after each group performs.

4. After each group has performed, discuss the activity with the students.
How did they feel delivering the lines? What did they think of Shakespeare's
language? What do they think the play is about?
INFORMAL: Did students get up
5. As an optional extension, distribute the HANDOUT 3 and ask students to
on their feet and have fun creating
HANDOUT 3 complete it as a worksheet. Here, they will read different descriptions of the
their skits? Were they able to offer
characters and begin to get a sense of who they are.
opinions about the language and
JULIUS CAESAR
HOMEWORK: The Roman Form of Government inferences about the topic(s) of the
play?
For a short research project, have students find out how the Roman Senate
was set up and how it compares to our form of government. In the course of
their research, students should find the meanings and functions of the
following terms: Senator, Caesar, Praetor, and Consul.

WEEK 2
CONTEXT: Students at this stage should have a good idea of the general plot
and the characters in the play.
REMEMBER: The key acts in this unit are 1-3. Whilst there are film versions
available, you may wish to get students up and performing.
BEST SCENES: 1i, 1ii, 2ii, 3i, 3ii – other intermittent scenes should be
discussed lest someone get lost with the plot. You may ask students to read
these for homework.

INTRODUCING THEMES

• Discuss the qualities possessed by a good leader. Generate a list of these

qualities and choose a leader (from the student body, history, or the
contemporary world) who exhibits several of them. What does Julius Caesar
tell us about these qualities?

• Which is more important to you, friendship or personal principles? Why?

What does Julius Caesar tell us about the roles of each of these when
making ethically challenging decisions? Which characters value which, how
do we know?

• To what extent can we control the future? Why do you think Julius Caesar
talks about these issues? What does it tell us about Shakespeare’s context?

While Reading
1. Consider the question: Are the conspirators justified in killing Caesar?
• Divide the class into two groups. Individuals in each group will keep
journals/notes during the course of their reading. Group one will look for
evidence supporting the conspirators' actions. For example:
 Caesar's physical limitations (I ii 95-131)
Why should Caesar be king? (I.ii. 135-141)
The fate of Marullus and Flavius (I.ii. 281-287)
Brutus's reasons for killing Caesar (I.i. 10-34)

Group two will look for evidence refuting the conspirators' actions. For
example:
Caesar refuses the crown (I. ii. 220-246)
Caesar's will (III.ii. 240-244 and 249-254)

• At the end of Caesar's speech (III. i. 58-73), have students vote to decide if
he should be assassinated. Have them defend their votes in a short essay.
This should help them build on their skills from debating last year.

2. Consider the question: What are the qualities of a good leader? Divide the
class into two groups. Individuals in each group will keep journals during the
course of their reading. Group one will look for evidence documenting the
leadership qualities displayed by Caesar and the weaknesses of Brutus as a
leader. For example:
• Caesar's strengths as a leader:
An able general (I.i. 32-24)
A shrewd judge of people (I.ii. 192-195 and 198-210)
• Brutus's weaknesses as a leader:
Not a shrewd judge of people (I.ii. 307-322)
Rigid ethics (IV.iii. 65-83)

Group two will look for evidence documenting the leadership qualities
displayed by Brutus and the weaknesses of Caesar as a leader. For example:
• Brutus's strengths as a leader:
Puts the good of the country ahead of his own feelings (II.i. 10-34)
HANDOUT 4
Inspires loyalty (V.v. 68-75)
• Caesar's weaknesses as a leader:
Susceptible to flattery (II. ii. 83-90)
Excessive pride (III. i. 59-73)

3. Language plays an important part in the play. Characters use language to

twist meaning to achieve their own ends. Shakespeare uses varieties of
language to develop individual characters.

The following activities help students appreciate the use of language in the
play:
• Have two students who are good readers read the following selections of
the play out loud to the class. In small groups or individually, analyze the
selections, focusing on the speaking style of each character:

• Brutus's and Antony's funeral speeches. Why is Antony's speech more

effective? (Brutus's straightforward appeal to logic and reason versus
Antony's appeal to emotion through the use of irony, sarcasm, reiteration,
and figurative language, creating images in the listeners' minds.) (III. ii. 12-48
and 75-254) Analyse using HANDOUT 4.

WEEK 3
Look into more detail about the concept of persuasive speech and its
relationship to Julius Caesar.

LESSON 1 INFORMAL: Were students able to

Students will examine the different tactics of persuasion they use in their identify the different tactics they
own lives and see how those tactics are used in the language of Julius used to persuade? Were they able
Caesar. Through improvisation, analysis, discussion, reading, and writing, to see relationships between those
they will help to examine the tone and tactics of persuasive speech. tactics and the ones used by
Cassius? Did the comparison give
What To Do
them some understanding of
1. Separate your students into groups of 3 or 4 and give them the following Cassius and his challenges in these
prompts. Ask one student to play the part of the persuader, and another the scenes?
object of the persuasion. The remaining students in the group should try to
 note three different tactics and tones used by the persuader(s).

     Prompt 1: Persuade your best friend to loan you money.

Prompt 2: Persuade your parents to let you stay out later.
Prompt 3: Persuade a teacher to take your late homework.
Prompt 4: Persuade a potential boyfriend/girlfriend to go out with you.
Prompt 5: Persuade a friend to lie to their parents and go to a concert
with you.
Prompt 6: Persuade your parents to let you go to a concert that is on a
school night.
Prompt 7: Persuade your parents to let you use the money in a uni
savings account to buy a car.

2. Now give the objects of the persuasion some specific instruction. Have
them react first in a positive, next in a negative, and finally in a neutral
manner.

3. Engage the group in discussion of the activity. How do the tactics of

persuasion change? In what ways does the tone of the encounter change?

4. Now compare these tactics to the ones Cassius uses in 1.2 and 1.3. Are
JULIUS CAESAR there any similarities? Does Cassius cross any moral boundaries? What
would your students add or subtract from Cassius's ideas?

5. Optional extensions: Have your students read excerpts from Cassius's

speeches while trying out different tones. Have your students model the
types of body language Cassius uses while trying to persuade Brutus and
Casca. Or, ask your students to write a comparison/contrast essay examining
the persuasive tactics that they and Cassius both use.

LESSON 2

Students will read, speak, and analyse Brutus's soliloquy of 2.1.10-36, where
he uses figurative language to associate ambition (the "ladder") and poison
(the "adder.") In doing so, they will gain a deeper understanding of Brutus as
a character and, perhaps, a new sense of scepticism and awareness about
persuasive language and oratory.
  
What To Do INFORMAL: Listen in on the small
group work and review the class
1. Clear classroom desks to the sides of the room so that the students can discussion. Did students see or
stand in a circle. Begin with a choral reading of the soliloquy: ask one hear the way Brutus was using
student to begin reading the soliloquy out loud until she or he encounters a figurative language to build a case
period, exclamation point, question mark, colon, or semicolon. At that point,
for killing Caesar, in spite of the
the next student should continue to the next major punctuation mark, and
so on until the soliloquy is over. Check for comprehension of vocabulary. lack of hard evidence? Were they
able to apply the lesson to their
2. Now divide the class into two lines, facing each other. Have the two own lives and times?
sides alternate reading the soliloquy out loud, stopping at major
punctuation marks as before, but increasing the volume as they go, until
they are shouting by the last line.

3. Ask the students to discuss what Brutus is saying. Does he have conflicting
feelings about assassinating Caesar? If so, what evidence of conflict is in the
lines? For example, does he consider any arguments against the murder?
Where are they?

4. Have students return to their desks and, in small groups look for figurative
language in the soliloquy. Give them no more than two minutes to find one
example of Brutus comparing Caesar to someone or something else.
HANDOUT 7
5. Have one student from each group report on findings. There may be some
surprises (which would be good!), but the findings will probably come down
to the man on the ladder, and the poisonous adder "that craves wary
walking." Give the groups another two minutes to answer this question:
which of the two images (the adder or the ladder) best describes Caesar's
actions as we know them from the first act of the play?

6. Have a different member of each group report on its findings. The teacher
or a student facilitator might record the findings in four columns on the
board: the adder, the man on the ladder, both, or neither.

7. As a class, discuss each of the four columns. How does the use of two
images, the adder and the ladder, affect the way each is seen by the reader
 or heard by the listener? Does a "climber-upper" seem threatening by INFORMAL: Were students able to
himself? What happens when you link him to a poisonous serpent? If the see that Brutus carefully
class has read or discussed the story of Adam and Eve, you might ask if considered the use of rhetoric in
HANDOUT 5&6 there's anything interesting about the fact that Brutus is walking in his his speech? Were they able to
orchard, talking about serpents and thinking about breaking an oath. The make meaningful comments on
class might also consider the question of how to recognize a future threat specific elements of Brutus's
("a serpent's egg") and eliminate it before it becomes dangerous. What are language? Were they able to note
the risks in such an approach? the discrepancy between Brutus's
understanding of his audience's
LESSON 3 values and what that audience
truly values? Were they able to see
This exercise will teach students to identify two rhetorical strategies – the how this could affect the outcome
use of ethos and appealing to the audience - and to analyse their effects in of the play?
Brutus's speech in 3.2. It will give students a chance to participate as  
members of Brutus's audience by assuming the roles of plebeians. Finally, it
will give them a means of assessing the effects of this pivotal speech so they
can determine how it contributes to the ultimate outcome of the play.

What To Do

1. Ask students what kinds of appeals, commercial or otherwise, work on

them. You may wish to discuss examples from recent political speeches or
from other sources they might know.

2. Ask the students to define, or define for them, the terms "ethos" and
"audience appeals." You may wish to use the optional Definitions Handout.

3. Pair up each student in class with a partner. Distribute the Part One
handout and review the instructions.

4. Have a strong student read Brutus’ speech – Act 3 Sc ii. Pause at the
breaks in Brutus's speech indicated on the handout and give students a few
minutes to come up with their responses before starting again. You may
want to let them hear the speech all the way through once before reading it
with the pauses.

5. After students write their responses, ask them to post their work on the
walls around the room so that others can read their responses.

6. Discuss the results. How does Brutus use these rhetorical devices? You
may ask students to summarize in writing the values Brutus appeals to in his
speech.

7. Distribute the Part Two Handout. You may want to have students read the
plebeians' responses out loud. Discuss how the actual response of the
plebeians compares with the contents of Brutus's speech and with your
students' responses for Part One. How effective has Brutus been? How do
they feel the rest of this scene will unfold?

WEEK 4
Make sure students feel confident and clear on how to write a powerful
speech. Possibly do some improvisation activities on speeches.
View a variety of powerful speeches as a class on youTube – I have a Dream,
Mandela, Rudd’s Sorry and so on. Analyse these using RAFTS.

Suggestions After Reading Julius Caesar

Questions for Deeper Understanding

The following questions can be used as reading journal topics, essay topics,
the basis for oral reports, class discussion starters, and so forth.

Plot
1. Scenes iii. and iv. in Act II are very short. Why did Shakespeare include
them? What is their function in the play?
Characterisation
2. Do you agree with Caesar when he says that Cassius thinks too much?
Defend your answer.
3. Why does Brutus not want the conspirators to swear an oath of
allegiance? What does this say about him?
4. How does Caesar's response to Calphurnia's fears add credence to
Brutus's and Cassius's fears about Caesar?
5. What is the significance of Caesar's "north star" speech at the Capitol?
How does this speech make you feel about Caesar? The conspirators?
6. What is ironic about the third plebeian's cry of "Let him be Caesar."? (III.
ii. 52)
7. How does Shakespeare portray the common man in the play? How does
this portrayal make you feel about the actions of the conspirators?
8. How does Shakespeare portray the noblemen in the play? How does this
portrayal make you feel about them? Why?
9. In every disagreement between the two, Brutus never gives in to Cassius;
he must always have his way. What does this say about Brutus? Why does
Cassius always yield?
FORMAL: Students will be asked
10. Compare Portia and Calphurnia. From your comparison, do you think
to write a speech as Caesar’s
Shakespeare's characterization of the two women was flattering or
disparaging? Ghost responding to the
11. Outline the steps that Cassius takes to convince Brutus to join the speeches heard over his dead
conspiracy. Do you think Brutus would have joined had he realized how body. Students are encouraged
Cassius manipulated him? What does it say about Brutus that Cassius's plan to be creative and use the skills
was successful? What does it say about Cassius that he used such steps to they have studied within the
attract Brutus? unit.
12. Compare and contrast Brutus and Caesar. Are they similar or are they
very different?
13. Compare and contrast Brutus's and Cassius's reasons for joining the
conspiracy.
Theme
14. How does the fate of Marullus and Flavius fuel Brutus's fears about
Caesar?
15. What is the purpose of the storm? What significance would it have to an
Elizabethan audience?
16. Brutus is cast as a very idealistic leader in the play while Cassius is cast as
being highly pragmatic. Of the two, which do you think is the better leader?
Defend your answer.
17. At the end of the play, Antony refers to Brutus as "the noblest Roman of
them all." Do you agree with his assessment? Was Brutus noble? Defend
your answer.
18. At the play's conclusion, it is clear that Octavius will be the new ruler of
Rome. What type of leader do you think he will be? Defend your answer.
19. The play is entitled Julius Caesar even though Caesar is dead by Act III.
Do you think this is an appropriate title? If not, choose a more appropriate
title. Defend your answer.
RESOURCES UTILISED:

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