Lesson: Ethical Behavior in the play Othello by William Shakespeare

Name: Patricia D. Bradford

School: Charles Herbert Flowers High School, Springdale, Maryland, Prince George’s County Public Schools

Grades Taught: 9th-12th

Grade Appropriate: 11th

Discipline Taught: English

Discipline Appropriate: English; Social Studies – History, Geography; Art; Social Sciences

Length of Lesson Plan: 90- minute block; A-Day, B-Day Schedule

Big Idea: Ethical Behavior: What is a person’s responsibility to self and others? Does Othello love himself?

Learner Outcomes:

English
Core Learning Goal 1.	The student will demonstrate the ability to respond to a text by employing personal experiences and critical analysis.
Core Learning Goal 2.	The student will demonstrate the ability to compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Social Studies
Core Learning Goal 1.	The student will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of principles, institutions, and processes of political systems.
Core Learning Goal 2.	The student will demonstrate an understanding of the history, diversity, and commonality of the people of the nation and world, the reality of human interdependence and the need for global cooperation, through a perspective that is both historical and multicultural.
Core Learning Goal 3.	The student will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities throughout history.

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will read the play Othello in order to answer comprehension questions, discuss major themes/ideas, analyze character traits and motives for behavior, and write descriptive obituaries for each of the four characters (Othello, Desdemona, Iago, and Cassius).
• Students will read historical information regarding the cultural background of the play, the key characters, and the setting to determine the context of the ideas expressed in the play.
• Students will chart the character traits of each of the four characters in order to write obituary notices for each of them.
• Students will select one or more scenes to rewrite by changing the character traits they deem as unethical, thus altering the outcome of the events in the play.
• Students will dramatize their revision in a production that includes props, music, scenery and dancing. The presentation must answer the question in such a way that the audience is clear about how the tragic hero feels about himself and what led to his condition.

Abstract: William Shakespeare selected as the main character an honored hero of Turkish descent who falls in love with the Venetian king’s daughter and marries her despite their cultural differences. His closest friend and worst enemy used his fervent love and pride to plant the seeds of doubt in Othello’s head to such a degree that he ultimately destroyed their loving relationship and himself.

Lesson Components:

Warm-up: Write a short list or paragraph to describe how you pamper or take good care of yourself. Explain what might happen to you if you did not do these things.

Guided Practice:

Independent Practice:

Assessment:

Closure:

Materials/Resources
Text: Literature and Language, English 11, pages
Web Sites: Search for information on
Handouts: Graphic organizer

Assessment:
Peer review of essay
Teacher observation of group discussion
Panel Discussion: Does the Man Deserve What Happened to Him? Why or Why Not?
Panel Participants: Religious leader, average citizen, lawyer, civil rights advocate, father, mother, and fruit seller
Voting on aforementioned question

Key Words: Ethical Behavior, Caste System