Romeo and Juliet: Insight into Ourselves

This tech-savvy lesson plan allows students to analyze the themes and issues within the play that affect characters (suicide prevention, parent/child communication, crime, justice, peer violence, etc).  Students then analyze these issues in today's society and, in small groups, choose an issue and research solutions to it.  This lesson emphasizes technology, inlcuding online resources, blog writing, brochure templates, presentation tools, and other tools.  All of the technology is not required, but rather given as an option based on teacher/student need. Although this resource is designed to be used at the culmination of Romeo and Juliet, this unit lesson can also serve as a guide for use with another grade level appropriate literacy text. This lesson design can be used to help students better understand universal themes and how many social issues of the past are similar to today's social issues. This unit utilizes technology to promote analytical thinking and research-based thinking skills, aiding students to delve into the play's more complicated dimensions.