An Introduction to Macbeth WebQuest

Introduction

I Can't Wait to be King!!! 

Welcome: An Introduction to the context, history, and significance revolving around Shakespeare's Macbeth. 

Description:

Hello students! To jumpstart our reading of Macbeth, I want you to pose our driving Inquiry Question for the unit, as well as put us in the same frame of mind that our playwright, William Shakespeare, had as he crafted this play

  • In your own words, what does it mean to be a King? What does a King (or any type of significant Ruler) need to look like, act like, believe, or know in order to be considered a success in the eyes of the public? What are a King’s first priorities and responsibilities as a leader? What happens if they make a mistake? If you were suddenly given the power and authority of a president, or leader of a country, or even a business owner what would change in the world today?

Webquest Purpose: By completing this WebQuest, you will familiarize yourself with some of the key aspects of this play (by researching and organizing information from a list of online sources) and prepare to share your learning with your classmates in a culminating presentation!



Grade Level: 9-10

Curriculum: English Language Arts

Keywords: Macbeth, Shakespeare, Presentation, Groupwork

Author(s): Gabe Guzman

*For additional information on this WebQuest, refer to the Teacher Page

 

Task

There are two parts to this WebQuest

Task 1: Research (retelling task)

  • For this task, in your table group of 4 students, you all will read through a selection of articles (or watch a couple of linked videos) to learn more about a particular aspect of our play. These topics include:
    • Topic 1: General plot and major characters within Macbeth
    • Topic 2: The REAL historical king, Macbeth
    • Topic 3: King James I and William Shakespeare
    • Topic 4: The Great Chain of Being
  • As you each read or watch through the listed Sources, you will record key details from these which serve as evidence to explain what your topic is. 

Task 2: Presentation slides creation + short quiz

  • The next step/task in this process will be for you to create an original Google Slides Presentation based on your selected topic. Your group will create and present your slides presentation in class - as well as construct a short review quiz based on your learning by the end of this Webquest. 
  • On our next class day of class, you and your group will present your slideshow to your classmates!
Process

DAY 1

Task 1: Research (Retelling Task)

  1. With a group of 3-4 classmates, select from one of the 4 topics to research and create a short 5-10 min presentation on:
  2. As you each read through the sources for your specific topic, work together to record 4-5 significant details on your physical handout which answer your corresponding prompt:

Task 2: Presentation slides creation + short quiz (Compilation Task)

  1. Have one of your teammates create and share a Google Slideshow amongst your teammates, THEN...
  2. Decide with your teammates who will be responsible for making and presenting specific sections of your slideshow:
    • Title Slide: introduce your group members and identify your group's topic.
    • Introduction slides: provide a brief definition on what/who your topic is and identify what key information (learning objectives) your classmates should know by the end of the presentation.
    • Content slides (3-4 slides minimum): identify 4-5 key details from your research that should help fellow classmates understand the topic, as well as why the topic might connect with the Inquiry Question: what does it mean to be a King?
    • Conclusion slide: recap the main points of your research and include/create a short 3-5 question quiz based on your research.
      • The quiz questions you create can take multiple forms (multiple choice, matching terms, short answer, or fill in the blank)
      • The questions you create will be collected and used in a review quiz later in the unit.

DAY 2

Presentation Day!!!

Great work thus far! Its time for you to present and share your learning with your classmates. Each Group will have an opportunity to present their slides during today's class. We will spend the first 10-15 of our class preparing for your presentation. Use the following Presentation sentence frames while you practice for the real thing! Remember to view the Evaluation section of this WebQuest in order to understand the expectations scoring breakdown of this assessment!

Sentence frames:

  • In the text it says...
  • According to……
  • In the article titled, ________, the author explains / points out / states...
  • What's important to remember about this detail / topic is that..
  • I’d like to add to ______’s idea that…
  • So far, we’ve said that….
  • The main ideas seem to be...
  • In other words,…
  • To clarify what’s been said,...

CONCLUSION

Now that we have gone through our class's presentations and worked through this WebQuest, the final step is to have your group submit their Google Slides presentation to our online class platform! Once you complete this, you are now ready to begin reading, "Macbeth." 

Evaluation

This WebQuest will be worth 20 points in the grade book. The rubric of evaluation for this WebQuest will be scored on a 4-point scale (the percentage scores are indicated in the rubric below). 

Your score for this WebQuest will take into account the quality of work you demonstrate in the following criteria:

  • Digital Presentation Slides
  • Oral Presentation delivery
  • Final Quiz - student-generated review questions

 

Rubric scoring

4 (100-90%)

Presentation slides…  

  • contains ALL required components listed in the Task 2 section.
  • contain information that accurately addresses the corresponding prompt, and may “take the extra step” by featuring additional pieces of information (facts, ideas, trivia) from the reading which help to explain the group’s topic. The information contained in the slides clearly demonstrates that the group has thoroughly read through and understood the information in their sources.
  • The formatting and clarity of the content in the slides are polished and easy to read. The slides may also feature several graphics, text, and art which enhances the visual impact of the presentation!

Oral presentation...

  • ALL group members have a chance to speak during the presentation (or demonstrate to have played a role in the delivery of the group's presentation).
  • Students demonstrate in their speech that they thoroughly understand their topic and can confidently present this information to other students.
  • Students may use varying presentation techniques (such as attentive eye contact, gestures, and rhetorical questions) to enhance their presentation.

The final quiz…

  • Contains 3-5 varied types of questions which effectively review content from the sources / group’s presentation slides

3 (90-80%)

The presentation slides

  • contains ALL required components listed in the Task 2 section.
  • contain information that accurately addresses the corresponding prompt, and may feature additional pieces of information (facts, ideas, trivia) from the reading which help to explain the group’s topic.
  • The formatting and clarity of the content in the slides is easy to read. The slides may also feature several graphics, text, and art which enhances the visual impact of the presentation!

The oral presentation

  • ALL group members have a chance to speak during the presentation (or demonstrate to have played a role in the delivery of the group's presentation).
  • Students demonstrate in their speech that they HAVE A SOLID understanding of their topic and can confidently present this information to other students.
  • Students may use varying oral presentation techniques (such as attentive eye contact, gestures, and rhetorical questions) to enhance their presentation.

The final quiz

  • Contains 3-5 varied types of questions which effectively review content from the sources / group’s presentation slides

2 (80-70%)

The presentation slides…

  • Contains ALL or MOST of the required components listed in the Task 2 section.
  • contain information that SIMPLY ANSWERS the corresponding prompt and does little to explain or expand upon the information relevant to their topic.
  • The formatting and clarity of the content in the slides are lacking and may cause confusion in the audience's understanding of the topic.

The oral presentation…

  • MOST group members have a chance to speak during the presentation (or demonstrate to have played a role in the delivery of the group's presentation).
  • Students demonstrate in their speech that they HAVE A BASELINE understanding of their topic and may simply present / read off this information to other students.
  • Students may use LITTLE TO NO varied use of oral presentation techniques to enhance their presentation.

The final quiz…

  • Contains LESS THAN 3-5 varied types of questions which effectively review content from the sources / group’s presentation slides

1 (70-60%)

 

*(a 0 score indicates a missing assessment, or a grade below 60%)

The presentation slides.

  • Contains ONLY SOME of the required components listed in the Task 2 section.
  • contain information that SIMPLY ANSWERS or is LACKING in ANSWERING the corresponding prompt and does little to explain or expand upon the information relevant to their topic.
  • The formatting and clarity of the content in the slides are lacking and causes confusion in the audience's understanding of the topic.

The oral presentation

  • MOST or ONLY SOME group members have a chance to speak during the presentation (or demonstrate to have played a role in the delivery of the group's presentation).
  • Students demonstrate in their speech that they HAVE A BASELINE understanding of their topic and may simply present / read off this information to other students.
  • Students may use LITTLE TO NO varied use of oral presentation techniques to enhance their presentation.

The final quiz

  • Contains LESS THAN or NO varied types of questions which effectively review content from the sources / group’s presentation slides
Conclusion

Congratulations!

Now that you have explored some of the history and context revolving Shakespeare’s Macbeth; you should be able to define each of the the 4 contextual Topics relevant to Macbeth, and you are more than prepared to begin reading the play!

Let’s take a moment to reflect on your learning. As a team, your group read through multiple sources of information to get a preliminary understanding of the play. You then organized your research into a well-crafted Slide Show which you then presented and shared with your classmates. Finally, you applied your research and learning in a tangible way by generating review questions which I will compile into a review assessment later in our unit! With this foundational knowledge, what are you interested in seeing as we actually dive into the play? What questions do you have after listening through your classmates’ presentations on the listed topics? What is something you are proud of in working with a team through this WebQuest? Reflect with a table partner on some of these follow-up questions and listen to what your classmates’ thoughts!

If you would like to explore more of the history surrounding Shakespeare and the motives behind Macbeth, or would like to delve deeper into (or maybe even see) Shakespeare’s plays, follow the links below!

Synapses of Shakespeare’s plays and theatrical production info

https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-plays

Shakespeare’s complete works online texts with modern translations!

https://shakespeare.mit.edu/

For us San Francisco locals, we have the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival! (an Organization who works with local communities to promote performances of S’s plays annually). 

https://sfshakes.org/

An outdated, but related article discussing the REAL historical Macbeth

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/14/scottish-campaign-reveal-real-macbeth

Teacher Page

Learning context:

This activity is designed as an introductory assignment to frontload students' reading of the play, Macbeth. this WebQuest is designed for an English II classroom and would be positioned at the beginning of a 5-6 week reading/study of the play. The assumption of the WebQuest is that students have little to no prior knowledge about the play specifically; however, they would draw upon their present understanding of concepts like Leadership, Royalty and Power, and Responsibility, as well as their competency with reading/research analysis and Slides Presentation making skills. The WebQuest also assumes that the class of students all have access to the internet and Google Chromebooks (which is the case for my current student population) and that they have experience in using technology for learning academic purposes as Engl II students. 

The design of this WebQuest, while brief in nature, supports a variety of learning styles and abilities by incorporating the following elements:

  • Sentence frames to scaffold student discussion/presentation skills.
  • Guided, explicit instructional support of students when they are navigating and analyzing digital texts and media
  • students are offered the space/responsibility to use technology at their own pace to collaborate with a team and complete the assignment - but this freedom comes with the expectation that students hold one another accountable for their learning/individual roles in the WebQuest.
  • (for students who have difficulty using technology, or comprehending digital texts, these students have the alternative to work on tasks within the WebQuest [presenting, watching videos, group work facilitation, engaging with classmates to complete the closing quiz, etc.] which can still allow for their access to the learning)
  • (TRUTHFULLY I would have included graphics and visual aids in this WebQuest to present different modes of the content for students to engage with; however, I DID NOT figure out how to add pictures into this platform.)

 

Relevant Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2

Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7

Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.A

Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5

Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.