After we finish Act III of Julius Caesar, I pose the following question to my students: The play is titled Julius Caesar, so what do you think about the fact that Caesar himself has been killed off, and yet the play still has two more acts left? Sometimes, we discuss it a bit before I introduce the prediction activity and sometimes I just jump right into the prediction activity and hold off on any discussion until afterward. Either way, I have students complete the activity in pairs or small groups so they can bounce their ideas off each other. The activity I use at this point in the play is as follows:Â
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Problems, Problems, Problems!!!
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Five problems are listed below that you and your group must solve. You must try to come to an agreement as a group about your solutions. Be as specific as possible with your answers, write them in paragraph format, and be prepared to explain them to the group.
Problem #1
You are William Shakespeare. You have promised your publisher that the play will be written in five acts. You have just finished Act III of Julius Caesar, and somehow you managed to kill off your main character. How are you going to write two more acts that will be interesting for your audience? Explain what will happen to each of the major characters. Remember, if it isn’t good, the groundlings will be armed with rotten tomatoes!
Problem #2
You are Portia. You’ve always believed that your husband Brutus is a good man…until now. Suddenly, you’re faced with the fact that your husband is a murderer, and you have no idea where he is. Do you choose to support your husband? Do you defend his actions? What do you do?
Problem #3
You are Brutus. You’ve fled Rome. Your main ally is Cassius. However, you disagree with his ideas on how to handle your problems. As you continue to talk to him, you realize that he’s basically an idiot. What do you do? Do you stay with him?
Problem #4
You are Brutus again. You’ve fled Rome again. Cassius is still an idiot. In the middle of the night, Caesar’s ghost appears to you and says that he will return. How do you respond? Do you tell Cassius? Do you beg the ghost for forgiveness?Â
Problem #5
You are done being Brutus. Suddenly, you are the soothsayer. Your prophecy came true. You are no longer in the idiot category along with Cassius. So, what do you do now? Do you continue to walk the streets, predicting the future? Do you offer your services to Antony or Brutus?
As with Story Impressions, I tend to keep at least part of the activity and the discussion light due to the heavy nature of the text, but I still try to weave in hints of key events and characters in the last two acts of the play so that students are more likely to pick up on them when they encounter them in their subsequent reading. After group time, students take turns sharing their predictions with the class.
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By the way, what’s up next on An Island Mom? I’m going to follow up on my post This Week’s Sky over the Salt Marsh. Naturally, it will be done in An Island Mom style, with a small nod to the whole idea of truth in blogging.