The Romeo and Juliet Project: Teaching Shakespeare to English Language Learners

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act says that schools must assess students at all grade levels and change their standards, and help those who may be at a lower level because every student is entitled to an education. By creating a unit plan teaching Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, specifically making modifications for English Language Learners, Native English speakers will also learn and be challenged. Using theatre games and reading scripts to build vocabulary of the ELLs, mainstream students will also learn about the culture of ELLs to better integrate them into the school system. Theatre not only helps the students to elevate their vocabulary but also helped them to be more comfortable around the students in their classes because they all had to be included together all the time. This unit plan can be used in English classes which will further merge students because not all students take theatre classes but English class is usually required.