1. Apply their values to determine what makes a good/bad leader and a good/bad friend.
2. Explore how their personal characteristics would make them a good friend or leader.
3. Research the lives of Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, or Mark Antony.
4. Graphically categorize their research and present to the class.

Directions

PART I

Step 1: As students enter the room, ask them individually if they would be a better friend or leader. They must choose one. Direct them to sit in their corresponding group. It's not necessary to have an equal number of students in each group.

Step 2: Open the discussion with all the students by sharing each group's task. The Leader group will brainstorm every quality they think a good leader should have and record the responses on chart paper. Then, they'll do the same for qualities that make a bad leader. Finally, they'll compare the responses and prepare to share their findings with the class.

The Friend group will brainstorm the qualities of a good and bad friend and record responses on chart paper as well. This group will need to be prepared to share a few personal experiences that demonstrate these qualities with the class. They will also discuss the three questions, record the responses on chart paper, and prepare to share these responses with the class.

• How far would you go to stop a friend from harming your country?
• How far would you go to obtain revenge on someone or some group who destroyed your best friend?
• Is there anything for which you would betray a friend?

Step 3: Allow a 15-20 minute discussion and then time for each group to share their discussion results. If time allows, encourage students to add to the opposite group's responses. Explain that this discussion will help them this week as they read a play written by William Shakespeare called Julius Caesar, a tragedy set in Ancient Rome that explores issues of leadership and friendship.

PART II

Step 1: Invite students to brainstorm prior knowledge on Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, and the culture of Ancient Rome. If possible, have students do this individually on paper or by using a K-W-L Chart, so that each can compare pre-conceived notions with the knowledge they acquire at the end of the unit.

Step 2: Distribute The Elizabethan Stage printable and discuss its elements. Emphasize the clever tricks the artists used to overcome the lack of technology during the time period.

Step 3: Inform students that they will begin researching the playwright or his subject in order to better understand the play. In the computer lab or using classroom computers, instruct students to research Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, or Mark Antony and write a list of at least five new facts they find.

Step 4: Allow students the rest of the class period to complete their research. For early finishers, give them the option of making a longer list or completing a list on one of the other subjects.

PART III

Step 5: Divide the students into three groups one for each Shakespeare, Caesar, and Antony based on the subjects each student researched in class the day before.

Step 6: Ask each group to create a mural, web, or other type of graphic organizer that includes factual details about their figure's life and any interpretations made by the students while researching. Distribute butcher paper/banner paper and markers. Allow time for each group to work on their project.

Step 7: When they're finished, each group will present their figure to class. Students may take turns presenting the information on the chart or elect one main speaker. Close the lesson by following up to the anticipatory set and ask the students to make connections between their discussion about leaders and friendship and how it relates to Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Step 8: Collect the graphic organizers on the butcher paper and display them on the wall of the classroom during this unit of study.

Supporting All Learners

This cooperative lesson will reach any learner on any level. Allowing students to choose their subject for research creates student interest and buy-in. Working in groups to categorize information creates a necessary scaffold as well.

Lesson Extensions

Students may use the information from the graphic organizers as a pre-write to an expository essay on one of the men, highlighting his life's achievements.

Home Connection

Students can work on completing the research at home, asking parents for guidance on completing an online search.

Assignments

1. Complete the research on Shakespeare, Caesar, or Mark Antony, making a list of this information.
2. Work collaboratively to graphically organize this information.
3. Present the information to the students in the other group.

Evaluation

While the students are reading Julius Caesar later in the unit, remind them to visualize and describe scenes on the Elizabethan stage with the heavens up high and purgatory down below. If they remember how the scene would be staged, then they learned the information in this lesson. In addition, during class discussions of the play, try to prompt students to include biographical information when defending or attacking Caesar, which would also demonstrate the student's understanding of the information.