Research on Motivation and Classroom Applications

Lessons/Assignments

1. Watch the Baz Luhrman film Romeo + Juliet in segments

Motivational Rationale

1. By watching a modern film, students will see a classical piece of literature in action. Watching the film in segments will pique curiosity and provide opportunities for students to make predictions. It also helps students relate to the story and its themes.

2. Journal Topic: Write about a time when you did not agree with your parents or when your parents did not like one of your friends.

2. This journal topic has options so all students can write in an informal, low-risk manner.  It will also prime the students for a major component and theme of the play while helping them relate to the situation.

3. Create your own sonnet to be published for the class and have a corresponding illustration. 

3.  This assignment will help students understand Shakespearian language.  In doing so, students will have higher confidences about reading and understanding the language.  This also allows them to be creative and experiment with a new form of writing.  Publishing the sonnet increases motivation because students will want to present their best work, therefore they will be intrinsically motivated to edit, revise, and rework the poem.  Having an artistic component to the assignment uses the multiple intelligences that students possess.

4. Rewrite a scene into “modern” English and perform it in front of the class while being taped for future classes.

4. Students will want to do a good job on the translation and performance of the scene because it is in front of their peers.  This functions as motivation to do well when the audience is full of other students and motivation to do well when the performance will be shown to others.   

5. Create a poster, soundtrack, or trailer for the scene to be performed.

5. This assignment provides options for students, allowing them to choose a medium they are comfortable with.  It also allows them to use various intelligences and choose an assignment to which they can form a connection.
 

6. Introduce sonnets by explaining rhyme scheme found in popular songs.

6. Before the class, have students give you a copy of their favorite school-appropriate song.  From the songs, select a few that have a rhyme scheme and use those as examples to explain rhyming in sonnets.  Showing students that poetry is everywhere, especially in their music, will make students more open to the assignment while helping them relate to poetry.

7. Analyze a scene from the play in a group.
 

7. Working in a group will increase the students’ confidences with the material because they are able to use each other as a resource.  This also adds to the community of the classroom and fosters an environment of learning.
 

8.Write a narrative from the perspective of a character of the play or write a textual analysis on the play and the movie Romeo + Juliet.

8.Give the students clear guidelines for the project so they understand what value you see in the paper for the student.  Have staggered deadlines for various components of the paper and scaffold the process; students are more willing to do small components than one large paper.  Breaking up a major assessment will make it more manageable and less threatening.