Jeff Hopkins

A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit

It seems to me/That yet we sleep, we dream.
In many ways reading a play is a self-defeating act: to take something
that should be performed on a stage and present it as a paperback is to rob
it of its vibrancy. Perhaps no author suffers more from this effect than
Shakespeare, and none of his plays suffers more from it than A Midsummer
Nights Dream. What should be a weightless romp becomes a dull trifle
through the transformation. I discovered this firsthand when I did the play a
few months with my sophomore classes, who found it to be a slog.
In light of all that, my unit looks to correct for this problem by making
performance central to how the play is taught. I will begin the unit by having
students watch a performance of the play, and close it by having them put
on one of their own (with the class divided into groups corresponding to one
act). Between these two signposts, students would be writing about their
impressions on various different adaptations of the play, both on and off the
stage. As a result, they will be able to see how Shakespeare, subtly but
forcefully, uses what seems like a slight play to call into question the nature
of love, identity, and even reality itself.
UNIT OBJECTIVES
- SWBAT recognize differences between adaptations of A Midsummer
Nights Dream IOT how these differences create different themes.
- SWBAT articulate how different adaptations of the play have different
themes IOT judge those adaptations effectiveness and prepare for
their own performance of the play.
- SWBAT write on the effectiveness of different adaptations of the play
IOT practice making text-based arguments.
UNIT ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
- Shakespeares plays are malleable: because theres so little detail
outside of the dialogue, whoever is adapting his plays is free to fill in
the gaps.
- What decisions someone makes in adapting the play highlights or
creates different themes: in other words, it becomes a slightly
different experience every time.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic
mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g.,
Auden's "Muse des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape with the Fall of
Icarus).

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit

CURRICULUM SCHEDULE
Wee

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Overview of

Seeing live

Initial

Reading Quiz

Adaptations,

unit/contempora

performance

impressions

for Act I

Characters:

ry context of the

of AMND

of AMND/

Fishbowl

AMND (1999

Independent

discussion:

film version)

Reading

Hermia,

k
1

play

Helena, &
Gender
2

Rude

Blog Post

Mythology in

Reading Quiz

Adaptations,

Mechanicals:

#1

the Play

for Act II

Setting: AMND

Bringing the

Bottom and

/Independent

Hot seat

(1970 stage

Theater into the

the tradition

Reading

discussion:

version)

Play

of

Titania, Oberon,

Shakespeare

& Gender

s fools
3

Jigsaw Reading:

Blog Post

Independent

Reading Quiz

Adaptations,

Loves fickleness

#2

Reading/The

for Act III

Mood: AMND

in the play/

The role of

Comedy of

Bottoms arc in

(1996 film

Independent

Puck in the

the

the play

version)

Reading

play

Mechanicals

Student-run

Blog Post

Love during

Reading Quiz

Adaptations,

discussion: Is

#3

Shakespeare

for Act IV

Theme:

Puck a prankster

The fluidity

Jigsaw analysis:

Mendelssohns

or terror?

of Identity in

time/Indepen

Dreams vs.

AMND/AMND

the play

dent Reading

Reality (Part 1)

from Neil
Gaimans
Sandman

The Mechanicals

Blog Post

Reading

Adaptations,

Prep time for

and class

#4

Quiz for Act

Time Period:

Proposals

Class in

Die Hard

Shakespeare

The Comedy

(1988)/Prep

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit
s theater

of

Time for

Errors/Dream

Proposals

s vs. Reality
(Part 2)
6

Proposals Due

Blog

Students

Students

Students

Prep time for

Post#5

Performance:

Performance:

/writing

students

Prep time for

Act I, II, III

Act IV &

Reviews (due

performance

students

V/Students

in one week)

performance

Planning
Reviews

FIRST PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT: WRITING A PROPOSAL FOR YOUR

ADAPTATION OF AN ACT FROM A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM
Over the past few weeks, we will look at numerous works that are either
adaptations of A Midsummer Nights Dream or take inspiration from the play.
We also will look at reviews for each of these works, which will show how
people viewed these works both when they premiered and in the present
day. Both activities will prepare you for your final assignment: preparing a
proposal for and putting on an adaptation of one act from the play, then
reviewing your classs version of the play.
Logistics for your proposal:
In no less than 500 words, you need to explain to me what your adaptation
of one act from the play will look like. You have complete autonomy with your
adaptation; do not worry about whether what you are doing is consistent
with other groups: differences will only make for a more interesting class
performance. All that said, you do need to justify your decisions, hence this
proposal, which will need to touch on each of the five characteristics of
adaptations we will review throughout the unit:
-

Characters: How will you present the characters in this play? What
aspects of their personalities will you highlight or draw out based upon
the text? You do not need to cover every character, but you do need to
cover every one whose role is essential in bringing out the themes of
your adaptation.

Setting: Where is your adaptation happening? And how are you

conveying that location to the audience? You do not need to cover
every detail, but you need to cover enough of them to make it clear
what the visuals of your adaptation will be.

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit
-

Mood: Simply put, what feeling do you want to create in your

audience? And why do you think it is possible to create that feeling
based on the plays text?

Themes: You need to explain the two themes your adaptation will
either highlight or draw out from the play. One of these themes
should deal with identity, social expectations, and how the
play upends our common sense of both. You will choose the
other.

Time Period: When does your adaptation take place? And how does
that work with the other decisions you have made?

For all of your sections, you need to use quotes from the play to
justify your decisions. It is not enough to say, We wanted to
highlight how cruel Demetrius is in how he treats Helena. You need
to provide quotes, with explanation, from the play showing
Demetrius being cruel to Helena.
RUBRIC FOR FIRST PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT (4 Points)
Design: Proposal clearly explains how the groups adaptation will
encompass the five characteristics of adaptation reviewed in the unit. These
characteristics come together to form a creative, engaging adaptation that
highlights or draws out at least two themes from the A Midsummer Nights
Dream.
Knowledge: The proposal demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
characteristics of adaptation covered in the unit as well as the plot and
themes of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Application: The proposal utilizes the aspects of adaptation covered in the
unit to bring out the themes it intends to highlight or draw out from A
Midsummer Nights Dream.
Presentation: Proposal is at least 500 words and is written clearly and
coherently so that the reader has no trouble understanding the thinking
behind this adaptation.
Process: (This will be assessed as part of final performance).
SECOND PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT: PERFORMING YOUR ACT FROM
A MIDUSMMER NIGHTS DREAM

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit
Logistics for Performance:
- You will all be divided into five groups, as chosen by me.
- Each group will be responsible for adapting one act from the play.
- The only restrictions you have are that you must use Shakespeares
language in your adaptation (no updating to modern English) must be
be between 10 to 15 minutes.
RUBRIC FOR SECOND PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT (6 Points)
Design: The visual elements of each groups adaptation produce the
intended effect in the audience and highlights or draws out the groups
intended themes from A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Knowledge: The proposal demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
characteristics of adaptation covered in the unit as well as the plot and
themes of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Application: The group puts on an effective and engaging performance of
one act from A Midsummer Nights Dream that highlights or draws out the
plays themes.
Presentation: The groups performance clearly conveys its acts plot and
themes. Students have remembered and effectively recite the plays
dialogue
Process: (This will be assessed as part of final performance).
THIRD PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT: REWVIEWING YOUR CLASSS
PERFORMANCE (20 Points)
Logistics for Review:
- While the other groups are performing, you will need to take notes on
structured worksheets I will give you on the first day of performances.
- You will need to hand in these worksheets along with your final review
to get complete credit.
- Your review should answer certain questions: Was the version you saw
effective? Were certain parts more or less effective than others? What
exactly made certain parts more or less effective? What could be
changed about the parts of this performance? Did the performance
highlight or draw out certain themes from the play? Did it give you a
new perspective on certain parts of the play?
- You must use quotes and details from the play in answering those
questions. It is not enough to say why one part of the performance was
effective. What was it drawing from or highlighting in the play to be
effective? You need at least three quotes from A Midsummer
Nights Dream in your review.

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit
-

Your review can be no less than four paragraphs and 750

words.
Finally: while you are evaluating other groups performances,
please do so kindly. If I determine youre using this assignment
as an excuse to say mean things about classmates, you will
receive a zero.

RUBRIC FOR THIRD PART OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT (20 Points)

Design: Review makes a clear case why some parts of the classs
performance were and were not effective.
Knowledge: The proposal demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
elements of successful adaptations, the plot and themes of A Midsummer
Nights Dream, and the classs performance of the play.
Application: Student uses their knowledge of adaptation, A Midsummer
Nights Dream, and the classs performance to argue why some parts were
and were not effective.
Presentation: The review is at least 750 words and is written so that the
reader has no trouble understanding the students opinion of the classs
performance.
Process: Student, on their own or through their group, has finished all three
parts of the assignments, in addition to submitting their notes on the classs
performance with their review of the classs performance.
BLOG POSTS
As we go through the play, you will need to give your impressions once a
week both on the play and we have analyzed it in class. The purpose of this
assignment is simple: while we wont have the time in class to check in with
how youre enjoying the play and the work were doing on it, you should
have a forum for expressing those views. That said, these posts are not
going to you finding ten (or more) ways to say that this play is the best/worst
youve ever had to read in school. With that in mind, some ground rules:
These posts are going on the web, so you should make your thoughts
presentable for a public audience.
You cannot just give your opinion on the play or what were doing on it in
class. If you dont like either and want to express it, that is fine. However,
you need to actually use details from the play in your argument.
For example, dont just say that Demetrius seems like a jerk. Use his lines
from the play to make your case.

Jeff Hopkins
A Midsummer Nights Dream Unit
Most importantly, you cannot use these posts as an excuse to
personally attack the teacher or your classmates. Doing so is wholly
inappropriate, and will receive a zero.