NEXUS CONNECTS: Romeo and Juliet Virtual Supplements and Lessons with Worksheets:

These ONLINE Common-Core aligned Romeo and Juliet supplements, although designed to be extensions of the NEXUS book Romeo and Juliet and the Renaissance, can also be taught independently of the book. The first supplement, “Mercutio versus Mr. Manners,” answers questions students often have regarding Romeo’s use of flowery language when describing Juliet (and Rosaline) and helps them understand and better appreciate Mercutio’s reaction to what he calls Romeo’s “groaning for love” and his mocking but humorous comparisons to Laura (Petrarch’s muse) and Dido. This supplement also introduces students to the courtly love tradition out of which Shakespeare’s love story evolved.

The student friendly supplement “English Renaissance Theater” expands upon the NEXUS chapter “Shakespeare’s Theater” and was penned by the same scholar, Dr. Tom Bishop, the author of Shakespeare and the Theatre of Wonder (Cambridge University Press). The supplement places the NEXUS chapter “Shakespeare’s Theater” in the broader context of 16th-17th century English theater.

TO ACCESS EITHER OR BOTH ROMEO AND JULIET SUPPLEMENTS, ORDER HERE. 

(NOTE: Unlike NEXUS books, all NEXUS supplements are virtual.)

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SEND AN SASE (with the appropriate amount of postage) ON SCHOOL LETTERHEAD, ADDRESSED TO THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR to

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Supplements

Mercutio vs. Mr. Manners

In this Romeo and Juliet supplement-lesson, students explore the meaning and literary sources of Romeo’s flowery praise of Juliet as well as Mercutio’s mocking allusions to courtly love – “groaning for love.” The supplement helps students contrast Mercutio’s nature and manners with Romeo’s, stimulates close reading and sensitivity to language, and facilitates understanding of the period in which Shakespeare wrote and the courtly love traditions out of which Romeo and Juliet evolved.

For INSTANT ACCESS to this ROMEO AND JULIET Supplement and Lesson 

ORDER HERE

COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET WITH THIS LESSON:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

English Renaissance Theater

This Romeo and Juliet supplement, written by Dr. Thomas Bishop (author of Shakespeare and the Theatre of Wonder, Cambridge Univ. Press) provides a brief overview of English theater from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

For INSTANT ACCESS to this ROMEO AND JULIET Supplement and Lesson 

ORDER HERE

Shakespeare Study Hall (Coming Soon)

Tackling the Figurative Language in Shakespeare’s Plays (SHAKESPEARE STUDY HALL – COMING SOON)

In the online SHAKESPEARE STUDY HALL students explicate Shakespeare’s figurative language using graphic tools that help them to identify antithesis, parallelism, oxymoron, etc. The language is made clear and entertaining with cartoons that SHOW what Shakespeare SAYS.

The SSH is divided into three rooms – brain workout rooms: 1) the Romeo and Juliet Room; 2) the Macbeth Room; and 3) the Julius Caesar Room. Each year students’ facility with Shakespeare’s figurative language will greatly improve as they advance to the higher numbered rooms and tackle increasingly challenging exercises – or mental aerobics. As students acquire mastery over Shakespeare’s language, their reading and critical thinking skills will dramatically improve in literature and all other subjects.

NEXUS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Cleveland, OH. Our mission is to provide schools with outstanding interdisciplinary resources that inspire students to THINK, LINK and IMAGINE.

A portion of our proceeds is donated annually to UNICEF’S Audrey Hepburn All Children in School Fund.