LITER ATUR E 4B

TEACHER’S NOTES
AUTHOR: William Shakespeare to the text once, allow time to check unfamiliar
TITLE: Much Ado About Nothing (Act V) words in the glossary.
THEMES: Tricks, deceit (unit 12)
Optional extension
WRITING: Plot
Ask some comprehension questions to check general
THINK STYLE: Shakespeare’s English understanding of the text.

3 Students read through the questions. Check for

ABOUT THE AUTHOR understanding and remind them to refer closely to
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was born in Stratford-Upon- the text to find the answers.
Avon, England. His works include A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(first performance, 1605), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (first Answers
performance, 1611).
We have very little factual information about William 1 T 2 F 3 F 4 T 5 F 6 T
Shakespeare’s life. He was born and went to school in Stratford-
upon-Avon. He married at the age of 18 and then went to London 4 Students match the statements with the quotes from
where he worked as an actor. A few years later, he started writing the text. Discuss the quotes with the class.
plays which were performed by his theatre company. He wrote
most of his 38 plays between 1589 and 1613. The plays are Answers
usually divided into three groups: histories (King John, Henry V),
comedies (Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice) and tragedies 1 c 2 a 3 b
(Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet). He also wrote 154 sonnets and
two narrative poems. Shakespeare’s plays are still very popular
today and are performed in countries all over the world. VOCABULARY
5 Read through the sentences one at a time to check
comprehension of any unknown vocabulary. Working
INTRODUCTION individually, students complete the sentences with
Ask students what they know about Shakespeare and his the words in the glossary. Ask individual students for
works. Write any ideas on the board in note form. Use answers to the questions.
the information in the About the author box to provide
an introduction. Ask if students know any of the plays Answers
mentioned. You could also ask them if they know of 1 appears 2 innocent 3 promise 4 deceived
any versions of his plays, for example Romeo + Juliet 5 Surely 6 miracle
(1996) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
Depending on the class, it may be appropriate to use L1
Optional extension
at this stage.
Ask students to make another sentence for each item in
the glossary. Explain that writing new vocabulary items in
START THINKING … context is a good way to remember them.

1 Draw students’ attention to the film still at the top

of the worksheet. Elicit responses to the questions: Optional extension
What can you see in the first picture? (three women at Ask students to read the text again and to underline five
the front wearing masks) Where do you think they are? more words that are new to them. Ask them to write the
(at a ball or party) Why do you think they are wearing words in sentences. They then read their sentences in pairs
masks? (to disguise themselves, it’s like a fancy dress and correct each other’s mistakes.
party)
Organise the class into pairs or small groups. Set a ROLE PLAY
time limit of a few minutes for students to discuss
the questions. Then ask students for their opinions. 6 Organise the class into pairs. Read the instruction
Encourage them to back up their answers with and check that students understand what they
examples. If you have students from different are going to do. Ask two students to read the first
backgrounds, it might be interesting to hear about part of the conversation. Set a time limit of 5–10
wedding traditions in different countries. minutes. Monitor and offer support while students
2 Draw students’ attention to the text above the film are preparing their role play. Students should write
still which ‘sets the scene’ and clarify understanding. their scripts. Encourage as many students as possible
Play the audio. When students have read and listened to perform their role plays. Consider asking groups

1 Think Level 2 Literature 4B Teacher’s Notes © Cambridge University Press 2015

 to perform to each other. The ‘audience’ groups WRITING: PLOT
can monitor language use and make corrections 9 Ask students to explain the meaning of the word plot.
if necessary. This can also be done as a full-class Ask them to explain what they think makes a good
exercise. story. They could talk about realistic characters,
varied descriptions, use of dialogue, a dramatic
ending, etc. Read through the Writing skills box. Ask
LISTENING students to explain setting and structure. Brainstorm
7 Before listening, explain that students are going to some ideas for the story and write useful vocabulary
hear a summary of the play. They could guess who on the board. Students could plan their stories in
the sentences refer to from their understanding of pairs before writing. Students can write their story
Benedick and Beatrice’s characters in the reading in class or for homework. Students then swap their
text. Play the recording twice. The first time, stories with a partner. They read each other’s work
encourage students to listen without taking notes. and highlight any mistakes. They assess whether the
The second time, they complete the answers. student has completed the task fully and whether
they have followed all of the points in the box. They
Answers
should focus especially on the structure. They then
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 B 5 B return the story to the original student who looks
at the comments and redrafts their work. Ask some
8 Students read through the questions. Encourage students to read their stories out loud to the class.
students to answer from memory. Play the recording
again for students to complete their answers and to
check. SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLISH
Answers 10 Explain that Shakespeare’s plays and poems had a
1 cousin Hero’s 2 interested in 3 young soldier huge influence on the English language. For example,
4 often exaggerates ‘barefaced’ in the expression a ‘barefaced lie’ comes
from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It means a lie that
is obviously not true. When we say ‘It’s all Greek
AUDIOSCRIPT to me’, we’re admitting that we don’t understand
something. This expression comes from Julius Caesar.
Beatrice is a young, unmarried girl and she lives in her Examples of other words that students will know
cousin Hero’s house. She is clever and lively and makes fun
of everything – especially Benedick. She might have been
also have their origins in Shakespeare’s works,
in love with Benedick in the past, but their relationship is for example: ‘amazement’, ‘accommodation’ and
now over. Beatrice says she doesn’t want to marry and even ‘suspicious’. Students match the quotations with the
refuses a proposal of marriage from Don Pedro. He is a rich meanings in pairs.
and powerful man, but Beatrice isn’t interested in him. She
likes being independent and is determined to stay that way. Answers
Surprisingly, she is tricked into falling in love with Benedick
by her friends. She believes them when they tell her that 1 c 2 a 3 b
Benedick loves her. However, their relationship doesn’t last
because they have a serious disagreement. When Claudio
accuses her cousin Hero of being unfaithful to him, Beatrice Additional reading or internet research topics
tells Benedick to kill Claudio, but he refuses.
● Britain in the 16th Century
Benedick is a young soldier who had recently returned from
fighting in a war. He is attracted to Beatrice and enjoys joking ● Shakespeare plays
with her. There is a competition between them to say the
cleverest things. He is very dramatic and often exaggerates, ● Much Ado About Nothing themes
so it is difficult to understand his true feelings for Beatrice. At ● The life of William Shakespeare
the beginning of the play, he is certain he will never marry,
but by the end of the play he has fallen in love with Beatrice
and is very happy when she agrees to marry him.

CRITICAL THINKING
Ask the students the question: Why does Beatrice tell
Benedick to kill Claudio? Elicit that he lied about her
cousin, Hero. Then ask them: Was the lie a serious lie?
Elicit that Claudio said that Hero had been unfaithful
when she hadn’t. In Shakespeare’s time, a woman being
unfaithful could have serious consequences.

Think Level 2 Literature 4B Teacher’s Notes © Cambridge University Press 2015 2