CLASSMATES LEVEL 1 ACTIVITIES
A. READ & HYPOTHESISE In Classmates, a group of friends meet for Drama class and an unexpected series of stories based on Shakespeare s most famous plays come to life. These plays written hundreds of years ago were usually performed by male actors wearing elaborate costumes, in a round, open theatre. Read each definition below and circle the correct word. 2/ 3/ 4/ 6/ 7/ 8/ The area where actors or other entertainers perform. backstage stage auditorium The person who decides how a play, film or televison programme will appear on stage or screen, and who tells the actors and technical staff what to do. actor playwright director The main character of a play. protagonist musician technician The clothing worn by an actor or actress on stage during the performance. puppets props costume The written text of a play. script conflict climax A piece of writing which is performed in a theatre, on the radio or on television. poetry play novel Using movements and gestures in order to express something or tell a story without using speech. reciting improvising miming A brief trial performance held to appraise an actor's or musician's talent or suitability. debut audition rehearsal 1.
B. READ & DISCUSS Read the following advice for strengthening friendships and put them in order of importance. FRIENDSHIP Listen carefully to what your friends tell you. Be patient and pay attention to them. Respect their choices, even if you don t agree with them. Compliment them on their good qualities or things they do well. D/ Apologise when you do something wrong. E/ Have fun together. F/ Express your gratitude. G/ Always be ready to offer your support whenever they need you. H/ Do not share their secrets. I/ Be authentic and honest. J/ Do not criticise your friends actions all the time. K/ Don t agree to do something you re not sure of. Be true to who you are and learn to say NO. L/ If someone does you wrong, try to forgive and let it go. M/ Spend quality time with your friends. N/ Keep your promises. O/ Do not speak badly about your friends with other people. P/ Show empathy: try to understand things from their point of view. Q/ Keep your friendship open and free. Friendships grow and change. R/ Be compassionate and kind towards your friends. S/ Share your difficulties and ask your friends for advice. T/ Communicate with your friends regularly. 2.
C. READ & ANSWER Read and answer the flolowing comprehension questions about the play Classmates. Why do the four friends meet every week? 2/ 3/ What do they usually do while they wait for their teacher? How many stories do they listen to before their drama class and what is the conflict in each of them? 4/ What similarities can you find between the stories? Do the four friends enjoy all the stories? Why? Why not? 6/ What s your opinion of the quote by William Shakespeare they remember at the end of the play? Do you agree with it? ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE, AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 3.
D. LISTEN & COMPLETE Listen to the dialogue between Juliet and Friar Laurence and complete it with the missing phrases. FRIAR LAURENCE: Hold, then; 1..., take this vial, being then in bed and this liquor drink. 2... for no pulse shall you keep. No warmth, no breath, shall testify you live. 3..., your eyes' windows fall like death, when he shuts up the day of life. 4...... And in this pretended death you shall continue two and forty hours and then awake as from a pleasant sleep. Now, 5......, there you are, dead: After your funeral, in your best robes you shall be placed in the ancient vault where all the members of the Capulet s family lie. 6..., shall Romeo by my letters know our plan, and hurriedly shall he come: and 7..., and that very night shall Romeo be eternally yours. 8...; if no womanish fear, or anything at all decrease your valour in the acting it. JULIET: Give me, give me! FRIAR LAURENCE: Take it and go, 9... I'll send a messenger speedily with my letters to Romeo. JULIET: 10... Farewell, dear father! D/ E/ F/ G/ H/ I/ J/ Each part shall, stiff and cold, appear like death. he and I will watch your waking Love, give me strength! In the meantime go home be strong and prosperous when the bridegroom in the morning comes to rouse you from your bed All your veins shall run cold, And this shall free you from this present shame The roses in your lips and cheeks shall fade to pale ashes
E. READ & COMPLETE Read the clues and complete the crossword puzzle. 4 6 1 1 2 5 2 3 3 4 5 2/ 3/ 4/ 6/ ACROSS: Peter tells a story about a man who meets three app... who predict he will become king. William tells of a young man who sl... his beloved s cousin. Thinking his lover is dead, the young man drinks po... and dies. Peter, Anne, Susan and William meet every week for dr... class. In Peter s story, the protagonist kills the king aided by his am... wife. The third story describes a daughter who flatters her father in order to get be from it. 6 2/ 3/ 4/ 6/ DOWN: Susan complains about romantic stories being ri.. and not believable. In William s love story, a friar advises a girl to drink a special potion in order to pr... she s dead. Her lover has been ban... from the kingdom. According to William, the two young lovers celebrate a secret we... In William s story the girl asks her lover not to sw...his love by the moon that is always changing. In Peter s story, a man mu... the king in order to become king himself.
F. REARRANGE & LISTEN Read and rearrange the words of the song My Kingdom, sung by Lear before dividing his kingdom between his daughters. Then, listen to the song to check if you guessed the lyrics correctly. MY KINGDOM A HAD NIGHTMARE I, A HAD VISION I. WAS KINGDOM ENTIRE DESTROYED MY. I ALONE NOTHING THE MIDDLE OF WAS IN. FRIEND WAS ONLY MY EMPTINESS. EVERYTHING LOST I, NOTHING HAD I. DAUGHTERS MY COULD I FIND NOT. WINDS SAVAGE ONLY, RAIN POWERFUL, THUNDER DARK SILENCE, AND, SILENCE. 6.
F. READ & EXPLAIN Choose one of the following famous quotes from Shakespeare s plays and explain it in your own words (120-180 words). 2/ There s daggers in men s smiles. Macbeth. ACT II Scene 3. 3/ Things without all remedy should be without regard; what's done is done. Macbeth. ACT III Scene 2. 4/ Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend! King Lear. ACT I Scene 4. These violent delights have violent ends. Romeo and Juliet. ACT II Scene 6. How sharper than a serpent s tooth it is to have a thankless child! King Lear. ACT I Scene 4. 7.