7th Grade English- Mrs. Blum

As a follow up to our reading of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the 7th grade boys are reading excerpts of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We are drawing comparisons to Hinton's text; just like there are Socs and Greasers, there are Capulets and Montagues. The groups in both texts have had a rivalry for so long that no one even really knows what the rivalry is about anymore... Our discussions are focusing on the internal and external conflicts the characters are facing. We are supplementing our reading with You Tube videos to help us understand the plot and visualize the scenes. We were quite surprised to find that Shakespeare gave away the whole story in his prologue! We were also astounded that Juliet is only 13 years old... The boys are enjoying reading their lines in Shakespeare's language which, we have found, is quite different from the English we use today. It has been a real "thespian" experience and a wonderful introduction to Shakespeare.