The Elizabethans

No one can understand what it is to be a high school student in West Texas without understanding the cultural significance of the Friday night football game. No one can understand Shakespeare's plays without understanding something about the time in which he lived. Your group will become "expert" in a particular area of Elizabethan culture or society. You will be our reference source as we read Macbeth.

Group
Group 1	How did Elizabethans dress? Difference between rich and poor people's clothing. What fabrics were used? What were the sumptuary laws? How were garments fastened? What did the garments look like? Two questions of your own. Create an illustrated poster explaining these points. Illustrate your poster; do NOT just cut and paste.
Group 2	What kind of English did the Elizabethans speak? How were different levels of society addressed? What were some Shakespearean insults? How did pronunciation differ from ours today? What are some words we no longer use? Two questions of your own. Write and act out for the class three dialogues. between nobles between two persons of lower rank between a noble and a person of lower rank
Group 3	What were Elizabethan medical practices? What were the humours and how did they affect health? What were the different kinds of medical personnel?. Describe sanitation and hygiene. What were the main organs of the body? What were some unusual cures? Two questions of your own Make a "medical textbook" for an Elizabethan doctor-in-training. Do not just cut-and-paste. Include information on the causes of disease, how the body works, and cures for common diseases.
Group 4	How did the Elizabethans deal with crime and punishment? Describe a prison. For what crimes could a person be executed? What methods of execution were used, and why did they vary? Where did most executions take place during this period? What crimes could a person be imprisoned for in Elizabethan times that are not considered crimes today? Two questions of your own. Make a poster that is an advertisement for a prison-and-execution tour of England. Do not just do a cut-and-paste brochure; use original artwork and include plenty of written information.

Criteria	Possible Points	Student Assessment	Teacher Assessment
Research	15
Participation On Task On Time	10
Group !-- Data-- Content Organization Poster-- Creativity Content	50
Group 2-- Data-- Content Organization Dialogues	50
Group 3-- Data-- Content Organization Book-- Creativity Content	50
Group 4-- Data-- Content Organization Poster-- Creativity Content	50
Oral Presentation	25
Total Points	100

.How did the Elizabethan society in which William Shakespeare lived influence the plays that he wrote?

What evidence of these influences do you find in The Taming of the Shrew or The Tragedy of Macbeth?

What aspects of our society today would influence the work of a modern playwright?