Lesson Plan: Romeo and Juliet Characters, Who's to Blame?

I received this letter from a former student:

Dear Teacher:

You may not remember me. I was in your English class years ago. Because of conflicts at home and troubles at school, I decided to drop out. I had no intentions of attending your class that day, but the truant officer was guarding the exit to the school and I couldn't leave. Thank goodness! Your Romeo and Juliet character analysis lesson, the one about assessing the blame of Romeo and Juliet characters, saved my life. Up to that point, I saw everything as black and white. After your lesson, I realized there were gray areas and that things could be worked out. Because of you I went on to become a clinical psychologist. Who would have thought a character analysis of Romeo and Juliet could have had such a profound effect?

Sincerely,

Phil

I don't remember Phil, but I do remember that Romeo and Juliet Characters lesson plan:

This lesson makes an excellent review of Romeo and Juliet.

Whatever you do, don't tell students they're doing a character analysis of Romeo and Juliet. Tell them they get to blame Romeo and Juliet characters. Teenagers love to blame.

1. Instruct students to copy the following Romeo and Juliet characters' names, leaving at least three lines in between: Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, Tybalt, Mercutio, Lady Capulet, Lord Capulet, Friar Lawrence, Nurse, Montague, Prince Escalus, Paris, Fate, Friar John, Rosaline.
2. For each character, find at least two pieces of evidence to explain their guilt in Romeo and Juliet's death.
3. Instruct students to rank the characters' blame for Romeo and Juliet's death by assigning each character a number, with the number 1 being the most responsible.
4. Assign students into groups of four.
5. As a group, instruct students to compile a list of their top 5 most responsible for the young lovers' deaths, and their reasons for the assignation. Groups must come to a consensus. Students must be prepared to defend their answers.
6. Make a chart on the board to record each groups' answers. Include your answers on the chart. I've included an example on page 2.
7. Discuss the results. Pay special attention to anomolies and force groups to explain their choices.