Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

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Consumer Profiling
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Nowadays, advertisers categorize us by “consumer profiling.” Judge where the characters in Julius Caesar would
fit in today’s society. Define them by the products they would use if they were alive today.What kind of car would
Brutus drive? What music would Portia listen to? What ads would be targeted to Cassius? Support your “profile”
with evidence from the text about the character! CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS W3, W9
75 SuperShortShakespeare
Split the class into five groups, each group taking one act of the play. Using only lines from the script, produce a
three-minute version of your act. When you are ready, put each of the five acts together to produce a 15-minute
version of the whole play. To mix it up a bit, perform each act using a different genre—soap opera, mystery, western,
Broadway musical, etc. CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R1, R2, W3, W5, SL1
ON YOUR OWN
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Summarizing Shakespeare
Imagine that a friend is coming to see Julius Caesar at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and she has not read any
of the play. You have one minute on the bus to teach her everything you’ve learned about the play. What will you
include? What seems most important for her to know? Deliver your one-minute summary of the plot to your class.
CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L3, R2
What’s in a Name?
Although Julius Caesar dies in Act 3, Shakespeare titled his play Julius Caesar. Why do you think Shakespeare
chose Caesar’s name for his drama? Do you agree with the playwright’s choice? If you had to pick another title
for this play, what would you choose? Be able to defend your title with evidence and examples from the text.
CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS SL4, W9
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Create a collage that shows the different aspects of Julius Caesar that are presented in this play. Cite the lines
which inspired your portrayal as caption(s). CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS SL5
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