Much Ado About Nothing - Don John

This engaging, in-depth lesson enables students to understand how plot and language are utilised to introduce and develop the character of Don John in Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado about Nothing.’

The lesson places a particular focus upon how quotations by and about Don John, in addition to his position as an 'illegitimate' or outsider, help to clarify and develop his role as a villain. Students also critically analyse how his behaviour develops over the course of the text.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through:
- Taking part in a fun team quiz to secure understanding of Don Pedro;
- Understanding his role in catalysing the events of the play;
- Identifying and analysing quotations by Don Pedro to understand how his character is introduced;
- Finding quotations to show how Don Pedro is involved in the confusion and chaos of the plot events;
- Completing an essay style response in which they consider how the character of Don Pedro is introduced and developed;
- Peer assessing each other's learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and detailed - just download and teach from it!
- Introduction to Don John worksheet;
- Development of Don John worksheet;
- Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses;
- Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to higher ability year 9 and 10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities.