A fully sequenced, Rosenshine-informed 25-lesson KS3 scheme of work on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, designed for Year 8 or Year 9 and built as a bridge to GCSE. Because Shakespeare is out of copyright, this scheme quotes the play directly and teaches close analysis of Shakespeare’s own language. Five Gamma-ready lesson decks plus five richly detailed companion Word documents, all ready to teach.

FULL 25 Lesson Scheme of Work

• Lessons 1 to 5: Shakespeare and the world of Verona, the Prologue (sonnet form, fate, dramatic irony), the opening brawl and the feud, Romeo and courtly love, Juliet and the Capulet household
• Lessons 6 to 10: Mercutio and the Queen Mab speech, the feast and the shared sonnet, the balcony scene (imagery and soliloquy), Friar Lawrence and the theme of haste, the secret marriage and a structured discussion
• Lessons 11 to 15: The turning point (Act 3 Scene 1), Shakespeare’s craft (dramatic structure and the tragic arc), Shakespeare’s craft (verse, imagery and language), building the analytical paragraph, mid-unit assessment
• Lessons 16 to 20: Defiance and the forced marriage (patriarchy), the potion and Juliet’s courage, writing to argue (who is to blame?), creative writing, context and Shakespeare’s purpose
• Lessons 21 to 25: The tomb and the reconciliation, grammar and analytical vocabulary, writing to discuss (fate or human choices?), final assessment preparation, final assessment and reflection with a look ahead to GCSE

Five companion Word documents:

• Medium Term Plan (landscape): full 25-lesson table with objectives, sequenced activities, outcomes and strand codes
• Knowledge Organiser (portrait): story in brief, eleven characters, six themes, seven methods, a key quotations table, context, twelve vocabulary terms, the analytical paragraph shape and sentence stems
• Retrieval Practice Grids (portrait): three full grids with six questions each and a complete answer key
• Stretch and Challenge Pack (portrait): six conceptual questions, a worked greater-depth escalation, wider reading and viewing, and four extended tasks
• Assessment and Mark Guidance (portrait): four KS3 progress descriptors, the analysis-vs-retelling lever, an annotated model paragraph using embedded quotations, a weak-vs-strong comparison, nine success criteria and feedback guidance
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