Introduction• Tales of the supernatural originated in a time when vampires and ghosts

were widely believed to exist, and agreements between humans and Satan were considered plausible occurrences of everyday life; however, the popularity of such stories has not waned even as belief in many supernatural phenomena has. Though the function of the supernatural in literature may have changed to some extent over the ages, its appeal for the reading public has not. Vampires in particular have carved out a prominent niche in popular culture today, almost inversely proportionate to any belief in vampirism. Stories once told as cautionary tales to strike real fear in the listener have evolved into books and films in which vampires are more often romantic than frightening, and the supernatural is often seen as a metaphor for various social phenomena.

RationaleThe purpose of this unit is to examine the importance of the supernatural in literature. The audience for this unit is a 12th grade British Literature class. For this unit, I have chosen the essential question, “What is the role of the supernatural in literature?” in order to aid the students in the investigation of the relationship between literature and the supernatural.

Given the age of the students, they are mostly operating from a level of conventional morality. They are concerned not only with their personal good, but also with the well being of society as a whole. For this reason, I have chosen the curriculum as I have to make use of this theme as it interweaves through the different texts. In Macbeth supernatural forces seek to make him act outside the bounds of this conventional morality, while in Beowulf these forces seek to make him act in concordance with these forces. One of the objectives of this unit is to engender understanding of the nature and effect of these supernatural forces on these individuals and how authors use these situations to make comments about life.

“Shades of Meaning” Activity•Shades of Meaning is a vocabulary exercise used to delineate fine distinctions between words, to teach synonyms to words and to do intensive vocabulary study central to any English Language Curriculum.•Step by Step

1. Procure and distribute paint strips to the students

2. Explain that words should be used precisely yet some words are similar in meaning

3. Model Shades of meaning using concrete example: Exuberant, Happy, Content

4. Initiate discussion using examples: Dimmer Switch-Dim, Glow, Bright

5. Assign category for continuum- write words in order

6. Write terms on paint strips- Attach to paper and develop sentences for each word

7. Have students work with partners to develop other shades of meaning

8. Encourage students to use a thesaurus as a source for related terms

Other Activities•Shakespeare Web quest•Beowulf Scavenger Hunt•Paired Readings

Resources

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3631103/Macbeth_11-Link to Wordles for Macbeth

http://www.shakespeare-literature.com/Macbeth/18.html-Text to Shakespeare Plays

http://polyhigh.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2007/5/22/1179863491186/intro.html-Link to Shakespeare Webquest

Questions