Newspaper Project

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                               ROMEO AND JULIET
                              NEWSPAPER PROJECT

Throughout our reading of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, each student
will be required to:
    step into the shoes of a reporter;
    create a newspaper that reflects your understanding of the play;
    relate your understanding to a modern audience or your peers; and,
    be creative and intelligent (include visuals and written articles).

Each newspaper must include 10 written articles; visuals should accompany some
of the articles. Below is a list of possible news articles:

Comic Strip                                  Obituaries
Front-page news report/photo                 Weddings and Celebrations
Advertisement or Classified Ad               Travel/Leisure
Editorial (letter to the editor or           Lifestyles/Fashion
editorial opinion)                           Opinion Page
Dear Abby column (letter and                 Health/Science/Technology
response)                                    Money/Business
Book Review                                  Politics
Theatre guide                                People/Interviews
Sports                                       Special Interest/Feature


The following topics from Romeo and Juliet must be included, but you may use
any type of newspaper article to demonstrate your knowledge of these topics.
Since 10 are required, after these 8 are included you may write the remaining
articles on a topic of your choice (relating to the play, of course).

Shakespearean language (insults, slang, vocab, blank verse, etc.)
Character analysis of one character

Character analysis of a second character
Plot summary
Time period (culture, politics, fashion, health, etc.)
Social tension (family feuds, rivalries, rebellion)
Love, death, and/or fate
Modern story that parallels the Romeo and Juliet story line, themes, and characters

REMEMBER! You are a newspaper reporter…Reporters ask questions that
answer the following questions: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW.
You will be graded on:

CONTENT:

_____       The 5W’s + H that you find in the play; and,

_____       The NEW information (your opinions) that you form from reading the
            play.

CREATIVITY:

_____       A combination of visual AND written artifacts;

_____       Your ability to relate the Elizabethan age to a modern audience; and,

_____       Your ability to capture the audience with your title, format, and
            headlines.

COMMON SENSE:

_____       Your ability to follow directions and fulfill the requirements;

_____       Quality use of class time; and,

_____       A ‘professional’ product.

The Newspaper Project will be DUE November 21, 2003.