ADAPTED VERSION · dyslexia and neurodiverse students · B1

Session 1: The world of Macbeth

Question: Why were people afraid of witches in Shakespeare's time?
Step 1

Goals

Step 2

Warm-up

Image analysis. Look at the painting for one minute in silence.
Henry Fuseli, Study for the Three Witches in Macbeth, about 1783, Auckland Art Gallery
Henry Fuseli, Study for the Three Witches in Macbeth, about 1783, Auckland Art Gallery. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
  1. How many women do you see?
  2. Describe their faces.
  3. Are you afraid? Why?
Step 3

Read

Short text. In 1603, James became King of England. He was very afraid of witches and wrote a book about them in 1597. In 1605, a group of men tried to blow up the king and Parliament: the Gunpowder Plot. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth around 1606, with witches and the murder of a king.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, Scene 1, the three witches
Glossary: fair: beautiful, good · foul: ugly, evil · hover: float in the air
Step 4

Tasks

Task a. True or false: six sentences.
Task b. "Fair is foul": find the opposites.
Task c. Say the witches' lines in a whisper, then loudly.
Step 5

Sentence starters

  • King James was afraid of...
  • The Gunpowder Plot was...
  • 'Fair' means... and 'foul' means...
  • The witches are...
Step 6

Role play

Pairs: a reporter in 1606 and a Londoner. The reporter asks about the king, the plot and witches.

Step 7

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: witches · king · plot · afraid · opposites · book
  1. Macbeth meets three .
  2. James was of witches.
  3. He wrote a about them.
  4. The Gunpowder failed.
  5. "Fair" and "foul" are .
  6. James was the .
Answer key
  1. witches
  2. afraid
  3. book
  4. Plot
  5. opposites
  6. king
Step 8

Homework

Write five sentences about King James and witches.

Watch the film at home

  1. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), directed by Joel Coen, with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, in black and white. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  2. Macbeth (2015), directed by Justin Kurzel, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  3. DVD: ask at your local library or médiathèque.
  4. Scenes to watch: the witches on the heath (Act I), the dagger and the murder of Duncan (Act II), the banquet and Banquo's ghost (Act III), the sleepwalking scene (Act V).

Watch with English subtitles if you can. The films contain violence.

Step 9

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
FactsWrongSomeCorrectCorrect and precise
SpeakingSilentShortClearClear and lively

Links reminder