ROMEO AND JULIET What's the Worst Crime?

ROMEO AND JULIET What's the Worst Crime?

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
LEVEL: middle school (junior high), high school (secondary)
COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9

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This resource can be purchased as part of ROMEO AND JULIET Unit Teaching Package (by William Shakespeare).
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After students have begun reading Romeo and Juliet, they will look at a list of 14 social offenses -- some serious, some not-so-serious, and some so minor they won't believe they're even on the list.

The catch is . . . all these offenses happen in Romeo and Juliet.

Students will then need to analyze and discuss the ethics and morality packed into each "crime." They'll rank them from worst to least, then decide what punishment should appropriately fit the crime.

Students can then get a glimpse into a bunch of public punishments that were commonly used during Romeo and Juliet's time period. The discussion about the severity of these compared to our penalties today is always lively.

This activity always raises some fun and thoughtful discussion during our Romeo and Juliet units.

Enjoy Romeo and Juliet!