MYPNA_TE_G12_U3_web.pdf

PLANNING

whole-class learning

Performance Task

In what ways does

Macbeth attempt to

control the future and to

bury the past?

UniT Performance-Based

assessmenT

What is the relationship

of human beings to time?

essenTial QUesTion:

How do our attitudes

toward the past and

future shape our

actions?

Summary

As Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth begins, King Duncan is at war

with the King of Norway. Duncan learns of Macbeth’s bravery

in battle against Macdonwald, a Scot who sided with the

Norwegians. On their way home, Macbeth and Banquo meet three

witches who predict that Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor

and that Banquo will be the father of kings. As they continue their

journey home, Macbeth learns that Duncan has, in fact, named him

Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth begins to contemplate killing Duncan

to gain the throne. Duncan tells Macbeth he will visit him at his

castle. Macbeth sends Lady Macbeth a letter telling of the witches’

prophecy. When Duncan arrives, Lady Macbeth greets the king

alone. She finds Macbeth in his room thinking about the murder

of Duncan. She urges Macbeth to act and describes her plan to

kill the king as he sleeps and plant the murder weapons with his

drunken guards.

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I

connection to the essential Question

Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth connects to the Essential Question,

“How do our attitudes toward the past and future shape our actions?”

After Macbeth learns of the witches’ prophecy that he will be Thane

of Cawdor and King of the Scots, Macbeth wonders if he will achieve

the crown through natural selection. When Duncan says that he plans

to have Malcolm succeed him as king, Macbeth begins to question

whether murdering Duncan is the path of action he should take to

the throne.

connection to Performance Tasks

Whole-Class Learning Performance Task In this Performance Task,

students will consider the question, “In what ways does Macbeth

attempt to control the future and to bury the past?” Students will

observe that Macbeth seeks to control his future through the murder of

King Duncan. His response to the witches’ prophecy awakens a fierce

ambition in Macbeth, who feels that he must do whatever he can to

achieve the outcome he most desires.

Unit Performance-Based Assessment Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth

makes it clear that a man with ambition must try to predict, plan, and

control his own destiny or risk becoming a failure. Often, driving

ambition leads such men to lose an important part of their humanity by

severing the emotional bonds they once had with others.

WHOLE-CLASS LEARNING • THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, ACT 1

insight

This first act sets up the plot and many of the themes of the play,

including the theme of time. The witches’ prophecies provoke

Macbeth’s ambition and his newly found obsession to control the

future by taking action in the present.

aUdio sUmmaries

Audio summaries of Act I of

The Tragedy of Macbeth are

available in both English and

Spanish in the Interactive

Teacher’s Edition or Unit

Resources. Assigning these

summaries prior to reading the

selection may help students

build additional background

knowledge and set a context for

their first read.

250A UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST

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