Students write an extended literary analysis of Romeo and Juliet after reading a number of literary critiques of the play. Using information literacy skills, each student accesses, evaluates, and synthesizes outside sources to support a thesis statement.

After reading Romeo and Juliet, students select the most powerful and important scenes in the play based upon teacher identified criteria. Then students form small groups based upon the scene they are interested in studying. Students are asked to adapt this story and its themes into another time period. Students select civil war, wild west, the Victorian era, the Roaring Twenties, post World War II, hippie culture, or the disco era. Based upon their historical research, students develop a portfolio that includes script, set design, costume design, a dictionary of terms from the era, and a marketing plan for the redesigned scene. Students present their scene to an audience beyond their classroom. Students are evaluated through a rubric that assesses the script, the presentation, and the theatrical portfolio.

Students read each act of Romeo and Juliet out loud in character and answer comprehension questions. They also memorize and recite teacher-selected scenes. Through teacher-led classroom discussion, students draw comparisons between Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein's West Side Story.

Students translate scenes from Romeo and Juliet into contemporary language and contemporary settings. Included in this is research into the time period in which the play was written and performed and an intense study of significant characters. They perform their revised scenes for peers.