Teaching Much Ado About Nothing

Instructions for You

Objective: In today's activity, students will discuss the nature of gossip and rumors in Much Ado About Nothing, and decide why certain rumors are spread and believed. They'll look at the different lies that circulate in the play, and talk about why some of these untruths stick in the heads of even supposedly "smart" characters. (Hmm…could this topic possibly have some relevance to their actual lives?)

This exercise should take one class period.

Materials: Pen, paper, text of Much Ado About Nothing and a poker face. (You'll see what we mean.) You can also direct students to Shmoop's summary if they need a refresher.

Step 1: Ask your students to prepare a list of three one to two sentence statements about themselves. Two of these statements should be truthful and one statement should be a bold-faced lie. Give them the following criteria:

• Keep the subject matter PG-13. (This is a good rule to follow for all classroom activities.)
• Make the lie sound as convincing as the two truthful statements.
• The lie can be based on a partial truth, as long as some of the information is made up.

Have your students write down their three statements so they're prepared for the next step.

Step 2: Ask the students to split up into pairs, and have them share their "two truths and a lie." After the speaker shares their three stories, their partner can ask one follow-up question about each story. (Make sure they stick to those rules, too—no fair using three questions for just one story.) The partner will then decide which of the three stories was the lie by writing his or her answer on a piece of paper. (The speaker should not reveal the secret to his/her partner—save that for later.) Then the roles will reverse.

Step 3: Pick two pairs to report back to the class (just two, mind you—you don't have all day). Each person in the pair can offer a brief summary of the other person's "two truths and a lie," say which story was the lie, and explain why s/he came to that decision. This is a great way for you to see how your students' minds work, and it will also get them in the mindset of thinking about why the characters in Much Ado About Nothing believe the ridiculous rumors they believe.

Step 4: Have the partners get back into their pairs, because now it's time to discuss the actual text. Remind them about the three major rumors that are spread in the play:

• Don Pedro wants Hero for himself.
• Benedick and Beatrice are secretly in love with each other.
• Hero is cheating on Claudio.

In their pairs, students should discuss and determine why the characters spread and believe these vicious rumors. Are some characters just really good liars, or are other characters so gullible that they think "gullible" is written on the ceiling? Have the pairs record the answers, about each rumor, to the following questions:

• Who's spreading each rumor?
• Why is this character spreading the rumor? What's the motive?
• Why do the other characters believe the rumor? What's in it for them?

Have the students write down their answers. A sentence for each question will do.

Step 5: The students will share their responses with the rest of the class. When they're finished, ask them to write an analytical response with text evidence from Much Ado that answers each of the following questions: 

• What reasons do people have for believing the rumors and lies that others tell them? 
• In Shakespeare's play, do people believe rumors because the rumors reinforce something they already believe to be true?

Step 6: Here's a fun coda to the whole activity (this can take just the last minute of the class period): Have the students go back to that original "two truths and a lie" conversation from the beginning of class. Now the partners can finally reveal which statements were truthful and which ones were lies. Ask the pairs: 

• Were they surprised by their partners' answers?
• Who in their pair's the Hero…and who's the Don Pedro? (Yeah, we went there.)

Instructions for Your Students

Do you remember ever repeating a piece of gossip that you weren't sure was true, but was just too juicy to pass up? Well, today we're going to talk about rumors—why some people spread them, and why others believe them. You'll not only get a better understanding of Much Ado About Nothing, but maybe also gain some insight into your classmates' brains, not to mention your own.

Step 1: You're going to write a list of three one to two sentence statements about yourself in your notebook. These statements can be about anything you want, as long as you keep them focused on you and keep the information rated PG-13. Here's the catch: one of these statements must be a complete, bold-faced lie. Try to make the lie seem realistic, though, like something that could have plausibly happened to you. (In other words, don't write down that you went to the moon and got voted president. You can say, for example, that you once had a pet ferret even if you never did—that's the kind of lie that someone could believe.)

Step 2: We hope you invented a truthful-sounding lie, because it's time to put your skills to the test. Your teacher will pair you up with someone in the class and you'll share your "two truths and a lie" with your partner. Here's some advice to follow when you're sharing:

•  Make the lie sound just as plausible as the two truths. It's a good idea to talk about how the experiences made you feel, not just how they happened.
• Don't automatically save the lie for last. You can if you want, but it's likely that your partner is predicting that you'll do just that.
• Don't overload your partners with details. Too many details might make you sound suspicious.

After you share, your partner will ask a follow-up question for each statement. Then it'll be your partner's turn to share and your turn to listen. You get to ask three follow-up questions—one for each story. Keep these things in mind when you ask your questions:

• See if there are any holes in the stories.
• If your partner is telling you about an event that happened to him/her, ask what happened afterwards. See if your partner can actually tell you, or if his/her memory suddenly goes fuzzy.
• Pay attention to long pauses, breaking of eye contact, and lack of conviction in the voice. Unless your partner's a brilliant actor, these behaviors can be telltale signs of lying.

Step 3: Your teacher will pick two pairs to share their partners' stories with the rest of the class. The person presenting will then explain to the class which of the partner's stories was the lie, and explain why s/he came to that conclusion. (Do you agree with the partner's reasoning, or would you have come to a different conclusion?)

Step 4: Get back together with your partner, because it's time to discuss the actual play. There are three major rumors that are told and believed in Much Ado About Nothing:

• Don Pedro wants Hero for himself.
• Benedick and Beatrice are secretly in love with each other.
• Hero is cheating on Claudio.

Discuss with your partner why these rumors are believed and spread. Here are some guiding questions to help you along:

• Who is spreading the rumor?
• Why is this character spreading the rumor? What's the motive?
• Why do the other characters believe the rumor? What's in it for them?

Here are some helpful character analyses from Shmoop to get you going:

• Beatrice
• Benedick
• Claudio
• Hero
• Don Pedro
• Don John

After you have this discussion with your partner, be sure to write your answers down. A few sentences or a paragraph for each rumor will be enough. You want to make sure you've looked at the rumor from all angles—who's telling it, who's hearing it, and why people believe it.

Step 5: Write an analytical response with text evidence from Much Ado that answers each of the following questions: 

• What reasons do people have for believing the rumors and lies that others tell them?
• In Shakespeare's play, do people believe rumors because the rumors reinforce something they already believe to be true?

Step 6: Write an analytical response with text evidence from Much Ado that answers each of the following questions:

• Which one of their statements was the lie? 
• Who in your pair's the Hero…and who's the Don Pedro? (Yeah, we went there.)You may be surprised by the answer—or maybe your detective skills were on point.