Lesson Plan: The Legend of Robin Hood

Essential Questions

• How do we decide what is right and wrong? How do we decide who is a villain and who is a hero?
• What is greed? Is it always bad? 

Literature Connection

• Novel: Shadows of Sherwood (A Robyn Hoodlum Adventure) by Kekla Magoon
• Novel: Robin Hood, the One Who Looked Good in Green (Twice Upon a Time) by Wendy Mass

Respond to a Prompt (10 minutes)

Ask students to consider this question: If you were to see someone breaking the law to help others who were in need, how would you react? Would you consider their actions acceptable? Would you turn them in? Have students discuss the factors that would influence their decision. Encourage them to keep the question in mind as they read about Robin Hood, who steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the play in their magazines or online. Then preview the text features using the following prompts:

• Read the title and subtitle of the play. What do you know about the story of Robin Hood? What is a legend? Do you enjoy reading legends? Why or why not? Answers will vary. A legend can be defined as a story from the past that is widely known and often based on historical events but typically includes imaginative details.
• Look closely at the images included with the play and read their captions. What do they tell you about the setting of the play? (Hint: The setting is where and when the story takes place.) Based on the captions, we know the story takes place in medieval England. That period lasted from around 1100 to 1500. The places mentioned in the story, Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, are real. They can be visited today in England.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (lure, archer, coward, justice, luxury, regret) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow

Make a Plan for Reading

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students they’ll make inferences while reading the play “The Legend of Robin Hood.” Explain that making an inference means using clues from the text to figure out something that isn’t stated directly. 
• Point out the activity at the end of the play. Tell students they will complete it after reading.

• Assign parts to students and read the play aloud as a class. Stop after each scene and ask students to summarize what happened.
• After reading, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

• In Scene 1, why do Robin Hood and the Merry Men think the prince is rotten? How does the villager’s story support their view? (central idea and details) They think the prince is rotten because he makes people pay him taxes, even though he is already rich and they are very poor. The Villager explains that his father couldn’t pay the prince’s taxes, so the sheriff took everything his family owned. As a result, he has to dig in the dirt to try to find something to eat. This shows the prince’s greed and cruelty.
• At the end of Scene 1, what does Robin Hood mean when he says, “Time for an adventure, boys!”? How does the Merry Men’s chant help you understand what they want to do? (inference) Robin Hood means that they are going to take the money that Sir Guy and the sheriff have forced people to give them. The chant helps you understand that they want to return it to the poor people who need it.
• Reread Scene 2. How are Marian’s ideas about people who are poor different from those of Sir Guy? (compare and contrast) Sir Guy thinks that people are poor because they don’t work hard enough. Marian points out that she and Sir Guy were born rich, and people who were not shouldn’t be blamed for being poor. 
• Based on Scene 3, why does the sheriff want to capture Robin Hood? (plot) Robin Hood stole the money that Sir Guy had collected from the people in Sherwood Forest. The sheriff says the money was for the prince.
• In Scene 6, what do you learn about who Robin Hood is and why he chooses to break the law? (character) You learn that Robin Hood is a rich knight. He chooses to break the law because he considers it unfair. He believes the sheriff is stealing from the people of Sherwood Forest by collecting fees for the prince, leaving them with nothing. Robin Hood wants to stand up for the people who are suffering even if it means breaking the law.
• Why does Marian join the Merry Men at the end of the play? (plot) Over the course of the play, Marian sees how Sir Guy and the sheriff treat people cruelly, and how Robin Hood and the Merry Men help them. Although she, like Robin Hood, is rich, she becomes convinced that she would rather be on the side of kindness and generosity.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• Do you think Robin Hood is a hero? Explain your answer. (critical thinking) Answers will vary. Students might say that he is a hero because he fights back against unfair laws that force people into hunger and poverty. He stands up to the powerful sheriff and prince. Although he steals, he does it to give to the poor. Others might say he is not a hero because stealing is wrong. 
• In Scene 6, Robin Hood says, “I hate unfair laws.” What problems could result from people deciding for themselves which laws are fair and whether to obey them? Do you think there are times when this is OK? (critical thinking) Sample answer: What one person thinks is fair could seem unfair to another. If everyone were to choose which laws to follow, we could have complete disorder. Answers will vary for the second question. Students might mention peaceful protests, such as sit-ins, as an acceptable way to break laws in order to change them. 

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Inference activity at the end of the play.
• Assign students to work independently on our Understanding Character Skill Builder. (Click here to see all your Skill Builders for this feature.)
• Writing prompt: Write a Scene 8 for the play: a short scene in which Robin Hood, the Merry Men, and Marian gather in the forest and talk about the future. Have Marian explain why she chose to join the Merry Men and how she can help them. Include other topics they might discuss: how Marian’s life will change, what’s fun and what’s dangerous about living in Sherwood Forest, and so on. Make sure your scene fits with the style of “The Legend of Robin Hood”!