• Tell the students that Macbeth seeks out the witches again, and demands that they reveal more to him about his future. The witches have been planning to meet Macbeth again. They are ready for him and conjure three apparitions (spirits or demons) to give him the answers he seeks.

• Play Apparitions dramatic personae video from the gallery. This introduces the Apparitions with their sign name and an image of the actors playing them in the videos. You might like to tell your students that these actors are students like them who went to Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf.

• Explain that you are going to watch a film of the Apparitions and see what they tell Macbeth. 

• Play Apparition 1 video. This film is in BSL with subtitles or in ASL. 

• Ensure students understand the Apparition’s message to be wary of Macduff.  

• Play Macduff Dramatis Personae video as a reminder and ask what the students remember about Macduff. (He was the first to find the body of King Duncan after Macbeth murdered him. He chose to go home to Fife rather than see Macbeth crowned king in Scone. He ignored Macbeth’s invitation to the banquet.) 

• Ask students to discuss in pairs how Macbeth might feel about what this First Apparition says and then to share with the class. 

• Display Macbeth’s response to this prophecy (slide). Discuss what Macbeth says and draw out that this confirms his fears that Macduff is out to cause trouble for him. 

• Play Apparition 2 video. This film is in BSL with subtitles or in ASL. 

• Ensure students understand the Apparition’s message that no man that has been born of a woman can harm Macbeth. 

• Ask students to discuss in pairs how Macbeth might feel about what this Second Apparition says and then to share with the class. Perhaps Macbeth feels invincible since every man has a mother who gave birth to him? 

•  Display Macbeth’s response to this prophecy (slide). Discuss what Macbeth says and draw out that Macbeth feels he no longer needs to fear Macduff, but will have him killed anyway just to be sure.

• Play Apparition 3 video. This film is in BSL with subtitles or in ASL. 

• Ensure students understand the Apparition’s message that Macbeth cannot be defeated until a forest of trees called Birnam Wood moves to a place called Dunsinane. 

• Show the map in the gallery (slide) 

• Ask students how Macbeth might feel about what this Third Apparition says. Perhaps even more invincible since trees don’t move?  

• Display Macbeth’s response to this prophecy (slide). Discuss what Macbeth says and draw out that Macbeth feels that he is safe because no-one can make trees move. 

• Recap with students what the Three Apparitions told Macbeth: to beware Macduff; that he cannot be defeated by any man who was given birth to by a woman; and that he will not be defeated until trees march.  

• Revisit the Macbeth’s hopes and fears chart from Exercise 6 in Act 3 Scenes 3-4.   

• Ask: Who or what might Macbeth still fear? Perhaps Macduff? Perhaps that Banquo’s children will become kings? 

• Tell students that Macbeth demands that the witches answer one last question about whether Banquo’s children will ever rule in Scotland and that he is horrified to see a strange image of many kings who all descend from Banquo. Then the witches disappear again and leave him standing alone. 

• Discuss how Macbeth’s hopes and fears have changed after this second meeting with the witches and encourage students to add to the columns on their sheets. Perhaps Macbeth fears Macduff and Banquo’s children, but hopes he cannot be defeated because of what the Apparitions said? 

• Tell students that as Macbeth finds himself alone after the witches vanish, Lennox arrives and tells him that Macduff has fled to England.  

• Ask: What do you think Macbeth will do now? 

• Play Macbeth’s Plan video(s) (BSL/ VS or in ASL). 

• Display the text from this film (slide) and ask students in pairs to discuss these questions:  

What does Macbeth want to do? (Surprise Macduff’s castle in Fife and kill Macduff’s wife and children and any other family) 

Why do you think Macbeth wants this? 

• Recap Macbeth’s relationship with Macduff so far by asking the following questions (slide): 

What did the First Apparition tell Macbeth? (To ’Beware Macduff’) 

Where is Macduff (He fled to England) 

What did Macbeth say he would do when he heard where Macduff had gone? (Kill Macduff’s wife and children) 

• Explain that you are going to jump to England and find out what Macduff is up to. 

• Ask students what they remember about Malcolm. Play Malcolm Dramatis Personae video as a reminder. (He is King Duncan’s eldest son. He ran away to England as soon as he heard his father had been murdered) 

• Organise students into pairs and ask them to be Malcolm and Macduff. 

• Explain that you will play Ross and put on the ‘Thane of Ross’ sash.

• As ‘Ross’, enter and greet the pairs as Malcolm and Macduff. Sign/say that you have come from Scotland where things are very bad under Macbeth’s rule. Explain you have some bad news for Macduff and give each pair a copy of ‘Macduff’s News’ from pdf resources and pens. You can also display the message (slide).

• Ask each pair to discuss what they think the news is. Ask them to write a caption for each picture in the space provided. 

• After allowing time for this, ask pairs to share their ideas with the whole class. Ensure the key facts emerge from this discussion that Macbeth has done what he said. He sent murderers to Macduff’s castle in Fife and those murderers killed Lady Macduff and her children and destroyed the castle.  

• Ask pairs to create a freeze-frame of Malcolm and Macduff showing how they feel when they receive this news. 

• Discuss what Macduff might want to do next. Perhaps punish Macbeth and stop him hurting anyone else? Perhaps kill him in revenge for the death of his family? 

• Display the lines spoken by Malcolm to Macduff: Let grief convert to anger (slide)  

• Organise students into pairs and ask them to come up with a movement showing grief changing to anger. 

• Display the line spoken by Macduff to Malcolm: ’Front to front / Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. / Within my sword’s length set him’ (slide). You can also give them a copy of these lines from the pdf resources.

• Discuss what these lines mean (Macduff wants to face Macbeth, calling him a fiend or devil, so that he can fight him). 

• Ask students to show in pairs what Macduff hopes will happen. 

• Tell students that Macduff and Malcolm plan to march to Scotland and defeat Macbeth with the support of an army from England.