Murder, betrayal, and three witches—sounds like a modern-day thriller. It's actually Macbeth, and a helpful study guide helps scholars explore paraphrasing, imagery, and themes. Next, learners conduct research to compare titles of...

Explore a captivating play about murder, politics, and revenge with the Titus Andronicus curriculum guide. Scholars paraphrase characters' lines and write reviews of the production. The resource also includes handouts about performance...

Who doesn't love a play where most of the characters die? Such deaths are a defining characteristic of many of Shakespeare's tragedies, the topic of an informational video on the Bard and his works. Along with outlining the plot elements...

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a play about star-crossed lovers, resonates deeply with teenagers. The study packet contains study questions for each act of the play. Learners use a graphic organizer to analyze whether characters...

Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...

Guts! Gore! Murder! Human flaws! Aristotle considered all elements of a tragedy. Crash Course Theater's third video covers the Greek philosopher's views on the art form and also explains alternating perspectives on the topic. Engaging...

Is this an interactive resource I see before me? Fret not. Here's a resource filled with sound, and a bit of fury, sure to engage learners in a study of Shakespeare's Scottish play. User can view an interview with Shakespeare, examine...

How is it possible that an author can create sympathy in the minds of readers for characters who behave in ways that we disdain? Gustave Flaubert was able to accomplish such a goal with Madame Bovary. Introduce readers to this amazing...

Instructors who want to use A Streetcar Named Desire as a core text need not rely of the kindness of other teachers to find engaging activities to support a study of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning drama.

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

How does society prevail in the face of challenge? After reading President Ronald Reagan's speech to the nation after the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986, learners evaluate and discuss the tone of the speech itself and...

"Do you believe that fate is inescapable, or that people forge their own lives?" This is the essential question at the heart of Romeo and Juliet, according to the narrator of a series on Shakespeare's tragedy. Short but dense, the video...

In Part Two of a video course in Hamlet, narrator John Green looks at the gender dynamics in the play. He presents Ophelia and Gertrude as powerful characters and argues that these women do have options that affect the course of the...

"It is my lady, O, It is my Love!" Provide class members an opportunity to develop their skills reading difficult text with an exercise that focuses on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii). Using the provided...

The events in Act I of Macbeth are the focus of a worksheet that could be used to help readers follow the action of the play, as a reading quiz, or as a group exercise. Consider adding evaluative and interpretative questions to the...

Words, words, words! Any reader of Shakespeare needs to know these words. Tragedy, tragic flaw, sonnet, quatrain, couplet, and meter are all defined in a short, text-heavy presentation. Alas, poor (teacher), few examples are given.

Before introducing your class to a play, discuss what a drama is, its structure, and some key elements. There are two main types of plays, tragedies and comedies. While the presentation focuses on identifying each type, consider offering...

Comedy, tragedy, act, scene, prop. do you want to review important drama terms? Actors record the term next to its definition on a worksheet that could be used individually or as a group activity. A link to a corresponding PowerPoint...

Although they are designed for homeschool, these teaching tools support any student-centered literature study. Aimed at Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the materials are widely applicable: graphic organizers, response to literature...

Roman mythology is full of tragic love stories. A multiple-choice quiz highlights three major partnerships, and explores the problems that led to sad endings. Test your learners with these multiple-choice questions after studying Roman...

The history of Greek drama is the focus of this multiple-choice quiz. Ten questions ask about historical figures and the roots of tragedy and comedy in Greek religious festivals. While studying Greek drama, use this quiz to test your...

Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...

From Canterbury Tales to The Odd Couple, this presentation details the different treatments of humor in different literary formats. Numerous authors and works of literature are represented here as examples of satire, irony, comedy, and...

High schoolers explain and summarize the plots of two act of Romeo and Juliet. In this language arts lesson, students discuss plot points nad the climax of acts IV and V of Romeo and Juliet. They also discuss the characteristics of...