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The Play's the Thing
Students study the life and works of William Shakespeare. They investigate the art of playwriting and write a play of their own.
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To Be Or Not To Be... (Hamlet)
Students complete a unit of lessons on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. They analyze the plot, themes, and characterization, relate songs to thematic issues, develop plot summaries and translations, and compare the play to a movie version.
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Shakespeare's Universalism
Students brainstorm human emotions dealt with Shakespeare's plays. Students consider how one resonates with emotions.
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Macbeth: What's Up with the Crime Scene?
Students are introduced to Macbeth by having them act out the scene where Duncan's murder is discovered. This activity enable students to use dialogue only to discover the structure and format of a scene and explain plot.
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The Macbeth Tango
Students examine how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth relate to each other in individual scenes and throughout the play. By taking elements of that relationship and making them physical, students analyze the Macbeths' marriage on many different...
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Tempest in the Lunchroom
Pupils act out opening shipwreck scene of The Tempest, or watch and direct others doing it.
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TO LOVE, HONOR AND OBEY (ONE'S PARENTS!)
Young scholars examine parent-child tensions regarding obedience and communication, in order to explain the conflicts in the opening scene of King Lear. They discuss ways in which expectations for studenT obedience were different in...
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Touchstone Vs. Jaques: a Analyzing Mood in As You Like It
Students recognize ways Shakespeare creates and uses mood augment their analysis of the text and help them in making performance choices. They, in groups, select words, phrases, lines, that reveal their character's mood.
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HAMLET HOOK
Students their personal reactions to issues of family relationships in light of the the plot, characterization, and themes of the play. They analyze the characters of Hamlet on an emotional level not just intellectual.
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Who is Gertrude, Really?
Students form opinions about Gertrude by imaginatively creating 5 entries for Gertrude's journal. Each journal entry reveal much about Gertrude's character at pivotal moments in the play.
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The Secret life of Minor Characters
Students read Julius Caesar line by line. They discuss what is going on in a particular scene. Each student in a group takes the role of an assassin and comes up with a clear characterization and motivation. They share and watch within...
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NOTHING TO LEAR BUT LEAR HIMSELF
Students read a scene from King Lear and decide collaboratively how best to present it. In doing so, they examine the scenes and the play from multiple perspectives.
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O, LEAR'S MANY REASONS
Students analyze King Lear's speech and identify his "darker purpose", and let them explore different styles for reading it aloud. They can perform the scene as well.
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"The World's Asleep": But Not Your Classroom
High schoolers, in groups, form a circle in which to recite lines from Shakespeare. They throw foam balls to each other and when the ball is caught, a line is recited until all lines are memorized. They line up with quotations to...
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The 32-Second Macbeth
Students read a very short script synopsis of Macbeth. They read the script, in small groups, trying to break the 32-second record, then write their own 32-second versions of one act from Macbeth.
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"Say you will be mine": Unspoken Answers and Unscripted Scenes
Students hypothesize the content of unscripted moments and responses, search for evidence in the actual text to support their hypothesis, and explore how this hypothesis would affect characterization. Groups perform their scenes and...
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"Twelfth Night": What's so funny?
Students brainstorm and discuss elements of modern humor. They compare humor in their own lives to the humor that Shakespeare used in "Twelfth Night". They perform portions of "Twelfth Night" focusing on its humor.
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Catching the Beat: Exploring the Function of Verse in Othello
Students examine meter and how Shakespeare uses it in dialogue to show character emotion.
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The Merchant of Venice
Students read parts of Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Using primary sources, they gain a glimpse into the early modern period's negative perceptions and stereotypes of human beings of African descent.
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Illustrated Quotes of Julius Caesar
Third graders read and study William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and make a booklet of twenty illustrated quotations from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.
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Romeo and Juliet Newspapaer
Students create a newspaper based on their reading of Romeo and Juliet.
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You Kiss the Book: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
High schoolers analyze imagery in Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, and act out the passage to see how the author includes stage directions with his poetry.
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Shakespeare and the Web
Twelfth graders gain a better understanding of Shakespeare through lecture and the Internet.
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Shakespeare: Hamlet's Soliloquy
Twelfth graders use the Internet to find Prince Charles' version of the Hamlet soliloquy, read and discuss Hamlet's To be or not to be soliloquy and, using the study guide questions, read and discuss Prince Charles' update of the soliloquy.