Students edit scenes from Shakespeare's The Tempest in documentary fashion and perform their edited scripts. In this play analysis instructional activity, students read through Act 2 and 3 and discuss how and why to cut lines in a play....

Students identify the most important elements in a scene.  In this editing a scene lesson, students decide what elements are absolutely necessary to a scene.  Students discuss the main criteria for editing or cutting a scene...

Students collaborate in small groups to choose a scene that they write in place of a scene in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar". In this dramatic expression activity, their scripts include roles, lines and stage directions. Students...

Young scholars research word frequencies in Macbeth and create a frozen picture inspired by a word.  In this Macbeth lesson, students view Blood Will Have Blood and discuss the dual meaning of the word "blood."  Young scholars...

For this literary elements worksheet, students read Shakespeare's Macbeth and then respond to 13 short answer questions about the characters and themes in the play.

Students discuss words that represent the "big ideas" in Othello and that recur throughout the play. They will be assigned words to track throughout the text, recording which character says the word and in what context.

Learners read and analyze a piece of literature from 1591 to investigate whether Elizabethan fathers were patriarchal dicatators. Students read the passage and answer questions to determine what fathers were like during the late...

Students 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...

Students, 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 resequence...

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...

Learners 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.

Students discuss words that represent the big ideas in Othello and that recur throughout the play. They are assigned words to track throughout the text, recording which character says the word and in what context.

In this literature learning exercise, middle schoolers find the terms related to Shakespeare and the answers are found by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

In this literature activity, students find the words that are related to the vocabulary of Shakespeare and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.

Students examine the roles of arranged marriage through their work with Shakespeare's, Much Ado About Nothing. They look at the roles of Claudio and Hero, and determine how their marriage could be considered to be arranged. They complete...

Students act outeach word in a Shakespearean speech.  In this reading technique activity, students learn passages from Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew reading using their bodies to act out each word.  Students...

Students explore the power struggles in England's history using Shakespeare's Henry IV. In this Shakespeare lesson, students write answer to journal questions about the play and discuss specific passages. Students work as groups to...

Students explore how sound affects scene understanding using the Shakespeare play Macbeth. For this audio and play analysis lesson, students respond to Macbeth events as if they were at a sporting event. Students listen to parts of the...

Tenth graders use color-coded annotation or text-marking to analyze a passage from Richard III. In this text analysis lesson, 10th graders read a passage from Richard III and use colored pens to analyze the text. Students then devise a...

Students examine the concept of the tragic hero in Shakespeare's King Lear and explore how it affects the plot of the play. In this theatrical analysis lesson, students investigate the redemption or defeat of King Lear and perform two...

students read the Ghost of Caesar scene and use prompt books to stage the scene. In this Shakespeare lesson, students read the scene and then stage the scene. Students make prompt books for the staging activity and then perform the scenes.

Students read acts from The Tempest and complete analysis activities for the play. In this Shakespeare lesson, students read the first four acts of The Tempest and choose one of the characters to write a rescue message from their point...

Students discuss the "witches" of Shakespeare.  In this literature analysis lesson, students research the influence of Macbeth's sisters on his behavior.  They examine various terms used to describe the sisters, and discuss...

Tenth graders complete characterization analysis for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this characterization lesson, 10th graders work in learning tiers to analyze the characters and plot in the play. Students work under, at,...