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Writing Process

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students read Macbeth and work in groups to organize and create an outline for a persuasive essay. In this persuasive essay lesson, students work in tiered learning groups to organize their thoughts for a persuasive thesis about the...
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Othello

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students find evidence to support reasons why Othello's insecurity makes him weak. In this Othello analysis lesson, students find evidence to support Othello as a strong person at the beginning of the play. Students use the given...
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You Should Not Have Believed Me: Hamlet

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers discuss the sanity of Hamlet and Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Students analyze an image from the play to address the sanity of the two characters. Then high schoolers read the text to determine whether the characters'...
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Who is Gertrude, Really?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
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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"Twelfth Night": What's so funny?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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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Inside Hamlet

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Learners examine how tone and inflection shape the character of Hamlet. In this Shakespeare lesson, students summarize what they know of Hamlet and complete a read around. Learners discuss the inflection patterns and tone in the reading...
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The Secret life of Minor Characters

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers 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...
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Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Tortured Sonnet

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students read four of Shakespeare's sonnets and determine whether they are read from Macbeth's or Lady Macbeth's point of view. They support their decision using evidence from the text.
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Original Line or Familiar Find?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine a primary source document from 1684 that includes many of the same lines found in Romeo's speech to Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Students compare the texts and discuss authorship during the sixteenth and...
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"What are these...?"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Choosing Sides

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the alliances in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. For this drama lesson, students read the play and act out the conflict and controversy among Brutus, Caesar, Cassius, and Marc Antony.
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The Macbeth Tango

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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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Screwing Courage in Macbeth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read, analyze, and act out the scenes 1.7.29-79 of the William Shakespeare play, "Macbeth." They discuss motivation, tactics, and obstacles, and improvise scenes suggested by the class.
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Divinity of hell: Soliloquies, Cutting and Computers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a computer to read text from Shakespeare's "Othello." They attempt to read through his soliloquies, and reduce the amount of words in each bit of text.
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Where Do They Stand?: Perspectives on Othello's Marriage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers read and discuss Act one, scene three of the play, Othello. They examine the text in small groups, determine each character's attitude toward Othello, identify text to justify their conclusions, then recite lines to the...
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Romeo And Juliet: Act V Reading And Study Guide

For Teachers 7th - 10th
In this reading and study guide worksheet, students define 4 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 15 short answer questions pertaining to Act V of "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare.
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Hamlet on the Ramparts: A Pre-reading Activity

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the first act of Hamlet. In this Shakespeare instructional activity, students pantomime important events from Hamlet in a pre-reading activity. Classmates observe the performances and write reviews.
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Their Names Are Pricked

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students discuss areas of ambiguity in Julius Caesar and analyze the language as a tool to illustrate complex desires. In this Shakespeare activity, students define subtext and use a neutral scene to act out subtext. Students create...
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Remembrance of Yours--Analyzing Characters Using Mementos

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students choose two characters in Hamlet and symbolize the characters with an object, or find an object that the characters might carry. In this Hamlet lesson, students find an object to represent each character they choose. The object...
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Trust

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students read and discuss Romeo and Juliet Act IV, Scenes 1 and 2. They compare the unfolding action with yesterday's predictions. They consider the concepts of trust, fate, and self-determination.
Worksheet
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Hamlet Anticipation Guide

For Students 7th - 12th
Here's a short anticipation guide for Hamlet. Before reading the text, learners will mark the things they believe will happen in the text. Then, after they read, they will revisit the guide to see what actually happened. 
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Who Said it in "Romeo and Juliet" 2

For Students 9th - 10th
This online quiz requires identifying which Romeo and Juliet character said the quote. Before giving this assignment, you will want to review the quotes to determine if they relate to your learning objectives.
Worksheet
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Romeo and Juliet Quiz

For Students 9th
"Wherefore art thou Romeo?" These simple multiple-choice questions focus on Romeo and Juliet. Focusing on reading comprehension, this quiz can be a quick check to see if students are reading. A few are tricky!
Worksheet
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Othello Quotes

For Students 11th - 12th
Studying quotations is a great way to explore the text on a deeper level. Use this document to have learners identify the speaker of certain quotes and then extend the activity by having them write a paragraph detailing why a quotation...