National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Literacy Design Collaborative
To Be or Not to Be: The Evolution of Hamlet’s Personality
How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...
Curated OER
Shakespearean Comedy on Film
This lesson will focus on the aspects of Shakespeare's comedy that become more evident in performance. By viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in different film versions, high schoolers have the opportunity to engage in a close...
Curated OER
"Exploring Shakespeare" An Introduction of Character and "Hamlet"
Young scholars examine the literary terms "round character" and "characterization" through the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. They view and discuss examples of clip art, video, and comic strips, and describe the character traits....
Curated OER
Appreciating the Language and Interpreting the Meaning of Hamlet's Soliloquy
Students analyze Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be." In this Hamlet lesson, students define unfamiliar words in the soliloquy and interpret the lines. Students then read the lines aloud and identify descriptive words. Students...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Shakespeare 2000
Young thespians can try their hand at writing a script and acting out a scene, while gaining a deeper understanding of the universal topics presented in Shakespeare's wide array of plays. Begin the lesson by conducting a compare and...
Curated OER
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Students discover how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the most popular forms of drama of that era. Students perform certain...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
A Boxful of Character
I can't wait to try this activity with my class. It's versatile and could be modified to fit any character analysis lesson. To analyze characters thoroughly, learners create life boxes. Each box will pertain to a character from any...
Curated OER
Enter Ophelia: Stage Directions, Promptbooks, and Film
Students review different film versions of the play, Hamlet, and compare what was presented to the actual stage directions given in the original Shakespearean version.
Curated OER
Comparing Shakespearean Film Adaptations
Though this lesson deals specifically with Hamlet and its themes, many of the strategies and approaches here may be used with most any of Shakespeare's plays that have been adapted to film. Viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in...
Curated OER
Hamlet
High schoolers examine patterns of imagery in Hamlet by using online resources. Students compare the patterns they see to those they've found in other Shakespeare plays. Then high schoolers draw conclusions about why Shakespeare might...
Curated OER
Reviewing Status Using Hamlet
Students complete exercises examining the use of status and class in selected portions of Hamlet. Working in pairs of small groups, students act out the mannerisms encountered in the selected text. They compare and contrast these...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 1
"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-lesson unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star Wars® as source...
Curated OER
Dos mapas de Florida, el Caribe y parte de Sur America
What can maps tell us about the past? Find out with a Spanish lesson plan that incorporates geography. After examining maps individually, comparing two old maps of Spanish Florida and writing notes in the provided Venn diagram, pupils...
Curated OER
Shakespeare 2000
Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...
Curated OER
The Cost of Saving
Tenth graders compare accounts provided by the two newspaper articles with the visual account provided by Sue Coe. They articulate how those accounts are alike and different. Students consider the economic choices that made the Hamlet...
Curated OER
Using Chuang Tzu in a British Literature Curriculum
Pupils read and compare/contrast translations of Chuang Tzu and "Beowulf." They complete handouts, answer discussion questions, identify themes and symbols, and complete various writing assignments.
Curated OER
The Importance of the Group in Japan
Twelfth graders discuss the importance of the group in Japan. In groups, they compare and contrast behaviors and attitudes of those in Japan and the United States. They are given a case to review and identify the rules by which the...
Curated OER
The Group Essay
Students write an essay of comparison between two works they have studied but have not yet compared. They recognize similarities of themes between two very different works. They submit a group evaluation form.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.9
As the saying goes: there are no new stories. Standard 9 for reading literature in the Common Core addresses this fact and requires that students be able to analyze how authors use the themes, stories, and characters of earlier works....
Curated OER
Ender's Game: Ender's Shadow Projects
Most likely intended for a secondary remedial class. This lesson engages high schoolers in literary analysis through a creative project. They choose one project focused on taking the protagonist through a hero's journey. This link...