National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the "Dagger of the Mind"
High schoolers read and analyze Shakespeare's play, 'Macbeth.' They analyze how Shakespeare uses metaphors, imagery and dramatic cues to demonstrate Macbeth's response to fear, and perform without words a scene dramatizing Macbeth's...
Shakespeare Uncovered
“Speak, I Charge You”: Macbeth On Your Feet, Not In Your Seat
“Is this a dagger which I see before me . . .” As part of a study of Macbeth, class members engage in a series of activities that get them up and moving. Individuals practice, then deliver, a line from the Scottish play. The entire class...
Curated OER
Macbeth News Broadcast
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
Curated OER
Macbeth: Denouement/Falling Action
Readers of Shakespeare explore denouement in Macbeth and track the play's falling action in Act IV, Scene 1. They complete a worksheet/table noting the content and significance of each of the three apparitions granted Macbeth by the...
Curated OER
Macbeth
Students explore and analyze how to approach Shakespeare and create more meaning in a variety of contexts. In groups, they imagine three witches on the heath and trying to play it straight. They study various script extracts to evaluate.
Curated OER
Analyzing Atmosphere: Macbeth Murder Scene and Dagger Speech
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...
Curated OER
Exploring the Expository Scenes in Macbeth
Students examine the function of exposition in play structure. They will be able to develop multiple interpretations and visual and aural production choices for Shakespearean scenes and choose those that are most interesting.
Curated OER
What's in a Name? Considering the Shakespeare Authorship Question
Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil
Students use an online search engine (or a printed concordance) to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's response to fear and his descent into evil. They analyze the motives of Macbeth's increasingly desperate and evil actions.
Curated OER
Stomping and Romping with Shakespeare
Did you know that Green Eggs and Ham is written in iambic pentameter? Model the rhythm of language using Dr. Seuss’s tale. Direct class members to march about the room tapping their right foot on the first syllable and stomping their...
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Macbeth
After reading Act II of The Tragedy of Macbeth, give your class this prompt to complete. One other question is listed along with information regarding the divine right of kings. A full plan is not written out here, but the prompt is a...
Curated OER
Macbeth: Shakespeare for Elementary Students (Elementary, Literature)
Students act out a fully realized Shakespearean play designed to be utilized by mid level elementary students.
Curated OER
Macbeth
Students examine patterns of imagery in Macbeth by using online resources. Students compare the patterns they see to those they've found in other Shakespeare plays. Then students draw conclusions about why Shakespeare might have used the...
Curated OER
Macbeth: What's Up with the Crime Scene?
High schoolers 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.
Curated OER
Acting in Marriage-Is It on Stage or Off?
Learners compare views of marriage in Macbeth and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In this comparative literature lesson, students discuss and debate the marriages of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's...
Curated OER
Screwing Courage in Macbeth
Students 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.
National Literacy Trust
Mark The Bard!
Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...
Curated OER
MacBeth Activity Using Alanis Morissette's "Wake Up"
Young scholars analyze Macbeth through the lens of a pop song. In this Macbeth instructional activity, students read Act I, Scene 7 of Macbeth and determine Lady Macbeth's viewpoint. Young scholars read the lyrics to Alanis Morrissette's...
Curated OER
Macbeth Madness
Young scholars analyze Shakespeare's Macbeth by completing the creative activities. In this Macbeth instructional activity, students discuss the timeline for William Shakespeare and identify the characters for Macbeth. Young scholars...
PBS
Supernatural Shakespeare and Macbeth
"A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come." The withered and wild witches of Shakespeare’s Scottish play launch an examination of the fantastical elements in Act I, scene iii, paying particular attention to the action, imagery,...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Shakespeare and Macbeth: The Story Behind the Play
Students read Shakespeare and Macbeth: The Story Behind the Play by Stewart Ross. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the play and Shakespearian culture. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing,...
Curated OER
Macbeth - Analyzing Characterization in Drama
The writing activity in this lesson could be used to assess student understanding of previously taught concepts of how language reveals character.
Curated OER
Macbeth
Learners discuss the changes the characters go through in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. They discuss the themes of the play write an essay comparing current events to the themes of the play.
Curated OER
The Macbeth Tango
High schoolers 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...