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Inside Hamlet
Students 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. Students discuss the inflection patterns and tone in the reading...
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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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Hamlet on the Ramparts: A Pre-reading Activity
Students explore the first act of Hamlet. In this Shakespeare lesson, students pantomime important events from Hamlet in a pre-reading activity. Classmates observe the performances and write reviews.
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Appreciating the Language and Interpreting the Meaning of Hamlet's Soliloquy
Learners 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. Learners then read the lines aloud and identify descriptive words. Students...
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Wordles, Wordles, Wordles: Pre-Reading for Hamlet Using Key Words
Students analyze a Wordle of the top 150 words in Hamlet and complete a study of the language in the play. In this Hamlet literacy lesson plan, students work in groups to complete the given handouts to categorize the words of the play...
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Literary Response and Analysis Theme Literature
Analyze the central idea or literary theme found in a series of quotes from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. For literary analysis, learners paraphrase excerpts from the play and then identify the characters' motivations for their speech.
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Close Reading
Eleventh graders read and study Hamlet. Then they are introduced to close reading as a means of understanding what is being read--not only understanding the printed word, but also the nuances and connotations of language as it is used by...
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Parodies of Shakespeare
Students view a video clip about parodies. They identify the characteristics of a parody in Mark Twain's work as well. They practice writing Shakepeare like verses.
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You Can't Go Home Again (or, If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother)
Learners read a scene from Hamlet, without stage directions. They recreate the scene using their own stage directions as they see fit for the scene.
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Hamlet
Students 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 students draw conclusions about why Shakespeare might have used the...
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What is Hamlet Thinking?
Students explore Hamlet's character. In this Shakespeare activity, students read the selected lines from Hamlet and write any unusual or difficult phrases. Students highlight the names of characters who speak the lines and underline...
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Hamlet and the Pirates
High schoolers use seventeenth century primary sources to understand the off-stage pirate attack that occurs in Hamlet. Students read and discuss Hamlet's letter to Horatio from the play, Hamlet. High schoolers analyze primary documents...
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Reviewing Status Using Hamlet
High schoolers 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...
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A Guilty Gertrude: Performing Speaking and Silent Moments in Hamlet
Learners examine Gertrude's (in Hamlet) behavior, lines and thoughts for what it reveals about Ophelia's madness. They synthesize what they know about Gertrude to perform her character in a scene. They write stage directions and discuss...
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Shakespeare's Words
Students explore monologues of Shakespeare and the structure of the Globe Theatre. They participate in a Shakespeare phrase guessing game, examine a diagram of the Globe Theatre, and read and discuss monologues from Shakespeare.
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Performing Modernized Shakespeare
Students select a piece of text from a play and prepare it for performance to the class based on their modern setting.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Rethinking Ophelia
How can a gender theoretical lens shape the way Ophelia is perceived in Hamlet? That is the question writers must answer in an explanatory essay to conclude their study of Shakespeare's revenge tragedy.
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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.
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Hamlet's Denmark
Students analyze literature and apply it to current times. They organize complex information and communicate it in writing. They edit their own communications and that of their peers.
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"To Be Or Not To Be" And the VT
Using the online Visual Thesaurus, nascent actors work in groups to analyze and interpret Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be" monologue. Individuals then craft a contemporary version of this famous speech and present their adaptation to the...
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Remembrance of Yours--Analyzing Characters Using Mementos
Students choose two characters in Hamlet and symbolize the characters with an object, or find an object that the characters might carry. For this Hamlet lesson, students find an object to represent each character they choose. The object...
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Relationship Role Plays
Learners connect a scene from a play they are reading to events in their own lives. Working in male/female pairs, students act out a scene from "Hamlet." Pairs work to role play a scene as an extension of the one they have read, using...
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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 instructional activity. To analyze characters thoroughly, learners create life boxes. Each box will pertain to a...
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Folger on the Ramparts
Students use the website "Hamlet on the Ramparts" to investigate different ways of producing the ghost scenes 1.4 and 1.5 of Hamlet. They use this information to help them develop their own ideas on staging these important scenes.