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Bloody Business
Students research word frequencies in Macbeth and create a frozen picture inspired by a word. For this Macbeth lesson, students view Blood Will Have Blood and discuss the dual meaning of the word "blood." Students identify five major...
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"What are these...?"
Students discuss the "witches" of Shakespeare. For 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 which ones...
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Writing Process
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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Macbethan Art
Young scholars review and reproduce an article of Elizabethan styled clothing as a part of an analysis of Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this Elizabethan art instructional activity, students discuss the fashion of the Elizabethan era and...
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The Play's the Thing
Students study the life and works of William Shakespeare. They investigate the art of playwriting and write a play of their own.
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The Wooden 0
In this "The Wooden O" instructional activity, students read about the first public theatres in London and answer discussion questions about attending a play during the 1500-1600's. Students then create a poster of the Globe theatre and...
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This Was the Noblest Roman of Them All
High schoolers analyze the problems with staging and character using the play Julius Caesar. They summarize the final scene of the play and view film versions of the scene. Additionally, they prepare a promptbook for the final scene and...
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Macbeth Presentations
Students make Powerpoint presentations or Web pages about Macbeth. Their presentations must include at least three elements from a provided list. They write reflective papers about their learning experience.
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Knock, Knock, or Whose Line is it Anyway?
Students compare two versions of Macbeth and participate in improvisational acting. In this improvisational lesson, students read and discuss the text before watching two different versions of the film. Students roleplay a scenario and...
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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: A Dual Exploration of Macbeth
Students emulate a key practice of Renaissance theater: doubling. The goal of this lesson is for students to experience-to see, hear, and feel-the differences between characters. Each group presents scenes to the rest of the class.
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Who's There: Acting in the Dark
High schoolers participate in a performance of Macbeth using the lighting techniques that were employed during the Shakespearean era. Working in groups, student reenact a scene. Afterward they discuss the challenges of working with...
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Viciousness in "Twelfth Night" and "Lord of the Flies"
Students work in discussion groups to examine the treatment of Malvolio in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" by comparing the play to the novel "Lord of the Flies".
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Punctuation
Should that pause in your sentence be long, short, or somewhere in between? Practice using commas and semicolons with a series of grammar activities. High schoolers read a series of sentences and paragraphs and decide where they should...
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And. . . Freeze!
Students read a short section of a scene very closely and develop a tableaux as a start to the performance process. They write a paragraph in the voice of a character. They present their beginning, middle and end tableaux to the class.
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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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The Power of Music
Students analyze the music Shakespeare chose for his play The Tempest. They seek to research why he alluded to popular music and contemporary artists. Students make connections between their own musical knowledge/tastes/interests and the...
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Othello's Father of the Bride
Students read and analyze Act one of the play Othello. They examine the themes of love and marriage and interpret Brabantio's words by using different subtexts.
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Othello's Predecessors: Moors in Renaissance Popular Literature
Students gather textual citations from Othello, discuss stereotypes that they hold, examine primary source materials, and write character profiles.
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"O, I have lost my reputation" - Why Reputation Matters in Othello
Students examine Othello's references to and attitudes toward reputation.
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Looking at Life through the Creation of Personal Metaphors
Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...
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Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
In this online interactive reading comprehension activity, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions based on Tristam Shandy. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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The Concept of the Hero
Students explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept lesson, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart. Students list the...
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Scatterbrained Soliloquies
Students reconstruct a famous soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet which the teacher has cut apart and scattered. They piece the soliloquy back together making sense of the passage.