Students identify themes in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet by analyzing the film or text. In this tolerance lesson, students create their own Elizabethan era terms related to interacting with different social groups. In groups,...

Learners research personal bias towards the story Marriage is a Private Affair. In this tradition research instructional activity, students read the story and discuss the ending. Learners free write about the topic and complete a Venn...

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".

Students use online resources in order to examine patterns of imagery in As You Like It. By comparing these patterns to those of other Shakespeare plays, students draw conclusions about the different reasons Shakespeare uses imagery in...

Eleventh graders analyze a Shakespeare soliloquy by writing a prose summary of it. They keep a character journal, following one character through the play and analyzing what the character does and says, as well as, might have done or...

Students study characterization and the difference between subjective and objective points of view by creating tableaux to depict three interpretations of the story of Prospero's overthrow, each with a very different point of view. They...

Young scholars use Shakespeare's plays to add modern music to match the mood in the play. They assign adjectives to the original songs of the play and find a song with the same mood. They work together to role-play the play with new music.

High schoolers do a close character study of the characters in scenes 1.3 and 2.3 from Twelfth Night. They read a primary source about the effects of drunkenness and examine its role in the characters of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Students...

High schoolers engage in a activity looking at a major scene of a Shakespeare play. They assume the role play of being the director and apply problem solving skills in order to conduct the scene. Others must switch roles and take on the...

Pupils activity find the multiplicity of meanings buried within Shakespeare's language. They examine how the meanings of words differ in modern America and in Venice.

Students analyze Shakespeare's words through scenes and portions of scenes. They compare the characters' motives and make connections between the text they are performing and the larger context of the play. They participate in panel...

Students explore Hamlet's character. In this Shakespeare lesson, 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 words...

Through this exercise, high schoolers identify character traits present in Romeo and Juliet. They listen to an excerpt from "The Office of Christian Parents: Showing How Children Are to be Governed" and participate in a Socratic...

What is a bully? Romeo and Juliet's Act 3 Scene 1 gives eighth and ninth graders the perfect opportunity to explore bullying. After doing some Internet research on bullying characteristics, groups reenact the scene to decide who is...

Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...

Does any word rhyme with orange? Young poets try their hand at crafting a Shakespearean sonnet by first creating list of rhyming words. They then examine the use of unstressed and stressed syllables in iambic pentameter and the rhyme...

My love is like an anaconda. Huh? Scholars investigate similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification used by writers to express feelings. They examine lyrics from songs and lines from Romeo and Juliet and consider how the use of...

The second lesson in a two-part series that prepares high schoolers for a study of Othello focuses on additional pre-reading strategies. Pupils reflect on what they have learned and consider what they would like to learn about the play....

"O, I am fortune's fool!" As they continue their analysis of Act 3, scene 1, class members consider the role of fate in the events. The lesson concludes with a viewing of a brief portion of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, in which the...

After watching the scene from Romeo + Juliet in which Juliet argues with her parents because she does not want to marry Paris, groups do a close reading of Act 4, scene 1, lines 44-88, examining the word choices in the conversation...

"Thus, with a kiss, I die." After viewing a film clip of the events leading up to Romeo's suicide, class members analyze Act 5, scene 3, lines 88-120, in which Romeo drinks the apothecary's poison.

Where does Friar Laurence's loyalty lie? After listening to a reading of Act 4, scene 1, lines 89-126 of Romeo and Juliet, groups examine the details of Friar Laurence's plan.

Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 139-170, is the focus of this day's lesson plan. Readers examine the dramatic irony in Juliet's comments and consider how "lamentable chance" caused by a "greater power" plays a role in the tragedy.

To prepare for the unit's final assessment essay, class members collaborate to find evidence that reveals Romeo and Juliet as tragic heroes.