Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say
Students examine and create their own interpretation of a particular character from the play, King Lear. They read the speeches, write a paragraph about their character, and present a short performance of their scene.
Curated OER
Make Your Own Soundtrack for Macbeth !
Students create a 10 song soundtrack for Macbeth explaining why the songs are included. They design a tape cover jacket that illustrates the play.
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The Twelve Fates of Twelfth Night
Tenth graders are to discuss the subject of fate in The Twelfth Night and try to predict the fate of the other characters in the play.
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Hamlet and the Pirates
Young scholars 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. Young scholars analyze primary documents...
Curated OER
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...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - The Ruin
Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...
Curated OER
Change slander to remorse: Unscripted Scenes
Pupils hypothesize about the content of unscripted moments, search for evidence in the actual text to support their hypothesis, and explore how this hypothesis would affect characterization.
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Like, Wow
Students read Hamlet. They read again and hunt for a word that appears 4 times. They identify the word "like" and define it. Volunteers act out the scene and they discuss the uses of the word like. They discuss the senses and reality in...
Curated OER
King Lear's Storm
Students read speeches from King Lear. They examine the sppeach for meaning by paraphrasing and defining words. They read aloud with "storm" in their voices. Groups perform their speech and class discusses it in terms of inner vs. outer...
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MTV Othello
Young scholars read a scene in Othello. They create a performance of a song in Othello. They perform their "ow Song"s and compare and contrast the interpretations.
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The Bard in the Big Apple
Identify their feelings about Shakespeare's plays, addressing their readability and relevance to their lives. 
2. Explore  the effects of remaking Shakespeare plays in a modern context, as well as differences that emerge when a play is...
Curated OER
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Learners discover literature by conducting a free writing experiment. In this sonnet lesson, students read the sonnet "The Parting" and compare it to modern-day songs about breaking up. Learners listen to pop music in class and...
Curated OER
Literature: It's a Mad, Mad Macbeth
Students determine how the themes expressed in Macbeth are also applicable to contemporary society. They complete a series of written assignments demonstrating their comprehension of theme, content, and interpretation of the play....
Curated OER
Juliius Caesar
Students discuss suggestive language and the use of symbols and foreshadowing in Shakespeare's plays.  In this Julius Caesar lesson, students discuss the idea that men control their own fates.  Students examine the words of...
Curated OER
Original Line or Familiar Find?
Students examine a primary source document from 1684 that includes many of the same lines found in Romeo's speech to Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Students compare the texts and discuss authorship during the sixteenth and...
Curated OER
Macbeth
Students engage in a variety of activities in order to complete a unit about the Shakespeare work of Macbeth. The lessons are part of a layered curriculum. The objective is to create a portfolio to create more layers.
Curated OER
We and Thee
High schoolers examine class structure. In this diversity education lesson, students discuss stereotypes within their school as an introduction to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. After high schoolers have read the play and discussed...
Curated OER
Whatever Happened to Shylock?
High schoolers, in groups, write and perform an unwritten scene from a play they are reading.
Curated OER
Hear, Hear
Students participate in a listening assessment. In this listening skills lesson, students listen to presentations by classmates and then write essays about the use of dialogue in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
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....
Curated OER
Trust
Students read and discuss Romeo and Juliet Act IV, Scenes 1 and 2. They compare the unfolding action with yesterday's predictions. They consider the concepts of trust, fate, and self-determination.
Curated OER
Macbeth Presentations
Young scholars 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.