Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on different parts of the text and different reading skills throughout any of William Shakespeare's immortal plays.

 

Concepts

william shakespeare, responding to literature, british literature, reading comprehension

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Use all ten roles in larger groups, or choose the most helpful roles that you'll need for smaller groups
• Encourage literature circles to present the results of their discussions in key parts of the plays
• Adapt the lesson to plays or novels by different authors or in different genres

Classroom Considerations

• Some roles require higher reading levels than others; consider differentiating the activity by assigning roles according to reading and skill level within your groups

Pros

• Each role encourages learners to think critically about the text
• Fosters both independent study skills and collaborating learning

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4 RL.11-12.1 RL.11-12.2 RL.11-12.3 RL.11-12.4