Curated OER
Macbeth
Students examine patterns of imagery in Macbeth 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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Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
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English Literature - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Everything you wanted to know about the history of English literature and language but were afraid to ask. From Beowulf to Canterbury Tales, the Knights of the Round Table to Robin Hood, Addison, Fielding, Shakespeare, Swift, and many...
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Romeo and Juliet Promptbook - The Balcony Scene
In this Romeo and Juliet worksheet, students view three versions of the balcony scene. Students discuss why the director chose the elements for the film versions. Students then complete a prompt-book activity analyze the setting,...
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"Words, words, words"
Students discuss words that represent the "big ideas" in Othello and that recur throughout the play. They will be assigned words to track throughout the text, recording which character says the word and in what context.
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Get Thee To Wife!
High schoolers read and analyze a piece of literature from 1591 to investigate whether Elizabethan fathers were patriarchal dicatators. Students read the passage and answer questions to determine what fathers were like during the late...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Fact Sheet: Writing Plays
Who were some of the popular playwrights of Elizabethan England? Using the provided fact sheets, scholars research playwrights, explore three different types of plays, and learn about censorship in Elizabethan England.
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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...
Orlando Shakes
Arms and the Man: Study Guide
Few aspects of life make better fodder for a comedic play than politics. A study guide introduces George Bernard's Shaw comedy Arms and the Man. Along with summaries of each scene and brief biographies of the main characters, two lesson...
Orlando Shakes
The Importance of Being Earnest: Study Guide
Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social issues he...
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"Such Affection Move": Finding Staging Clues in A Midsummer Night's Dream
Students perform various scenes from the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. They examine and discuss the text and stage directions, then perform their scenes in small groups for the class.
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Twelfth Night
In this Twelfth Night worksheet, students complete a love triangle from Act One, underline words that describe Sir Toby, answer four questions about characters, and look at the relationship between two characters. Students answer twelve...
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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...
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Merchant of Venice
Students examine patterns of imagery in Merchant of Venice 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...
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Original Line or Familiar Find?
Pupils 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...
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The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Students discover literature by conducting a free writing experiment. For this sonnet lesson, students read the sonnet "The Parting" and compare it to modern-day songs about breaking up. Students listen to pop music in class and complete...
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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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Bridging the Language Gap
Students gain an understanding of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In this drama activity, students read the second act of the play and then rewrite the original passages in today's English.
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Hear, Hear
Young scholars participate in a listening assessment. In this listening skills instructional activity, students listen to presentations by classmates and then write essays about the use of dialogue in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
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Hero vs. Claudio: A Case of Slander
High schoolers research marriage customs of the Renaissance, discuss and debate the issues raised by Claudio repudiating Hero at the altar in the Shakespearean play Much Ado About Nothing, and then stage a mock trial accusing Claudio of...
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Caesar
Young scholars examine patterns of imagery in Caesar by using online resources. Students compare the patterns they see to those they've found in other Shakespeare plays. Then young scholars draw conclusions about why Shakespeare might...
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Richard II
Students examine patterns of imagery in Richard II 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...
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History of English
Providing both a history of English before England (Sino-Tibetan, Finno-Ugric, Hamido-Semitic, Indo-European) and a history of English in England, this presentation includes charts and many examples of the changes in the English language...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Close Reading in the Classroom
Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...