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...
Teacher Created Materials
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
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...
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Heroes Past and Present
Learners identify characteristics of a hero, then write a narrative composition describing a heroic event.
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My Hero Learning Circle
Learners participate in a collaboration activity. In this My Hero Project lesson, students discover what a hero is to someone halfway around the world and themselves. Over the 16-week session, circles, made up of between 6-9 classes from...
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What Makes a Hero? Characteristics of a Hero
Students define the word hero, choose the personality traits they think make someone a hero, and write about the characteristics they think make a person a hero.
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Reading My Hero Stories
Students use the My Hero website to help them develop their reading skills. They create a KWL chart for the hero of their choice.
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Recording the Deed: Note-Taking on Heroes
Students prepare to write summaries of heroes. In this note-taking instructional activity, students listen to a guest speaker discuss the attributes of unsung heroes and take Cornell method notes.
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Pairing Picture Books with Edith Hamilton's Mythology
As a before reading strategy, class members select a tale from mythology, examine several picture book versions of the myth, and fill out part of a Venn diagram with observations about the hero in particular and the myth in general.They...
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Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
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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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Historic Heroes
Students recognize traits of heroes as depicted in music, art and literature. In this cross curricular lesson, students evaluate and analyze various works fo art from different cultures that depict heroes.
Pixton Comics Inc.
Elements of an Epic
Mythic heroes, gods and goddesses, and epic tales come alive as young artists craft their own graphic novel or mind map for classic epics, including The Odyssey, Beowulf, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, identifying the six elements of every...
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Paul Robeson: 20th-Century Renaissance Man, Hero In Any Century
Students explore several themes relevant to the life of Paul Robeson and the social, artistic, & political realities of the first half of the 20th century, identify and interview heroes in their communities, and publish profiles on...
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Looking at Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes
Students read about a god, goddess, or hero and compare two images of him or her.
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Project Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh and Leadership
Do leaders need to be more moral than followers? Does power corrupt? Can anyone be a leader? Begin a study of leadership with a reading of excerpts from the Epic of Gilgamesh. After examining the ancient Mesopotamian hero, class members...
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The Concept of the Hero
Learners explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept activity, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart. Learners list the...
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Latin American Women: Finding New Heroes
Students examine the life and works of various Latin American women. After reading excerpts of each work, they answer comprehension questions and discuss as a class. In groups, they re-write the Equality of Rights in their own words...
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Multi-Media Hero Analysis
Students consider how the attributes of heroes have evolved. In this character traits lesson plan, students define heroism in their culture and research the epic heroes of literature. Students select heroes to write about and share their...
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Beowulf Lesson Plan
Students analyze the text of Beowulf. In this epic poetry lesson, students explore the themes and imagery in the text to evaluate their meaning. Students analyze the Old English language and examine the cultural and historical context of...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Writing Assignment
As a culminating assignment for a unit study of heroes that uses The Hobbit as the core text, class members engage in a multi-genre writing project.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 4
Class members have an opportunity to compare how a film and a play handle the same source material by viewing the opening chapters of George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope and acts I and II of Ian Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's...
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What A Pair! A Cross Grade Writing Activity
What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...
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Exploring Arthurian Legend
Students investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into the...
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Claudio and Hero Lesson Plan
Students examine the roles of arranged marriage through their work with Shakespeare's, Much Ado About Nothing. They look at the roles of Claudio and Hero, and determine how their marriage could be considered to be arranged. They complete...