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...

Should Romeo and Juliet have revealed their engagement to their parents? After reading Acts I and II of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, your class discusses this question with a SMARTboard presentation (though the lesson still works...

A 24-page teacher's guide to Romeo and Juliet includes scene-by-scene plot summaries, focus, discussion questions, and suggestions for individual and group projects.

An engaging video featuring William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is accompanied by six activities designed to reinforce vocabulary, story elements, and comprehension. Scholars match words to pictures, place events in sequential order,...

Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? After generating a list of the six characters most responsible, class members prepare for and engage in a formal debate. Prior knowledge of basic rules for debate would be necessary.

Is your head beating as if it would break into twenty pieces looking for activities to accompany a reading of the woeful tale of Juliet and her Romeo? Here's a weighty tool kit that won't hurt your back. The packet is divided into 20...

West Side Story, the modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, won ten Academy Awards for its rousing depiction of the tale of star-crossed lovers. But how closely does the plot align to its source material? Compare and...

Students put physical movement to the word of Romeo's ozymoronic speech in order to explain the trauma that he is experiencing.

"It is my lady, O, It is my Love!" Provide class members an opportunity to develop their skills reading difficult text with an exercise that focuses on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii). Using the provided...

To prepare readers for some of the themes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, individuals complete an anticipation guide and then share their ideas in small groups.

'Tis not easy to understand the language of the Bard! But, hark! Fret not! With the assistance of this joyous lesson, young players learn how to translate Shakespeare's English into modern language. Groups examine passages from Julius...

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...

Tenth graders complete characterization analysis for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this characterization lesson, 10th graders work in learning tiers to analyze the characters and plot in the play. Students work under, at,...

Class members continue their study of Romeo and Juliet by watching scenes from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and then examining the figurative language Shakespeare uses in Act 1, scene 5, lines 92–109 when Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball.

The balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet takes center stage as class members consider the structural choices Shakespeare makes, i.e., having Romeo appear first in the scene and having Juliet appear unaware that Romeo is listening to her...

Readers examine the conversation between Friar Laurence and Romeo in Act 3, scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet and consider how Shakespeare's word choices impact the development of Romeo's character.

Class members watch the clip of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in which Benvolio persuades Romeo to go with him to the Capulet ball to see Rosaline. Pairs then examine Act 1, scene 3, lines 64–100, and consider how Shakespeare develops...

After viewing Baz Luhrmann’s depiction of Romeo and Juliet's marriage, the class listens to a recording of Act 3, Scene 1, lines 59–110. Then, groups consider how Shakespeare develops Romeo’s character through his interactions with...

Two sonnets, both alike in theme and story, break from ancient language to new glory. The prologue to Act I of Romeo and Juliet provides scholars with an opportunity to examine the language Shakespeare uses to create timeless stories....

Class members begin their study of Romeo and Juliet by examining the words Shakespeare chooses in the Prologue to Act I to create the tragic tone of his famous play about star-crossed lovers.

High schoolers unearth multiple meanings based on connotation and cadence. After defining denotation, connotation, and cadence, readers evaluate similar words to compare connotations. They then play with how cadence affects meaning by...

Students explore Shakespeare's use of poetic conventions, examine the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet and gain experience in close readng and the interpretation of verse structure and imagery.

Words carry weight. And some words carry baggage. Scholars learn the difference in a study of connotation and denotation. Individuals sort the cards into three groupings using words from Shakespeare's play. After sharing within groups,...

Marc Chagall's painting Romeo and Juliet and Baz Lurhmann's film of the same scene in Romeo + Juliet allow class members to analyze how artists consider the same subject in different media.