Disguises and role playing are the focus of a resource that uses Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part I, to demonstrate how we all play many parts in our lives; how we all are “merely players.” The many...

Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...

Take a journey to India with a read aloud of The Drum: A Folktale from India by Rob Cleveland. Make connections to the story's theme by building and practicing drums, role playing story characters, and practicing skills in phonics, math,...

What a tragedy! Scholars take a close look at Greek tragedy in the form of plays. After analyzing plays, learners think about a play that relates to their own personal anxiety and recreate or reinterpret a scene from that play.

Young scholars are challenged to write a realistic analysis of Tennessee Williams' nonrealistic memory play, The Glass Menagerie. Writers use the evidence gathered on their worksheets to craft an effective thesis and concluding statement...

All's well that ends does not apply to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Scholars read Act 5.2 using the resource, discovering the play's tragic resolution. Pupils complete a Quick Write analyzing how Hamlet's downfall contributes to the play's...

The first lesson in a three-part unit has high schoolers examine The Glass Menagerie as an example of expressionist theatre. After reading a short article about expressionism, scholars list expressionist techniques in Tennessee...

How can an author's decisions impact a text? Using an insightful resource, scholars begin their study of Hamlet by reading Act 1.1. They explore the language, characters, and setting in small groups. Upon finishing group work, pupils...

Following a ghost's advice may not be in anyone's best interest, but that doesn't stop Hamlet! Using an exciting resource, pupils continue reading Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the ghost tries to convince Hamlet to seek revenge...

To make the point that there are many forms of language, each with its own purpose, class members select 10 lines from Doescher's play, translate these lines first into contemporary English and then into "SMS/Tweet." 

The set for a play combines design elements (style, line, shape, mass, measure, position, color, and texture) and principles of composition (unity, harmony, contrast, variation, balance, proportion, and emphasis) to create a particular...

Scholars complete their study of the collective fear in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" by conducting a mock trial to determine how many witches are in the class. Groups then analyze sections of the play for the literary devices used and...

Using the list of expressionist techniques generated in the first lesson, groups analyze how Williams uses these techniques to develop one of the play's themes. The whole class then shares and discusses the examples they found where...

How does Shakespeare develop the main ideas in Hamlet? Using the resource, scholars continue analyzing the famous monologue from the play. They identify a central idea from the passage and write to explain how it relates to other central...

What tools did Shakespeare use to develop his characters in the play Hamlet? With the resource, pupils engage in a discussion about how the character Claudius introduces and develops Hamlet. They explain how word choices in Claudius's...

Scholars delve into Act 1.2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. By completing a writing exercise and participating in a class discussion, they continue to analyze how the author develops the characters in the play.

How does Shakespeare develop the characters of Laertes and Ophelia in Hamlet? Scholars complete a Quick Write to answer the question. They also continue reading and discussing the first act of the play.

How does Shakespeare employ figurative language to emphasize central ideas in Hamlet? Using an interesting resource, learners complete a Quick Write to answer the question. Additionally, they continue their study of the play by exploring...

What is Hamlet's attitude towards life and death in Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars continue reading the play to answer the question, paying particular attention to Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. By holding a discussion and completing...

How do Poe's choices of imagery, rhythm and rhyme scheme, and structure help build the desired single effect of "The Raven"? After listening to a dramatic reading of the poem, class members consider whether Poe's choices do...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

Much like an iceberg, the actors you see on stage are only a fraction of the number of people involved in a theatrical production. Introduce theatre arts young scholars to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an...

Learners take a gallery walk around the room to view images and text of Victorian England culture and then complete a Predictions Walk note-catcher as they circulate and take turns reading quotation strips from Pygmalion. Class...

During a reading of one section of Pygmalion, individuals begin thinking more deeply about identity. They also complete text-dependent questions and a close reading guide.