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The Power of Music
Students analyze the music Shakespeare chose for his play The Tempest. They seek to research why he alluded to popular music and contemporary artists. Students make connections between their own musical knowledge/tastes/interests and the...
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Dropping-in a Line
Students read any play (A Midsummer Night's Dream, for example.) They participate in a teacher-led relaxation exercise designed to help the students review specific lines from the play. They write about the experience and answer other...
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Drama Terms Notes
Comedy, tragedy, act, scene, prop. do you want to review important drama terms? Actors record the term next to its definition on a worksheet that could be used individually or as a group activity. A link to a corresponding PowerPoint...
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Greek To Us - Comedy, Tragedy, and Satire
The history of Greek drama is the focus of this multiple-choice quiz. Ten questions ask about historical figures and the roots of tragedy and comedy in Greek religious festivals. While studying Greek drama, use this quiz to test your...
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Character Sketches
Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...
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Julius Caesar: iambic pentameter
Read in iambic pentameter! Read Julius Caesar and Macbeth to study the famous meter. While the lesson plan points out the specific passages to use, you'll have to find them and copy them yourself.
Novelinks
The Wednesday Wars: Concept Analysis
The Wednesday Wars is the focus of this resource designed for first-time teachers of Gary Schmidt's Newbery Award winning novel.
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Help!
Students read a scene from a given play. They act out the important details of the scene calling out for help from classmates as needed.
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Comparison of King Lear and King James
Students learn of the comparisons between Shakespeare's play, King Lear, and the actual King James. They make historical connections through internet research.
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Fools Following the Fools
Young scholars read "The Winter's Tale" in Foole Upon Foole to determine the qualities the author used for a fool. Students role play the character to determine how volume affects the way a character is perceived. Young scholars...
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Dramatic Pause
Students view live theatre. In this play productions instructional activity, students visit selected venues online or in person to see up to 41 plays in the United Kingdom.
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Let's Have a Lesson Within a Lesson
Students role-play the role of a student who does not comprehend the language the lesson is being instructed in. Using the internet, they research the characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations over time. In groups,...
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The Art of Poetry: The Lunatic, The Lover, and the Poet
Students, in groups, reflect on their attitudes towards poets and poetry. They read excerpts from George Puttenham's The Arte of English Poesie, which was written during Shakespeare's day. They compare their attitudes toward poetry to...
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What? Did Caesar Swoon?
Students discover the "dumb show," a scene that enacts a story silently while focusing on an example from Hamlet. Divided into groups, they act out the silent scene from the play. Again, in groups, they create a "dumb show" from Julius...
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"Romeo and Juliet" English Lesson Plans
English lesson plans focusing on "Romeo and Juliet" can be a great way to introduce students to Shakespeare's plays.
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Othello's Predecessors: Moors in Renaissance Popular Literature
Learners gather textual citations from Othello, discuss stereotypes that they hold, examine primary source materials, and write character profiles.
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"O, I have lost my reputation" - Why Reputation Matters in Othello
High schoolers examine Othello's references to and attitudes toward reputation.
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The Devilish Tinker Bell!
Twelfth graders examine how cultural context impacts interpretation and that there is more than one correct interpretation of text. Students compare Disney's version of Tinker Bell, from Peter Pan to James I's version of a fairy in...
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Change slander to remorse: Unscripted Scenes
Learners hypothesize about the content of unscripted moments, search for evidence in the actual text to support their hypothesis, and explore how this hypothesis would affect characterization.
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Ulysses Quiz
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 25 multiple choice questions about James Joyce's Ulysses. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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Knock, Knock, or Whose Line is it Anyway?
Students compare two versions of Macbeth and participate in improvisational acting. In this improvisational lesson, students read and discuss the text before watching two different versions of the film. Students roleplay...
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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: A Dual Exploration of Macbeth
Students emulate a key practice of Renaissance theater: doubling. The goal of this lesson is for students to experience-to see, hear, and feel-the differences between characters. Each group presents scenes to the rest of the class.
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Ariel, the occasionally, tricksy spirit
Students focus on Ariel's character and use online research and close reading in small groups and examine more understanding of the tricks spirit. Each group is assigned a scene and they make notes of Ariel's action, behavior, and...
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MTV Othello
High schoolers read a scene in Othello. They create a performance of a song in Othello. They perform their "ow Song"s and compare and contrast the interpretations.