Students engage in a lesson looking at a major scene of a Shakespeare play. They assume the role play of being the director and apply problem solving skills in order to conduct the scene. Others must switch roles and take on the roles of...

Students read and discuss Act V, Scene 1. They define foreshadowing and identify examples of it from the text. They edit a partner's diary entry. They identify key ideas from the scene.

Students read and discuss Romeo and Juliet Act IV, Scenes 1 and 2. They compare the unfolding action with yesterday's predictions. They consider the concepts of trust, fate, and self-determination.

Students write words that describe the Ghost in Hamlet and act out scenes to grab the audience's attention. In this Hamlet lesson plan, students use language to interpret feeling and grab the audience's attention.

Students dramatize a two act play in which scene one depicts the story of Lazzaro Spallanzani and the second act deal with Louis Pasteur and his refutation of spontaneous generation.

Students listen to the story, discuss how Christmas is celebrated, and construct a nativity scene.  In The Little Star lesson, students hear the story showing Christmas as a religious festival.  Students act out the story and...

Students interpret scenes from a novel they are reading. In this literature activity, students select scenes from The Stone Cutter to perform for their classmates. Students should attempt to recreate the emotions that think the...

Learners explore the first act of Hamlet. In this Shakespeare instructional activity, students pantomime important events from Hamlet in a pre-reading activity. Classmates observe the performances and write reviews.

An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...

Students compare views of marriage in Macbeth and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  For this comparative literature  lesson, students discuss and debate the marriages of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's...

Third graders reflect on and discuss the story, Jane and the Dragon, and portray their understanding of stereotyping through the actions of their character. Through the use of legends, drama can be used to educate understanding for other...

Students analyze Act 4, scene 1 from the play, Merchant of Venice. They hypothesize the content of an unscripted moment and response, look for evidence in the text to support their hypothesis, rewrite the scene, and perform it for the...

Second graders are assigned reading and acting parts by drawing out pieces of paper with an animal. They find their group by making the sound of the animal once everyone has drawn a paper. They then read and choose parts within their...

Young scholars participate in a performance of Macbeth using the lighting techniques that were employed during the Shakespearean era. Working in groups, student reenact a scene. Afterward they discuss the challenges of working with...

Fourth graders identify and examine the importance of civic responsibility and the result of losing many archeological sites in Texas. In groups, they are given scenerio cards and act out each scene for the class. They also write a...

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

Massive storms, shipwrecks, survivors stranded on an island ruled by an aging magician, and strange creatures—Shakespeare's The Tempest appeals to today's middle schoolers. For this unit, seventh graders read selections from an...

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...

After watching the scene from Romeo + Juliet in which Juliet argues with her parents because she does not want to marry Paris, groups do a close reading of Act 4, scene 1, lines 44-88, examining the word choices in the conversation...

Scholars meet in a drama circle to discuss what they remember from reading A Midsummer Night's Dream Act III, Scene 1 in the last activity. They then take turns reading the scene aloud, stopping to answer questions as they read. Learners...

Responsible speaker + critical listener = effective communication is the equation at the heart of a responsible listening lesson about the power of words. Class members view the clip of the courtroom scene from the film A Few...

Scholars examine how Brutus and Mark Antony employ ethos, pathos, and logos in their speeches to persuade the angry crowd in Act 3, scene 2 of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Julius Caesar. To set the stage, groups first identify the...

Ambition, murder, nontraditional gender roles ... some problems just can't be fixed in marriage counseling. Learners discuss the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. As a culminating activity, pupils analyze how the characters'...

Lady Macduff uses a metaphor to suggest that her husband does not possess the courage of even a tiny, short-winged bird—ouch! Using the resource, pupils discover Act 4.2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using reading, writing, and discussion,...