Relationships between characters generate energy that propels the plot and connects events with a central idea. Track character development and meaningful relationships with a literary analysis lesson focused on H.G. Bissinger's Friday...

Class members continue their analysis of Letters to a Young Poet, paying particular attention to how Rilke uses metaphor to develop his ideas about the source of inspiration.

Guided by the provided questions, readers of David Mitchell's "Hangman" examine the author's figurative language to develop the constant struggle in Jason and Hangman's relationship.

How does word choice influence the meaning and tone of a text? To answer this question, class members listen to a masterful reading of a passage from David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and then work with a partner to conduct a close...

What is the source and meaning of beauty? As part of their reading of David Mitchell's Black Swan Green, class members analyze Madame Crommelynck's conversation with Jason to determine how the conversation about beauty develops a central...

Class members continue their reading of Ethan Canin's "The Palace Thief," focusing on how the relationship between the narrator and Sedgewick changes after the narrator meets Sedgewick's father.

Now what? Class members continue their close reading of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” focusing on Hundert's feelings about his retirement, and consider what these feelings reveal about his character.

Is identity unchanging? Do events in our childhood forever influence our character? Groups ponder these questions as they examine Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief.”

Do our childhood circumstances significantly shape us? As the close reading of “The Palace Thief” continues, groups examine how the results of the first "Mr. Julius Caesar" competition influenced the development of the characters in...

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 a clip from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in which major characters are introduced, and the violence between the Montagues and the Capulets is depicted, the class reads Act 1, Scene 1, lines 158-202. Groups then analyze the...

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...

"O, I am fortune's fool!" As they continue their analysis of Act 3, scene 1, class members consider the role of fate in the events. The lesson concludes with a viewing of a brief portion of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, in which the...

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.

Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 139-170, is the focus of this day's lesson plan. Readers examine the dramatic irony in Juliet's comments and consider how "lamentable chance" caused by a "greater power" plays a role in the tragedy.

Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...

What do your words say about you? Scholars look closely at the Duke's words about the Duchess in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. Readers talk in groups to determine how the words help them learn more about the Duke. Learners also...

What do words say about a person? Scholars closely examine the words Robert Browning uses to describe the Duchess in My Last Duchess. They work in groups to answer guided questions about how words help develop the Duchess as a character....

Scholars analyze words to determine the central idea of the poem My Last Duchess. Pupils begin by discussing homework and then form pairs to work through a list of questions about the poem. Finally, they complete a brief writing prompt...

Virginia Woolf didn't believe a woman could have written Shakespeare's works. Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion to analyze how Woolf uses rhetoric to convey her point of view in A Room of One's Own. Pupils write...

What was Shakespeare's youth like? Virginia Woolf considers the question in her nonfiction text, A Room of One's Own. Scholars begin reading Woolf's work before analyzing some of the text. Next, they write an objective summary and...

Scholars explore Act 5.2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Hamlet and Laertes injure each other with a poisoned blade. To finish the lesson plan, pupils also write about two central ideas from the play.

How does the comparison of Hamlet to Fortinbras develop Hamlet's character? Scholars complete a Quick Write to answer the question. They also continue their exploration of Shakespeare's Hamlet, reading and discussing Act 4.4.

Rest in peace, Ophelia! Scholars read about Ophelia's burial in Act 5.1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. They complete a Quick Write to analyze the characters' reactions to Ophelia's death.