Curated OER
Like, Wow
Learners read Hamlet. They read again and hunt for a word that appears 4 times. They identify the word "like" and define it. Volunteers act out the scene and they discuss the uses of the word like. They discuss the senses and reality in...
Curated OER
King Lear's Storm
Learners read speeches from King Lear. They examine the sppeach for meaning by paraphrasing and defining words. They read aloud with "storm" in their voices. Groups perform their speech and class discusses it in terms of inner vs. outer...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
The Bard in the Big Apple
Identify their feelings about Shakespeare's plays, addressing their readability and relevance to their lives.
2. Explore the effects of remaking Shakespeare plays in a modern context, as well as differences that emerge when a play is...
Curated OER
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Students discover literature by conducting a free writing experiment. In this sonnet lesson plan, students read the sonnet "The Parting" and compare it to modern-day songs about breaking up. Students listen to pop music in class and...
Curated OER
Literature: It's a Mad, Mad Macbeth
Students determine how the themes expressed in Macbeth are also applicable to contemporary society. They complete a series of written assignments demonstrating their comprehension of theme, content, and interpretation of the play....
Curated OER
Juliius Caesar
Students discuss suggestive language and the use of symbols and foreshadowing in Shakespeare's plays. In this Julius Caesar lesson, students discuss the idea that men control their own fates. Students examine the words of...
Curated OER
Original Line or Familiar Find?
Young scholars examine a primary source document from 1684 that includes many of the same lines found in Romeo's speech to Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Students compare the texts and discuss authorship during the sixteenth...
Curated OER
Macbeth
Students engage in a variety of activities in order to complete a unit about the Shakespeare work of Macbeth. The lessons are part of a layered curriculum. The objective is to create a portfolio to create more layers.
Curated OER
We and Thee
Students examine class structure. In this diversity education lesson, students discuss stereotypes within their school as an introduction to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. After students have read the play and discussed social class...
Curated OER
Whatever Happened to Shylock?
High schoolers, in groups, write and perform an unwritten scene from a play they are reading.
Curated OER
Hear, Hear
Students participate in a listening assessment. In this listening skills lesson, students listen to presentations by classmates and then write essays about the use of dialogue in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
Curated OER
Appreciating the Language and Interpreting the Meaning of Hamlet's Soliloquy
Learners analyze Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be." In this Hamlet lesson plan, students define unfamiliar words in the soliloquy and interpret the lines. Learners then read the lines aloud and identify descriptive...
Curated OER
Trust
Young scholars 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.
Curated OER
Macbeth Presentations
Students make Powerpoint presentations or Web pages about Macbeth. Their presentations must include at least three elements from a provided list. They write reflective papers about their learning experience.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Sonnet 130
Students identify and interpret the structural features of literature through the study, analysis and production of Poetry. Including the structural characteristics. Students write a sonnet including required elements, such as length,...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - My Last Dutchess
Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be lessoned by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “My...
Shakespeare in American Life
"Strike a Pose:" Music and Vogueing in The Winter's Tale
After class members have read and discussed Act III of The Winter’s Tale, groups select one line from Act III, scene i that they feel captures the essence of the entire scene. They then create a tableaux that best depicts the scene’s...
Curated OER
Exploring Rhythm in Richard III
Students analyze how the rhythm of how the words are presented affect meaning and tone in scenes from Richard III. In this meaning and tone lesson plan, students analyze dialogue between Lady Anne and Richard and how the rhythm and sound...