Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Should Hamlet avenge his father's death? Is the ghost telling the truth or is it trying to trick Hamlet? Is Hamlet's inconsistent behavior a ploy or is he really insane? Something really is rotten in Denmark, and with the help of the...
University of North Carolina
Qualifiers
A lot of writers really struggle very much with adding a lot of qualifiers and intensifiers in their writing. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, a handout on the topic provides tips to help reduce a reliance on these...
Curated OER
Imagining Back Story: Creating an Artifact for an Extra-Extended Text
Students create a "back story" for a character from Measure for Measure. In this Measure for Measure lesson, students read the text closely as they look for clues about where the character came from and how he or she became what they...
Curated OER
State History Acting and Podcasting
Students participate in a play. For this historical figures lesson, students choose a person from history and take on their role. Students research the character, create historically accurate costumes and work in groups to prepare a...
Curated OER
Bend it Like Beckham--Getting to Know the Characters
In this character study worksheet, students answer 14 short answer questions based on the characters actions in the book, Bend it Like Beckham. Students also read a glossary of words that appear in the text. This worksheet also includes...
Curated OER
Measure for Measure: Fun Trivia Quiz
This online, interactive quiz does not have the rigor necessary for a class assignment on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure; however, your class may choose to self-assess their understanding by taking it on their own. It requires no...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
So Foul and Fair a Play
Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...
Curated OER
Understanding Other People's Decisions
Students analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...
EngageNY
Understanding Interactions: Launching Pygmalion, Part 1
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.
EngageNY
Reading for Fluency: Readers Theater about the Rainforest (Page 33)
Lights, camera, action. Scholars use page 33 of The Most Beautiful
Roof in the World to create a readers theater. They work in triads and use sticky notes to mark and create their own speaking parts from sections of the text. They then...
Curated OER
Define My Own Destiny: Using Arrested Development and Lauryn Hill to Teach Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun
Literary themes don't just belong to literature. High schoolers listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of Lorraine...
Curated OER
The Looking Glass Wars: Characters
Frank Beddor's fantasy, The Looking Glass Wars, is popular with young readers. This online interactive quiz tests familiarity with the characters.
Curated OER
Characterization in Literature
Students discover characterization techniques and methods. For this characterization lesson, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. Students then describe a family member or a friend...
Prestwick House
Our Town
A crossword puzzle asks readers of Thornton Wilder's play, Our Town, to recall events and characters in the 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Close Reading in the Classroom
Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...
Curated OER
Sports Heroes and Private Action for the Common Good
Young readers explore philanthropy and its effects on the public good. They discuss athletes and their examples as philanthropists. They research a sports hero and play "The Match Game" to determine what they know about other sports...
Curated OER
A Novel Idea
Pupils use Moodle to participate in a chat session to complete a character analysis for a novel they've studied. In this novel analysis and technology lesson, students are assigned a character from a specific chapter and use Moodle to...
Curated OER
Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say
Students examine and create their own interpretation of a particular character from the play, King Lear. They read the speeches, write a paragraph about their character, and present a short performance of their scene.
Curated OER
Othello's Father of the Bride
High schoolers read and analyze Act one of the play Othello. They examine the themes of love and marriage and interpret Brabantio's words by using different subtexts.
Curated OER
Focus Story: The Mitten
Students explore language arts by analyzing a story with their classmates. In this poetry identification lesson, students read the book The Mittens and identify the characters, plot and settings in the story. Students recite poems about...
Curated OER
Divinity of hell
Students have to look at the text of the play Othello and cut the text in half. Each group then moves to the computer to their right and continues on with what that group wrote. They then have to stage the final script and perform in...
Curated OER
Academy Awards for Books
Students are exposed to literature and create an Academy award for their piece of literature. They play an author or a character and present themselves, a category, and each of the nominees in that category to gain awareness of...
Curated OER
Monkey for Sale
Second graders use play quarters to "purchase" items. They discuss how these are choices the character in the story they will read has to make. Students read the book "Monkey for Sale." They discuss the choices Luzolo makes and how she...