National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the "Dagger of the Mind"
High schoolers read and analyze Shakespeare's play, 'Macbeth.' They analyze how Shakespeare uses metaphors, imagery and dramatic cues to demonstrate Macbeth's response to fear, and perform without words a scene dramatizing Macbeth's...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Obama as the New Sisyphus
Reveal how Greek Mythology can play into American politics through this political cartoon, where President Obama is depicted as Sisyphus. Background information gives scholars access to the cartoon's context, and three talking points...
Annenberg Foundation
Native Voices
The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 2
Ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM. The force will be strong in the hearts of your young Jedi as they use their lightsabers to strike the accentted syllables in lines from Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New...
Mr. Roughton
CSI: Florence
Who done it? Class groups adopt the role of crime scene investigators and examine exhibits (primary source documents) to determine who attempted to assassinate the members of the Medici dynasty.
Curated OER
Macbeth: Quotations
In this Macbeth instructional activity, students read passages from Macbeth and answer the prompts for each one. Prompts include identifying the speaker, describing the context of the quote, and explaining the significance of one of...
Curated OER
Hamlet: Quotations
In this Hamlet worksheet, students read passages from Hamlet and answer the prompts for each one. Prompts include identifying the speaker, describing the context of the quote, and explaining the significance of one of four literary...
Curated OER
Using Rock to Teach Literary Devices: Jimi Hendrix “The Wind Cries Mary”
Students explore literary elements through music. In this figurative language lesson, students examine imagery and personification in "The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix.
Curated OER
Performing Sonnets
Young scholars use Shakespearean sonnets as part of a poetry analysis lesson. In this sonnet lesson, students perform a sonnet by Shakespeare but treat it as a script to be acted out. Young scholars work in pairs to create motions for...
Orlando Shakes
The Great Gatsby: Study Guide
Uncover the exciting world of the Roaring Twenties with The Great Gatsby study guide. Individuals become critics as they write a review of the production. Scholars also read historical information and analyze the differences between the...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 18
The punishment must fit the crime, even for a king. Sophocles' Oedipus the King meets its grisly end with a lesson that focuses on the conclusion of the play and Oedipus' self-assigned punishment. Learners connect the symbolism of his...
Orlando Shakes
Arms and the Man: Study Guide
Few aspects of life make better fodder for a comedic play than politics. A study guide introduces George Bernard's Shaw comedy Arms and the Man. Along with summaries of each scene and brief biographies of the main characters, two lesson...
K20 LEARN
It Wasn't Me: "The Crucible"
Scholars complete their study of the collective fear in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" by conducting a mock trial to determine how many witches are in the class. Groups then analyze sections of the play for the literary devices used and...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 7
The accusations begin in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, with troublemakers and enemies abound. As learners delve deeply into the sights unseen, they review textual evidence from their readings to write about the importance of timing in the...
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Literature Circles
Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...
Academy of American Poets
Voice
Four lessons make up a poetry unit that introduces high schoolers to spoken and written poetry. Class members also examine poems as social commentary and connect these poems to various novels and plays. A great way to incorporate poetry...
Montgomery Public Schools
Romeo and Juliet Study Packet
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a play about star-crossed lovers, resonates deeply with teenagers. The study packet contains study questions for each act of the play. Learners use a graphic organizer to analyze whether characters...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 2: The Tempest by William Shakespeare Teacher Guide
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 adapted...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 1
Class members begin their study of Romeo and Juliet by examining the words Shakespeare chooses in the Prologue to Act I to create the tragic tone of his famous play about star-crossed lovers.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 8
As a mid-unit assessment, class members craft an in-class essay response to the prompt: "How does Shakespeare’s development of the characters of Romeo and Juliet refine a central idea in the play?"
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 17
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.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 17
As Oedipus the King approaches its tragic conclusion, high schoolers discuss Oedipus' reaction to seeing his wife's body. They also examine how Sophocles structures the scene to contribute to the central idea of his play.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
With the help of this teacher's guide, it won't take 12 nights for scholars to complete their study of William Shakespeare's romantic comedy about twins Viola and Sebastian. Pompous prigs, he shes, fatuous fools, and lovelorn lovers...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
A study of The Taming of the Shrew proves to be problematic in contemporary classrooms. Is Shakespeare following Elizabethan conventions or being ironic? What are readers supposed to make of all the hunting imagery? Of Katherine's final...