Students analyzing a play can map out the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution for a variety purposes. This interactive is aimed at secondary students.

By closely reading historical documents and attempting to interpret them, students consider how Arthur Miller interpreted the facts of the Salem witch trials and how he successfully dramatized them in his play, "The Crucible." As they explore historical materials, such as the biographies of key players (the accused and the accusers) and transcripts of the Salem Witch trials themselves, students will be guided by aesthetic and dramatic concerns: In what ways do historical events lend themselves (or not) to dramatization? What makes a particular dramatization of history effective and memorable?

Observe the elephants at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Watch how they move. How do elephants move in ways that are similar to the way humans move? This activity is designed to start your students in recognizing themselves as scientists and thinking critically about problem-solving. The goal is to teach scientific concepts through arts integration and to encourage creativity. As with all lessons provided, please feel free to adapt them according to your students’ abilities. You may find it more successful to lead activities and discussions as a whole group as opposed to having your students work in small groups. Certain scientific vocabulary may or may not be appropriate for your students’ level of understanding. Take these ideas, make them your own and your students will have a greater chance at success.

Henrik Ibsen's play is available here to download or read online in multiple digital formats.

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

People often say that mankind should learn from history. Charles Dickens, whose books are considered classics, set his novel A Tale of Two Cities in the past. He wanted his readers to learn from the bloody French Revolution and from the widespread brutality in London. Both cities (Paris and London) offer the reader a glimpse into dark and dangerous times. As students read about Dickens's Victorian setting and learn his view of the French Revolution, they will think about what makes a just world. Students will have a chance to think about their own experiences, and, using techniques they have learned from Charles Dickens, they will do some writing that sends a message about your own world.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

To complete the unit accomplishments, students will:

Read the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities.
Read several short pieces, including a biography of Dickens and excerpts from other literature, to help them understand Dickens’s world and the world of the novel.
Explore new vocabulary to build their ability to write and speak using academic language.
Practice close reading and participate in several role plays and dramatic readings to help them experience the dramatic writing style of Charles Dickens.
Write a vignette and a short narrative piece, and practice using descriptive detail and precise language.
Write a reflection about the meaning of Dickens’s novel.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How does good storytelling affect the reader, and how can a good story promote change in the world?
What was the Victorian view of gender roles?
How can power be abused?
What is loyalty ? What are the limits of loyalty?

In this lesson, you will talk about the ways in which images send social and political messages to the reader.In this lesson, students will talk about the ways in which images send social and political messages to the reader.

This site, by the author of a workbook on the craft of writing, is filled with essays about many elements of dramatic writing, from the principles of storytelling, to plot development, to character development. There are also numerous reviews of movies, novels and plays.

In this video [5:25] from August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand scholars discuss "Fences," the Tony Award-winning drama about a former Negro League baseball player and his family. The video features performances of two scenes from the play along with critical commentary. Teacher resources are provided. Sensitive Issues.

Read the complete text of this domestic tragedy. Multiple formats of the text are available.

A monologue scene featuring a drama professor as 19th-century Kentucky statesman Henry Clay discussing his stand on slavery, a stance that was both politically and personally troubling to him.

Let the power of imagination and inference serve as a ńtime machineî to bring Benjamin Franklin into the classroom! History and science come to life in a dialogue with Franklin the inventor, developed through lesson activities that incorporate research, imagination, writing, visual arts, and drama.

This lesson plan, provided by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), encourages students to evaluate literature in a variety of multimedia formats and answer the question, "Who Am I?," Students are then asked to create their own multimedia portfolios and Web pages to reflect who they are. L.11-12.3 Language Functions/Style

This site presents a study guide to Oscar Wilde's play, "The Importance of Being Earnest." Content includes a biography of the author, background information about the play, a synopsis, occuring themes, some sample questions, and more. Registration is required to access the information, but registration is free.

Ancient Greek Mythology has worked its way into modern pop culture so deeply that it would be an almost Sisyphean task to compile every way it's manifested! [10:08]

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is one of history's most famous novels and one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history. On this special episode of It's Lit! we explore how Les Miserable became both a national and revolutionary anthem, and so publicly adored that all 1,900 pages never went out of print. [8:46]

In this video, viewers watch a scene from a play about the daughter of famous Kentucky pioneer Daniel Boone. Included are teaching tips and additional background information. [5:00]

Informative biographical essay focusing on Gorky's political and social activities. Features several quotations from major works, and links to pages on Tolstoy and Chekhov.

In this lesson, students will create and solve word problems involving money (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of decimals), and develop a script for a short scene and perform it using the elements of performance. Media resources and teacher materials are included.

In this lesson, students will block a scene on a graph and act out the scene. Media resources and teacher materials are included.