The content offered to 7 th graders by reading The Tempest allows all students to deal with a text that has a significantly advanced reading level as well as depth and complexity of content to qualify it for use at a high school level. Even though the content is the same for all students, it is possible to read the play on different levels of understanding. All students read the play for basic understanding of the plot, but some students are able to go more in-depth in their understanding by focusing on different themes or concepts . Several of the themes are more concrete and some more abstract than others. Students can work on a concrete level of understanding or a more advanced level simply by the questions that are asked.
Students can work in different ways to get the same information.
The following list is ranked from the more independent ways to read the play to less independent. In a classroom, students can work in small groups to match the level of independence they are able to handle. Some students require the structure of a teacher-directed lesson while other students can be given the opportunity to work independently possibly with guided questions to help maintain focus on the major issues in the story. By using a variety of ways to read, the pacing of the work can be modified to meet specific needs. Listed below are several activities offered to all students during the study of The Tempest with the differentiation for high ability students emphasized.