After reading three Shakespeare tragedies, we presented projects such as an original score for Hamlet, a Scottish experience that included gustatory, auditory, tactile, visual, and olfactory elements for Macbeth, and an episode of Siskel and Ebert reviewing the filmed versions of the works including A Thousand Acres, the new movie based on King Lear. Sample products include posters, reviews, and covers of books. Monologues from the book give middle schoolers the chance to show off their dramatic talents. Our school started a Reader's Club this year in which interested students read for pleasure and discuss with others who have read the same book. They also read to elementary students to share their love of reading.
Students take on the persona of an author of their choice.
They give talks about the novel they have read and focus on developing a response to what critics have had to say about them. Duplicate copies of high interest newspaper and magazine articles to help students understand non-fiction. Students are encouraged to find themes from literature as reflected in every day life. For example, themes from Macbeth can be found in the newspaper. Sequencing, inferencing, finding the main idea, etc. are covered using articles from magazines and newspapers as well as comic strips.