Here's a good list of transitional words and phrases

Click here: Transitional words and phrases

Block style quotations

This site has pretty good instruction on using block style quotations. Scroll to the bottom to see their example for plays.

Stylebook: Citing Literary Works in the Text

Traditional academic essay in three parts

Click the link below for the basic three parts that your essay must have:

Traditional Academic Essay in Three Parts

Sample character analysis essay

Click the link below to view a sample character analysis essay:

Sample essay

Writing a good hook

Here's a good article on writing a hook for your essay.

How to Write a Good Hook for Your Essay

Inverted triangle introduction

See this:

Inverted Triangle Introduction

Integrating quotations

Here are some good guides for integrating quotations:

OWL: MLA formatting quotations

UNC writing center: quotations

I like these four rules from the UNC writing center:

1. Provide context for each quotation.
2. Attribute each quotation to its source.
3. Explain the significance of the quotation.
4. Provide a citation for the quotation.

Writing a conclusion

Here are some places to go for good advice on writing a conclusion:

OWL on conclusions
UNC writing center on conclusions

I think this one is my favorite:

Harvard writing center on conclusions

Rules for Capitalization in Titles

Click here.

No Fear Shakespeare: Othello

Click here to read the No Fear Shakespeare version of Othello.

Learn about the free Swipespeare app here

Crucible characters (spoiler alert!)

If you are having trouble keeping up with all the characters, this might help:

1. John Proctor - A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
2. Abigail Williams - Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed. 
3. Reverend John Hale - A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. He is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused. 
4. Elizabeth Proctor - John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold. 
5. Reverend Parris - The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community. 
6. Rebecca Nurse - Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. 
7. Francis Nurse - A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife. 
8. Judge Danforth - The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft. 
9. Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones. 
10. Thomas Putnam – Salem’s wealthy, influential citizen, he holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth, accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land. 
11. Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means. 
12. Ruth Putnam - The Putnams’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods.
13. Tituba - Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. At the night of dancing in the woods,Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request. 
14. Mary Warren - The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession. 
15. Betty Parris - Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft. 
16. Martha Corey -Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft. 
17. Ezekiel Cheever - A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.

Examples of annotation

See this speech by President Obama that's been annotated pretty thoroughly.

See this poem by Seamus Heaney.

Great collection of Ellis Island immigrants in this story

What America’s immigrants looked like when they arrived on Ellis Island

Here is a good question for our "What is an American?" discussion: Where are you from?

Beasts of English (Ukulele Version)

To go along with our "Coming to America" stories, here's a recent story about the Wet Foot/ Dry Foot policy.

Cuban migrants make landfall on South Beach

I Hear America Singing

I, Too, Sing American

Beasts of England (with lyrics)

Beasts of England-- Punk Rock Version

Cornell Notes training

The New Colossus

Here are some videos from the National Shakespeare Competition

Helpful links for Shakespeare teachers

Here are some local theater's that often do Shakespeare and offer students discounts and/or student matinees:

Post 5 Theatre

Artists Repetory Theatre

Portland Center Stage

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers teacher and a student workshops, as well as discounted group tickets for school groups and school visits.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival main page

Oregon Shakespeare Festival education page

The Folger Shakespeare Library offers a number of programs for teachers and students. You will find them here:

Fogler Teach and Learn

The English Speaking Union is a non profit civic organization that offers a great student monologue and sonnet competition. Our local branch will be offering a scholarship to London next year for an Oregon teacher to study for three weeks, all expenses paid except for airfare. Ask me for a contact if you are interested in applying for the scholarship. You can find their main page for the competition here:

National Shakespeare Competition

RSC act 1 scene 3

RSC act 3 scene 2

RSC As You Like It act 3 scene 2

As You Like It: 1936 film

As You Like It-- A San Francisco Love Story

The RSC As You Like It act 3 scene 2

For middle school teachers

There are some great abridged editions of Shakespeare's plays called Sixty Minute Shakespeare that might work really well for middle school students. Click the titles below the check them out.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Twelfth Night

Much Ado About Nothing

Macbeth

Romeo and Juliet

There's even a 30 minute As You Like It.

Laura Marling's version of Under the Greenwood Tree

Check out this rather somber interpretation of As You Like It.

Shakespeare Uncovered: Comedies

Click HERE to watch this video.

Macbeth Witches--Three Versions

As You Like it thinking topics

Click HERE to check out my As You Like It thinking topics.

William Shakespeare's jokes are just not funny, Sir Richard Eyre admits

Read it HERE.

The Shakespeare Sessions

Shakespeare's original pronunciation

Images of Othello

Ewan McGregor on Iago

White actors playing Othello

Tom Hiddleston on Cassio

B or not a B

Out Damned Spot

Some Macbeth images

Shakespeare: verse and prose

This is the best quick read I have found online regarding Shakespeare's verse and prose:

Shakespearean Verse and Prose by Dr. Debra Schwartz, Cal Polytechnic University

Shakespeare Uncovered preview: Macbeth

Shakespeare Uncovered preview: Hamlet

For every schoolboy and school girl for the next 400 years

Shakespeare-- to teach, or not to teach?

Read this teacher's thoughts:

 Why I don't want to assign Shakespeare anymore

And this response:

Why it is ridiculous not to teach Shakespeare in school

Muse of Fire trailer

IOP samples on youtube

Click this LINK to check out some example of IOPs on youtube.

Helpful links for IOP research

Literary Theory
Marxist Criticism
Feminist Criticism

American Lit choice book

Click this LINK to my goodreads.com list of books I recommend for this assignment. You can see covers and read previews of the books. There are also reader reviews, but be careful of spoilers!

Coming of Age books

Click HERE to check out my list of Coming of Age books.

Some informative videos before we read The Great Gatsby

Othello Uncovered

Bill Murray reads from Huck Finn (plus links)

Here is Jane Smiley's essay criticizing Huck Finn, and a rebuttal to her essay.

The edited Huck Finn

Othello performance reflection

Write 200 or more words on this topic: What did you learn about your character, the scene, the play, or something else through the process of preparing and performing your scene?

B day: Due on Friday 2/6

A day: Due on Monday 2/9