Fillable graphic organizers

Click right HERE.

Huck Finn study list

Make sure you know who these characters are.

Huck Finn

Jim

Tom Sawyer

Sid Sawyer

Widow Douglas

Miss Watson

Pap

Judge Thatcher

Buck Grangerford

Boggs

Sherburn

Aunt Sally

The Duke

The King

Miss Sofia

Miss Charlotte

Peter Wilkes

The Doctor (x2)

Huck Finn: Thinking

Shakespeare Uncovered: Othello

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

Huck Finn cover

What is an American?

Animal Farm audiobook

Click here for the audiobook of Animal Farm.

The New Colossus

Theater Links for Teachers

Northwest Classical Theatre Company

Artists Repertory Theater

Portland Center Stage

Post 5 Theatre

Portland Playhouse

Oregon Shakespeare Festival for Teachers

Digital Theatre

Shakespeare Links for Teachers

Shakespeare Insulter

Folger Shakespeare Library: Teach and Learn

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare Uncovered

Globe on Screen

National Shakespeare Competition

Revising Hamlet

Much Ado opening scene: Benedick arrives

Much Ado: Claudio and Benedick

What's your favorite version of "Sigh No More"? I think this one is mine.

Othello and Islamic textiles

So, is the handkerchief just a "trifle light as air" as Iago suggests? Well, actually textiles are quite important to the Islamic culture Othello comes from. These textiles come in the forms of rugs, drapes, clothing, and yes, handkerchiefs. They often use geometrical shapes, and include fine embroidery and scripture from the Qua ran. So you could imagine how upset Othello would be to think that his wife Desdemona has given away what is essentially a family heirloom.

Here are various pictures of Islamic textiles to give you an idea of how important textile art is in Islamic culture. See if you can spot the fine embroidery or scripture on the textiles. Hint: the scripture is in Arabic calligraphy.

"To be or not to be" Sesame Street style

Punch Shakespeare

Shakespeare's London

Shakespeare's Globe

Globe virtual tour

Click this link to view the Globe virtual tour.

The Ultimate Shakespeare webquest list

Links on Elizabethan England
England in Shakespeare's time
An Elizabethan Age timeline
Clothing
Houses
The plague
Inheritence
Schools and education
Beliefs and superstitions
Religion
Science and health
Medicine and illness
Love and marriage
Betrothal and weddings
Wedding feasts

Links for biographical information on Shakespeare
Shakespeare portraits
Shakespeare-Online biography
Absolute Shakespeare biography
Shakespeare FAQ at Absolute Shakespeare
Shakespeare FAQ at Shakespeare-Online
Shakespeare timeline
Shakespeare key dates
WilliamShakespeare.info
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

Links on theatre in Shakespeare's time
Elizabethan theatre
Theatres, playhouses, inn-yards, and amphitheatres
The Globe
Building of the Globe Theatre
Who owned the Globe Theatre?
Elizabethan actors
The meaning of colors

Links on Shakespeare's language
Elizabethan as a second language
Shakespeare's archaic words
Shakespeare: verse or prose?
Invented words and famous phrases
You vs thou
The royal we

Stream audiobooks for American Lit

Click on the title to go to the audiobook.

My Antonia

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Catcher in the Rye

Slaughterhouse Five

The Scarlet Letter

You can also try googling the title of your book with the phrase "audiobook" and see what you find. There are some free streaming versions and free downloads. There are also audiobooks available for purchase.

A Raisin in the Sun: Here's some good background on housing discrimination

The Valley of Ashes today

Click on the image above to see more photos.

The Great Gatsby chapter Powerpoints

Click here to view Mr. Wilson's Powerpoints.

Gatsby audio books

Click here to listen to a Gastby audio book. If you don't like this one just google "Gastby audio book" and try a different one.

Huck Finn: To edit or not to edit?

Chris Bosh on the N-word

Bosh on N-word: 'They should ban all slurs'

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh would support the NBA following the NFL's lead in efforts to consider penalizing players for using the N-word and other racial slurs during games.

Bosh, who is black, said he hears the N-word used by players during games and that it creates uncomfortable situations, although he says it's used primarily "in a friendly" way.

Click here to read the entire article.

Some interesting reading as we preview Huck Finn

Exporting the N-word

Navigating foreign lands is a big part of Coleman Collins' life as he pursues an overseas hoops career

Click here to read the whole article.

Ian Mckellen on the Tomorrow speech

Searchable Huck Finn

Click here.

Macbeth banquet scenes

Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth

Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth

RSC As You Like It Preview

Huck Finn first edition illustrations

Click here to see them all.

Women as Shakespeare's Men

Click here to read the New York Times article.

Hamlet according to "Big Hutch"