William Shakespeare has influenced most, if not all, Western playwrights. His techniques, themes, characters, and plots are contained in much of what is produced today, from television to Broadway. This teacher's guide provides summaries of the plays "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello," essays, and corresponding student…

In 1870, after the successful publication of "War and Peace," Leo Tolstoy began imagining a story about a high-born society woman, "Anna Karenina," who destroys her life by having an adulterous affair. By presenting his adulteress as a sympathetic character, Tolstoy aimed to expose injustices in such Russian institutions as…

Although "Othello" has been one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays, its performance history has been marked with risk and tension because of the play's focus on racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality. The controversies surrounding conflicting attitudes toward race and religion, love and marriage, and war and the…

This study guide covers the new television version of one of Mark Twain's most popular stories, "The Prince and the Pauper," the classic tale of two boys whose curiosity about each other's lives leads them to switch places and, in the process, learn valuable lessons about outward appearances and true compassion. The guide summarizes the…

"The Merchant of Venice," even in its own time, was considered William Shakespeare's most controversial play. Now, one of the most popular read and performed works, the play raises even more important issues for today, particularly anti-Semitism and the treatment of Jews. The analysis of the play in this casebook helps students interpret…

Three installments of "Classic of the Month," a regular feature of the National Council of Teachers of English publication, "Notes Plus," are presented in this compilation. Each installment of this feature is intended to provide teaching ideas related to a "classic" novel. The first article offers a variety of…

This casebook of materials about William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" will enrich students' understanding of the historical context of the play and encourage interpretations of its cultural meaning. Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" reflects perennial cultural concerns about order and freedom, particularly as they clash in the…

This unit seeks to teach Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in a way that the students will have a full understanding of the play. The unit's introduction is designed to get the students acquainted with Shakespeare's language, to motivate them to read the play, and to make them feel confident about approaching the play. Lessons in the unit are fun,…

Intended for teachers of grades 4-8, this book presents a flexible format for reading, designed to be used with students who have different backgrounds and experiences with reading literature. The book's first 3 sections, "Character,""Setting," and "Plot," proceed step-by-step through the recognition of these basic…

This teacher's guide for public television's 6-part adaptation of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" provides information that will enrich students' viewing of the series. The guide includes a wide range of activities to help students further explore the novel's universal themes. The guide suggests that students read the informational…

This study guide discusses the world premiere of two made-for-television movies of classics of English literature: "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "Hamlet." The guide first provides a synopsis of the story of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and gives a brief biography of the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It…

Many high school students are on a quest to find out who they really are. Using the theme of "Searching for Identity" in both "A Fine White Dust" and "Great Expectations" will help students identify their feelings. Cynthia Rylant's "A Fine White Dust" has easier language than "Great Expectations,"…

This lesson seeks to sensitize students to the complex nature of revenge as it is portrayed in William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." In the lesson, students learn how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the…

This teacher's guide for public television's 3-part adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist" provides information that will help enrich students' viewing of the series, whether or not they read the novel. The guide includes a wide range of discussion and activity ideas; there is also a series Web site and a list of Web resources.…

This course seeks to provide high school students the opportunity to sharpen their critical thinking skills and use of language through acquaintance with some ideas of literary criticism. The course features Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," assuming that the students have just finished reading that American classic novel. The…