Students brainstorm the possible meaning of the title The Scarlet Letter and what its significance might be. The class' responses are returned to once the reading has begun to see how their definitions have changed.
The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850.
In 1564, William Shakespeare was born on this day.
Based on grade level, students learn about rhyming structure, experiment with the Shakespearean Insult Kit, or study scenes from Othello and watch an adaptation of that scene from the movie O.
Poet William Blake was born in 1757.
As a class, students brainstorm abstract concepts and personify that concept through a drawing or story told about the character who personifies that concept.