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This blog post would be fun to turn into a writing assignment: Have minor characters in a novel your students are studying discuss the other minor characters in the manner of Mr. Palmer.

The age demanded an image. -Ezra Pound Rationale In our world of multi- and visual media, we must expand our notion of what a text is and how we must read it. As more texts are used to convey information print once did, we must bring to these visual texts critical literacies that will help us construct meaning from their elements. The following questions are designed to help readers make sense of images they encounter in various contexts. Ask the Following Questions * Why are we looking at this? * What are we looking for? * How should we look at this? * What choices did the artist make and how did they affect its meaning? * Is this image in its original state (i.e., no manipulation or "doctoring")? * What are the different components in this image? * How are they related to each other? * What is the main idea or argument the image expresses? * In what context or under what conditions was this image originally created? Displayed? * Who created it? * Was it commissioned? (If so, by whom? And for what purpose?) * What was the creator trying to do here? (i.e., narrate, explain, describe, persuade-or some combination?) * Can you find any tension or examples of conflict within the image? If so, what are they? What is their source? How are they represented? * Do you like this image? (Regardless of your answer: Why?) * How would you describe the artist's technique? * What conventions govern this image? How do they contribute to or detract from its ability to convey its message? * What does it consist of? * Why are parts arranged the way they are? * What is the main idea behind this image? * What does this image show (i.e., objectively; see Vietnam Memorial image) * What does it mean (subjectively; see Vietnam Memorial image) * Is this presented as an interpretation? Factual record? Impression? * What is the larger context of which this image is a part? * What is it made fro

The age demanded an image. -Ezra Pound Rationale In our world of multi- and visual media, we must expand our notion of what a text is and how we must read it. As more texts are used to convey information print once did, we must bring to these visual texts critical literacies that will help us construct meaning from their elements. The following questions are designed to help readers make sense of images they encounter in various contexts. Ask the Following Questions * Why are we looking at this? * What are we looking for? * How should we look at this? * What choices did the artist make and how did they affect its meaning? * Is this image in its original state (i.e., no manipulation or "doctoring")? * What are the different components in this image? * How are they related to each other? * What is the main idea or argument the image expresses? * In what context or under what conditions was this image originally created? Displayed? * Who created it? * Was it commissioned? (If so, by whom? And for what purpose?) * What was the creator trying to do here? (i.e., narrate, explain, describe, persuade-or some combination?) * Can you find any tension or examples of conflict within the image? If so, what are they? What is their source? How are they represented? * Do you like this image? (Regardless of your answer: Why?) * How would you describe the artist's technique? * What conventions govern this image? How do they contribute to or detract from its ability to convey its message? * What does it consist of? * Why are parts arranged the way they are? * What is the main idea behind this image? * What does this image show (i.e., objectively; see Vietnam Memorial image) * What does it mean (subjectively; see Vietnam Memorial image) * Is this presented as an interpretation? Factual record? Impression? * What is the larger context of which this image is a part? * What is it made fro

Questions to answer to develop your characters

What are the origins of the English Language? The history of English is conventionally, if perhaps too neatly, divided into three periods usually called Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English. The earliest period begins with the migration of certain Germanic tribes from the continent to Britain in the fifth century A.D., though no records of their language survive from before the seventh century, and it continues until the end of the eleventh century or a bit later. By that time Latin, Old Norse (the language of the Viking invaders), and especially the Anglo-Norman French of the dominant class after the Norman Conquest in 1066 had begun to have a substantial impact on the lexicon, and the well-developed inflectional system that typifies the grammar of Old English had begun to break down. The following brief sample of Old English prose illustrates several of the significant ways in which change has so transformed English that we must look carefully to find points of resemblance between the language of the tenth century and our own. It is taken from Aelfric's "Homily on St. Gregory the Great" and concerns the famous story of how that pope came to send missionaries to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity after seeing Anglo-Saxon boys for sale as slaves in Rome: Eft he axode, hu ðære ðeode nama wære þe hi of comon. Him wæs geandwyrd, þæt hi Angle genemnode wæron. Þa cwæð he, "Rihtlice hi sind Angle gehatene, for ðan ðe hi engla wlite habbað, and swilcum gedafenað þæt hi on heofonum engla geferan beon." A few of these words will be recognized as identical in spelling with their modern equivalents-he, of, him, for, and, on-and the resemblance of a few others to familiar words may be guessed-nama to name, comon to come, wære to were, wæs to was-but only those who have made a special study of Old English will be able to read the passage with understanding. The sense of it is as follows: Again he [St. Gregory] asked w

          Lesson/Moral                   Ask students to compare the characters, plot, and lessons of these stories. Which characters did they like best? Which did they like least? Which story had the best ending and why? Have students compare the animals and their behavior in each story: Why do the types of animals change or not from one culture's fable to the next? How does the behavior change according to the type of animal? What types of behaviors lead to what types of endings in these stories? To see how fables teach universal lessons about human nature and behavior, ask students to think of a real-life situation that applies to one of the stories.

Shakespeare Searched is a search engine designed to provide quick access to passages from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. We cluster search results by topic, work, and character to make it easy to find exactly what you're looking for.

BBC's 60 Second Shakespeare: Shakespeare newspapers with quick summaries of the plot and characters of fourteen major Shakespeare plays.

Create characters and get them to talk.

Shmoop wants to help you become a better lover (of literature and history). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.