Because of the ability to listen to an audio book on high speed, many high school students have stopped reading whole books and are missing out on what great literature has to offer. Listening is a good option sometimes, but reading adds so much value to a child’s education. Acting out great literature adds even more value as they learn to read, comprehend, and think more deeply about the actions of the characters they are reading.

Hi! My name is Danielle and I have homeschooled my kids from Pre-K through high school. We have found a lot of creative ways to fit drama into our homeschool, and now I want to share what I’ve learned and continue to learn with you.

Add Drama to These High School Literature Books

As you may recall from Part 1, here is the list of some of the greatest books of all time for high schoolers found on the public domain:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1775-1817)

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1835-1910)

• Odyssey by Homer (9th or 8th century BC)

• Iliad by Homer

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

• The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

• Hamlet by Shakespeare (1564-1616)

• Macbeth by Shakespeare

• Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

• Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674)

• Bible

As you can see, this list of great literature spans from B.C. to the 20th century A.D. There's a lot we can learn about history through these books. You can learn more about the books and their authors at britannica.com or access them for free at gutenberg.org.

Dramatic Interpretations of the Stories

The Odyssey – Act out a scene from the Odyssey. Memorizing lines from a section of this epic poem and then presenting it in front of a group is a great way to dip deeper into a portion of the story.

One year, as part of our homeschool group I was leading, each student acted out a portion of a different book from this epic to tell the complete story to some younger students. First, they had to think through which were some of the major stories being told throughout this epic, then memorize lines and present them in order to try to tell an abbreviated version of the Odyssey.

Many people are familiar with the cyclops in one of the books, but most people do not fully understand the journey Odysseus took to get back to his family and the obstacles he had to face. This method helped not just focus on one of the favorites in the epic but helped to tell the story as a whole.

This book was read their junior year, so for the middle schoolers, freshman and sophomores behind them, this was a great way to get an introduction to this ancient literature. Not only were we helping the students who were reading the book better understand it with drama, but also the younger students benefited from their performance.

When performing a dramatic interpretation of a work, it can resemble how the student thinks the author interpreted it or it can take on a life of its own. It can be a parody of the work or something serious when the original work was meant to be comical. It can be from a different time period or use characters from another story. Dramatic interpretations can represent the story or give a new creative look at an old tale.

Act out The Scarlet Letter or Uncle Tom’s Cabin

In The Scarlet Letter, the main character is forced to wear a letter on her clothing to show the town the shame of what she has done. Students can act out what it would be like to have to show their sins publicly. How would they walk, talk and interact with others if they had to wear a letter on their clothing showing what they’ve done? How would people react to them when they saw them? What if we had to do this whenever we did something wrong?

Reading great literature helps us relate to or understand people from another time or culture.

There are so many great opportunities not only to read great literature like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but also understand a little more about how people may have experienced life when there was slavery. Some say this book was one of the causes of the American Civil War. While that has never been confirmed, great literature can teach us a lot about the realities of life. Acting out this story gives students an even deeper understanding as they have to consider how these characters would have felt as they interacted with others.

Present or Direct a 30-minute Play of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

When my kids were in high school, they read six of Shakespeare’s plays. The assignment was usually to present a solo or duo interpretation of a part of the play, but one year in the junior class I led one of my students asked if we could do a mini version of the play Macbeth with the rest of the class. I thought it was a wonderful idea and knew that it would still accomplish the goal of the assignment of each student memorizing a set number of lines and presenting a character in the way they interpreted it.

Since they only had so many weeks allotted for the reading and discussing of Macbeth, the students had to work on their own to memorize the lines and coordinate how they wanted to present this piece. It gave them ownership of their assignment and the ability to be creative and collaborate with their fellow students to make the performance their own.

Because of this suggestion, students each year have enjoyed acting out the characters from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and presenting it in front of the younger students with this 30-minute play. Again, this has given the actors a much better understanding of the story as they use the same lines from the original play in the same language with the same themes. It also helps the younger students coming behind them get familiar with Shakespeare and understand the story better before they read it for themselves. Drama allows many ages to enjoy great literature!

You can use this Macbeth 30-minute play for your group to perform Shakespeare to appreciate this great piece of literature.

Add to the Drama by Putting Macbeth on Trial for the Murder of King Duncan

You can have students take it a step further and present a mock trial. As students read through the play and discuss the details, they consider who the witnesses are to the murder of Duncan. Who would be helpful to share their testimony on the Prosecution side and who would be better for the Defense?

This process slows students down in their reading to fully focus and think through what is happening as it relates to this murder. It is such a fun way to present the story of Macbeth for the students and the audience.

You can help students put together a case with this Macbeth – The Mock Trial drama curriculum.

Present Great Literature Through Drama at Your Graduation Ceremony

My daughter’s graduating class of homeschoolers was very dramatic. Because they had a small class and could personalize their graduation ceremony, they decided to add their talents to the event. Besides musical instruments and singing, the students performed portions of Shakespeare’s plays and some of the great epic poems for their friends and families.

The event started with some of the guys clashing their swords together in the middle of the aisle, followed by a king rallying his troops to not give up, ending with the comedic drama of some of the characters trying to arrange for two of their friends to be together. This was hilarious as one character hid behind a potted tree listening to others whisper what they wanted her to hear.

This was a creative way for the students to show their friends and family some of the great literature they had read during high school and entertain them in the process. After the performances they changed into their caps and gowns and walked down the aisle to accept their diplomas. It was a fun ceremony to experience.

Your High School Student Can Enjoy Great Literature with Drama

High school is a busy time, but a very important time to really make sure students are understanding what they are reading to broaden their understanding of the world around them and prepare them for college and beyond. With drama, students can have so much fun being creative and working together.

We have had so many laughs along the way because of the opportunity to add drama to great literature in high school. I highly encourage you to choose one or all of the above options if you have the means. It’s a wonderful way for kids to enjoy learning.

High School students can add drama to great literature multiple ways:

• Dramatic Interpretation

• Plays

• Mock trials

• Direct a Play

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Looking for more ways to add drama to your homeschool? Check out our plays and drama curriculum related to this list of great literature and much more!

Thanks for joining us!

Danielle at homeschooldrama.com