HOOK & INSPIRE students with songs, art, charts, infographics, and statistics. myPerspectives provides a curated collection of resources to save you time and help you personalize your teaching. These resources are the same kinds of ways you HOOK & INSPIRE students every day – only we’ve done the work for you. You can build your own Playlist of media, short texts, novel connections, and extension activities to make literature fun, relevant, and exciting.
“I’m always looking for new ways of intriguing, hooking, and inspiring my kids.”
ELA Educator and myPerspectives Author
Kelly Gallagher
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Please be sure to preview ALL Hook & Inspire materials before sharing them with your class.
Perhaps no other play written in English has inspired so many people for so long. Is it just a love story? Is it a cautionary tale about recklessness, feuds, or revenge? Or is it a story about fate?
Engage your students’ imaginations and connect them to the text with these suggested “hooks.” Use any or all of them throughout your lesson.
Choose from among these ideas to launch students into the play.
Play the song “Romeo and Juliet” by The Killers to show how artists continue to reference Shakespeare's classic drama. You may also look for other songs inspired by the play, including “Love Story” by Taylor Swift.
Use this Google® image gallery to show how movie directors, artists, and others have portrayed the famous lovers.
Sustain student interest by using any or all of these ideas.
At the conclusion of Act IV, share and discuss this informational graphic (from Missouri Kids Count) with students.
Go beyond the lesson by sharing modern commentary and connections with students.
Share this data from the National Institutes of Health about modern-day teen marriage. Invite students to consider what might have happened to Romeo and Juliet had they lived.
Enhance your curriculum with the following ideas.
Zoom in on skills with these recommended passages and related selections.
Act I, Scene i, lines 173–177
Literary Devices: Oxymoron
“The Sound of Silence” song by Paul Simon
Act II, Scene ii, lines 43–51
Prosody: Blank Verse
“Birches” poem by Robert Frost
Choose from among these project ideas to deepen and extend student learning.
Casting Decisions / Set Design Have students collaborate on casting or designing the set for a key scene from the play.
Epilogue Spoken by Capulet or Montague Have students write and perform an epilogue in which Capulet or Montague directly addresses the audience at the conclusion of the play.
Consider using these high-interest titles for informal book clubs, as student choice for independent reading, or to prompt rich conversations.
Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
Explore all of our HOOK & INSPIRE ELA resources (Grades 9-12) on our website. Access links to great multimedia content, including videos, song lyrics, reading guides, and more.
In this story, a young boy seeks out danger in order to test his personal limits. Is the risk worth it? Is the reward all he had hoped?
Engage your students’ imaginations and connect them to the text with these suggested “hooks.” Use any or all of them throughout your lesson.
Choose from among these ideas to launch students into the story.
Play this song by American troubadour Loudin Wainwright III about the emotional experience of swimming.
Sustain student interest by using any or all of these ideas.
Share this how-to video from LIVESTRONGSM. Invite students to compare these breathing techniques with Jerry’s methods.
Play this scene from the classic movie Chariots of Fire and ask students to consider whether Jerry demonstrates similar persistence in the face of failure.
Go beyond the lesson by sharing modern commentary and connections with students.
Share this NPR broadcast about how much supervision kids should have. Discuss the choices Jerry’s mother makes in the story.
Share this New York Times opinion piece to explore some of the moral questions associated with dangerous activities.
Enhance your curriculum with the following ideas.
Zoom in on skills with these recommended passages and related selections.
Paragraph 1
Literary Devices: Plot (Exposition)
“Opening Crawl” from Star Wars
Paragraphs 12-16
Literary Devices: Plot (Rising Action)
Inciting incident from the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Choose from among these project ideas to deepen and extend student learning.
A Mother’s Thoughts Have students write a short story from Jerry’s mother’s point of view. Does she worry about Jerry? Does she know what he’s trying to do?
Analysis: Is Testing Limits Worth the Risk? This critical analysis should draw on evidence from both the story and students’ experience and knowledge to support a claim.
Consider using these high-interest titles for informal book clubs, as student choice for independent reading, or to prompt rich conversations.
Stories by Doris Lessing
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Explore all of our HOOK & INSPIRE ELA resources (Grades 9-12) on our website. Access links to great multimedia content, including videos, song lyrics, reading guides, and more.
Please note that links are external to myPerspectives, and Savvas strongly recommends previewing the content to ensure it is appropriate for your students. Savvas cannot be responsible for the content presented.
