After reading Geoffrey Chaucer's classic poem "The Canterbury Tales," have AP English literature students choose one of the tales to create a diorama of. The tales of the Knight, Wife of Bath, Pardoner, Nun and Miller each offer their own story, details and critique of a social issue of the time, and creating a visual piece to accompany the reading will help bring the story to life for students. The diorama can be as large and detailed as students wish, and they should focus on sticking to the details of the story or social issue being brought to life by Chaucer.
Have AP English students dress as one of their favorite characters from a reading assignment to give a short monologue about their life or role in the story. Students can draw from direct quotes or details from the readings, or they can create imaginative back stories and anecdotes that explain how they got to where they are. This is a great activity to help students explore character development and some of the major archetypes used in classic literature.
Have AP English Lit. students draft an alternate ending to a book, play or short story the class has read. All students can compose different endings for the same work, or they can each choose a piece from their readings throughout the semester. Give them inspiration by offering ideas like Romeo and Juliet living happily ever after, and have them share their alternate endings with the class to learn where their imaginations led them.
Have your AP English Lit. students act out scenes from some of Shakespeare's most famous plays to help them better understand these classic works. Different groups of students can take on different acts of the same play, or you can divide the class into groups to act out several scenes from many of Shakespeare's plays such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Macbeth" and "Hamlet." This activity will help AP students better understand and appreciate the themes and language used in Shakespeare's plays.