The give-and-take dialogue of "The Death of the Hired Man" naturally lends itself to a reader's theater adaptation. Reader's theater relies on the use of dramatic reading by multiple readers as opposed to props or costumes to bring a work of literature to life. Have students create a script based on the poem, then have them perform for the class. The poem contains three potential speaking parts: a narrator, Mary and Warren.
Almost entirely through the use of dialogue, Frost's poem describes three different characters: the two speaking characters, Mary and Warren, and the subject of their conversation, Silas. Have students describe what they know about these characters from reading the poem and what their emotional response to the characters is. Have students select one of the characters from this poem and conduct a written interview with that character.
Home is one of the key themes of "The Death of the Hired Man" and it is at the heart of its most quoted line: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/They have to take you in." After reading the poem, discuss with students the concept of home, considering both a place that makes them "feel at home" as well as their actual home. As a creative writing exercise, have students describe either in poetry or prose the place that feels the most like home to them.
Have students read "The Death of the Hired Man" either aloud or silently to themselves. After they have read the poem, play a recording of Robert Frost reading his poem aloud. Discuss what they noticed about the recording. Ask students how the poem was different from the way they heard it when they read the poem to themselves. See if they noticed the way Frost used inflection to emphasize key passages. Ask them if there was anything surprising about listening to the Frost recording. Ask them how listening to the poem is a different experience from reading the poem.