I Need a Hero: an Examination of the Characters in Paradise Lost

• Introduction
• Task
• Process
• Evaluation
• Conclusion
• Credits


• Teacher Page

Process

1. All students will read Paradise Lost before attempting to begin this project. The class should do group reading and discussion on each character in the poem will prepare the students for the project. 

2. Students will be places in groups of four and these groups will be their team for the overall project. The first task of the group is to divide the four main characters;  Satan, God, Adam, & Eve, so that every student in the group had a character assigned to them.

3. Students will separate into individual research work on their assigned character. They must use the internet to find information on their character that exists outside Milton's Paradise Lost. Information should include their character's physical description, characteristics, roles in other books, movies, plays, etc, and any other information they may find pertaining to the character.

4. Students will rejoin into their groups and discuss the information that they found on their assigned character.

Part Two:

1. Once the students discuss the information from their individual research with one-an-other they will decide which character from the poem to argue as the main character in Paradise Lost.

2. By finding passages in the poem and using the research done during the individual research process the group must make an argument on why the character they chose is the main character in the poem and all the other characters are simply supporting roles.

3. The group will prepare visuals for their argumentive presentation and assign roles within the group so that every member will have a part in the presentation process.

Part Three:

1. There will be two days of presentations. Each presentation must be at least 4 minutes long and during the presentation the students who are observing MUST be taking notes. Each student who is not involved in the ongoing presentation must turn in one question about the presentation they are observing.

2. The teacher will pick from the questions taken during the presentation and ask them to the presenting group. A student who has their question chosen by the teacher will receive extra credit towards their group's grade.

3. Each group will present and, once done, the students will hand in their notes taken from all the presentations. A closing in class discussion on the topic of main characters in Paradise Lost will be had.