A View From the Bridge Lesson Plan

Gender Bender

Kind of Activity:

Role Play

Objective:

to think critically about the role of gender in the play

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1

Structure:

Tell students to imagine the play in an alternate universe where all the genders are flipped: Catherine is seventeen-year-old nephew “Connor”; Eddie is middle-aged disgruntled “Edith”; and Beatrice is kindly uncle “Bert.” Have the students choose a short section of dialogue to re-write using these new, gender-flipped characters, and encourage them to choose a passage that would most highlight this change. Give them 10 to 15 minutes to re-write the passage of their choosing. As they write, ask them to...