August Wilson, Fences, The Piano Lesson
Lesson plans and other teaching resources

|Biography and Background| |Frences| |The Piano Lesson|

Biography and Background

August Wilson
Biography and background information for Fences and The Piano Lesson.

August Wilson - a timeline
Biographical information to 1999.

Decades of Drama: Exploring August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle
"Students will examine Wilson's 10-play series in which each play focuses on a particular decade. They then speculate on possible plots for an eleventh play, set in the 21st century."

The History of Jim Crow
The resources at this site explore segregation in America from 1870s to 1950s. Check out both the American Literature and Teacher Resources at the bottom of the opening page.

Fences

Creating Hate: The Power of Words
This lesson plan does not specifically address the play. It is designed to explore the relationship among language, power, and hate.

Resource Bank Construction
In this WebQuest students explore elements of the setting of Fences and construct a Web page.

The Piano Lesson

Drama in the Developmental Classroom: August Wilson's The Piano Lesson as Text
This approach to the play addresses multiple intelligences.

The Lesson the Piano Teaches
This unit plan places heavy emphasis on understanding the historical context of the play. Students write a position paper, and they use technology to present their research. This 15-page document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible application for access.

The Piano Lesson: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Analysis from Sparknotes.