Writing practice
Four double-entry journal boxes walk students through Othello Act 4, Scene 1 in sequence, each pairing a specific line range with a comprehension prompt on the left and a request for supporting textual evidence on the right. Students first explain Iago's accusation against Cassio, then trace how Iago manipulates Othello into believing Desdemona's infidelity, then describe what Othello threatens to do to Desdemona and how that differs from his earlier attitude toward her, and finally characterize Othello's public treatment of Desdemona in front of Lodovico. For each box, students must locate and explicate the key lines from the cited range that support their explanation, directly tying interpretation to quoted evidence. A closing prompt asks students to summarize the entire scene in their own words, and the file is provided as both a Word document and a matching PDF. Teachers working through the play in order can pair this with an earlier Iago soliloquy analysis covering Act 1 and Act 2, which builds the same close-reading and textual-evidence skills on Iago's manipulation before this Act 4 confrontation.
Editable