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Click to see the D. H. Project on Sherlock Holmes.

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Click to see the D. H. Project on Sherlock Holmes.

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This is a direct link to Sherlockian.net

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Sherlockian.net is your curated directory for Sherlock Holmes! Our site welcomes newcomers, serves as a resource for Sherlockians, works to collect important resources for our community, and encourages participants to share in the .

This site is maintained by WIDE Research, a lab at Michigan State University directed by Liza Potts. We are caretakers of this website, a cultural landmark and an information portal for Sherlockians across the globe. Welcome!

Have new or updated content to share with us? Fill out our Contact Us form.

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Sherlockian.net is your curated directory for Sherlock Holmes! Our site welcomes newcomers, serves as a resource for Sherlockians, works to collect important resources for our community, and encourages participants to share in the Great Game. This site is maintained by WIDE Research, a lab at Michigan State University directed by Liza Potts.

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This is the first day exploring the website. I assume looking over every aspect of Sherlockian.net will most likely take a few days. At first glance, the website seemed bare and simplistic. There are simple headers at the top of the homepage, much like any other accessible website. However, after further exploration, I noticed that the pictures of the side of the page also like to different pages about Sherlock Holmes and the background/history surrounding the character. Sherlockian.net includes information surrounding the investigating aspect of one of the most popular mystery characters ever created. Furthermore, the website covers the celebrating and teaching of Sherlock Holmes. I first explored the "About Sherlock Holmes" page, and was informed about various information about the character such as the following: personality, birthday, zodiac sign, hobbies, religion, sexuality, etc. I was interested to learn about the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and his arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty, and also Holmes' love interest, Irene Adler. I would like to note that I have watched the most recent Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downy Jr. playing the main role; I had some background, but I have never read any of the original Sherlock Homes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was exciting to learn all the logistics behind the fictional character. However, I would also like to note that this webpage delves into the question: Did Holmes Exist?

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Exploring the teaching tabs using the character and story of Sherlock Holmes was useful in learning some new creative writing lesson plans and learning methods. This tab specifically supports "educators who bring Sherlock Holmes into their curriculum." I was especially interested in the section that follows "The 5 Scariest Sherlock Holmes Stories for Halloween" mostly because that is certainly in season, as it is currently October. This page gives summaries of some scary stories following the character, Sherlock Holmes, and provides story names so that they may be explored further upon one's research on the topic(s). I haven't heard of a lot of these listed stories, but not that I have read the following summaries, I peaked interest into looking into such stories outside of the DH project. I have heard of, however, the short story "The Hound of the Baskervilles," and I find that the summary was fascinating by giving basic details of the story. Perhaps one day I'll explore this title further. I would certainly say that this story is one of the scariest. Furthermore, the link following "Sherlock Holmes and the Horror of Frankenstein" was also fascinating; I have never heard of such a combination but I certainly do prefer having two popular stories merged together. I love how this story is more horror-oriented, and how short the read is. This literary mashup is a quick, easy, and in turn, a great source of fanfiction mixed with creative writing ideas.

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This section of the Sherlock Holmes Digital Humanities project delves into the canon of the character an his companion, John Watson. Specifically, different mediums surrounding the two characters such as entertainment, writings about the writings, webpages and series, reviews, and the arts. I was especially interested in the tab following information about scholarly articles surrounding Sherlock Holmes, his story, and works by other scholars analyzing the character and Arthur Conan Doyle's creativity. The layout of this webpage is easy to navigate, and the reader is provided with many links to scholarly articles that can be used in future scholarly work. I thought it was also useful that the same link follows to the teaching tab, thus sticking to a more academic and educational relationship with the reader. Furthermore, under the adaptations tab on Sherlockian.net, I was interested in the illustrations topic. After exploring the links I was interested in the linked website arthur-conan-doyle.com and its inclusion of scans of the original illustrations for Conan Doyle fictions, specifically Sherlock Holmes stories. The pictures are eerie but also provide a visual for how the stories play out. Most of these illustrations were produced around 1903-1944. I was fascinated by the inclusion of other resources following the background of Sherlock Holmes and his creator. I will say, however, that the layout of this new website was a bit confusing, so as a consumer I decided to stay on the homepage only so that I didn't loose my place in where I was in this D.H. project. In addition, I unexpectedly was interested in exploring the links under the film animation/anime section under the adaptations tab. I had no idea that anime had creations that followed the story of a similar Sherlock Holmes character. I learned that there is an anime called Sherlock Hound, even including a Moriarty character! I love how this D.H. project explores fun and more entertainment-focused information about Sherlock Holmes, instead of a purely historical background. I also love the inclusion of the theoretical aspect surrounding Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, such as discovering a fictional character's personal aspects, such as their sexuality--which was talked about in yesterday's post.

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The Canon of Sherlock Holmes has inspired countless adaptations over the years, each with a slightly different take on the Great Detective, his companion John Watson, and his Victorian world. For many people, an adaptation was their first introduction to Sherlock Holmes, and each interpretation is v…

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I would like to note that I did some additional research into the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle. I feel that the D.H. project skips the historical aspect surrounding the character of Sherlock Holmes, as the project more specifically hones in on the characteristics and fun facts about the character himself. I do think that it is important to gain some historical context about the author, as gaining context about the man that created one of the most influential and entertaining mystery characters of all time is important to gather information and answer the question: why was Sherlock Holmes created in the first place? These letters are examples pulled from a larger book, a collection of many letters by Conan Doyle. This allows us as readers and consumers to get into the head of Conan Doyle and come to the conclusion of how and why Sherlock Holmes was created; we get an insight inside Conan Doyle's head and thinking.

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Graphic Novel by Luke B. Kuhns, drawn by Marcie Klinger (2013)

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Sherlock Holmes & The Horror of Frankenstein

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Here is a link to the 221B Baker street wiki page

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Here is a link to the 221B Baker street wiki page

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Welcome to
221B Baker Street

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887.

He was devised by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases.

Today, he is perhaps the most famous fictional detective, and indeed one of the best known and most universally recognizable literary characters. Through multiple adaptions, he is the most portrayed fictional character. The stories of Sherlock Holmes are second in world wide sales.

The Baker Street Wiki is an encyclopedia about Sherlock Holmes that anyone can edit.

We are dedicated to providing detailed information on all aspects of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, from the original short stories and novels to the latest adaptations.

Whether you are here to start editing or to chat with fellow users, you are welcome to sign up for an account!

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Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He was devised by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases.

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Today I decided to explore the "Sharing" tab from the main website. Under this tab, various articles and interesting sites are listed, along with some blogs and fan works and commentary. I especially was interested in the provided discussion groups and podcasts listed under this tab, including a 221B Baker Street Online Community. I have personally heard of this group before, so it was a great reminder to check out what this group has been up to recently--it has been a few years for me. However, under further exploration I noticed that this page had been taken down sometime between now and 5 years ago--the DH project had not updated this page yet. I did peak interest in exploring another group though, which was a fan forum on Sherlock. I was also interested in the wiki pages provided, following the character, Sherlock Holmes, and what he's about exactly. I will say that I'm starting to notice that this DH project has a plethora of information with countless links leading to outside resources--which I like a lot. However, I will note that the design of the website is basic, which initially helps out with accessibility and usability. On the other hand, the simplicity mixed with the plethora of what seems like unlimited information becomes overwhelming for the user. I never know what to click, nor do I have time, to click and explore all the information. In the end, the information being at the user's fingertips is useful, but overwhelming in the sense that there is simply so much on this topic. While the information is useful, entertaining, fun, and enlightening, I struggle to be able to learn about it all. However, isn't that just the struggle in academia?

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I was especially interested in the section under the sharing tab and under the heading that provided various links to games and puzzles. I did find, however, that most of the links were old and/or not working correctly. A lot of the links also did work, but took the user to a page with no results following the topic of Sherlockian games/puzzles. The first link did work and led me to this website linked above that gives insight to a real Baker Street Experience. This game allows the user to experience an interactive audio adventure set in the universe of Sherlock Holmes, specifically hooking up to an Amazon Alexa device. I've played a brief version on my Alexa before at home and it was a fun way to distract myself from doing homework. It was entertaining to also look at the gallery pictures at the bottom of this website (linked above).

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The Baker Street Experience is an interactive audio adventure set in the universe of Sherlock Holmes and made exclusively for the Alexa-enabled devices. This app, or skill, features several environments that help create a feeling of progression and exploration within the experience, including Holmes titular study on Baker Street, a busy coffee house, a derelict back alley and Scotland Yard.

Unlike other Amazon Echo experiences, this skill uses full voiceover, including player action prompts and Quit/Cancel audio. It is also the first audio adventure to include the new Home Card art feature. This system provides optional visual accompaniment (scene art, help text, credits, and company information) to enhance the experience when played along with a mobile device.

To play the Baker Street Experience you'll need an Alexa-enabled device and an Amazon.com account. Once everything is configured, simply say, " Alexa, Enable Baker Street Experience", and you'll be ready to don the iconic hat and magnifying glass of the world's most renowned detective. Best of all, the experience is free to all Amazon Echo owners. See the Baker Street Experience on Amazon.

To read more about the Baker Street Experience and to hear some examples of gameplay, visit the Blog.

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The Baker Street Experience is an interactive audio adventure set in the universe of Sherlock Holmes and made exclusively for the Alexa-enabled devices. This app, or skill, features several environments that help create a feeling of progression and exploration within the experience, including Holmes titular study on Baker Street, a busy coffee house, a derelict back alley and Scotland Yard.

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Looking at the "About" page on Serlockian.net, I was interested to explore the authors/creators of this DH project and their background. I was pleasantly surprised to see some history on the matter also a focus on this page. The team that created this DH project includes faculty, academic specialists, graduate students, and undergraduate students; they are a team of architects, researchers, writers, designers, librarians, and developers. They have a diverse interest and credibility, thus providing multiple different perspectives on the character Sherlock Holmes and what surrounds him. I would like to note that the team was also mostly student-led. The history of the matter was also very impressive, which expends on why this DH project is so full of information and wild directions following the character, Sherlock Holmes. Creating this project required conducting research with community members, deciding and developing the main navigation, designing page templates, writing new content, developing a social media content strategy, updating thousands of links, moving over hundreds of pages of content with a diverse team. It was interesting to learn about WIDE research program, as this was a big factor in creating this GH project in the first place. This research program is/was a digital humanities lab run out of Michigan State University. Creating a lab dedicated to the digital humanities brought many different departments together because of widespread collaboration; digital humanities opens up collaboration to all studies besides English studies.

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This is a link to WIDE (Writing, Information, and Digital Experience), a website and digital research lab run out of Michigan State University.

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Writing, Information, and Digital Experience Lab :: Home

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After close to a year of collaborating on the new site architecture and design for Sherlockian.net, which WIDE acquired last fall, the new website has gone live! Be sure to check it out!

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For the final day of exploration, I decided to check out lesson plans and activities following the literary studies of Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles storyline. As a teacher and person who appreciates education, it made sense to me to explore the teaching tab on the GH project a little further. I might even use these lesson plans for a creative unit in my ENGL 201 class if I can find room for it. I noticed that there were some lesson plans that required purchase and such, but that is normal for finding lesson plans and activities online. Nonetheless, these sources were still helpful. I appreciated that there was a free PDF of the story linked with a lesson plan, so that would be helpful providing for the class. I liked that there were some assessment activities included in the links as well; this would be really helpful in setting up a Kahoot activity for students to interact with the text while testing for reading comprehension.

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10 Commandments of Detective Fiction
A useful site to help students see the conventions of the genre.

The Hound of the Baskervilles
This site is a companion to the video of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart. It has extensive background resources. Don't miss the Teacher's Guide.

What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
Students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time.

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The Hound of the Baskervilles Lesson Plans

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10 Commandments of Detective Fiction A useful site to help students see the conventions of the genre. The Hound of the Baskervilles This site is a companion to the video of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart. It has extensive background resources. Don't miss the Teacher's Guide.

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This link provides multiple links to various PDFs and HTMLs, with images, backgrounds, and formats for the source.

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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

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Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg.

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What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations

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What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations

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This is a link to a teaching source that provides adaptations and literary review/background on the character. This would be very useful in a creative unit on Sherlock Holmes.

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Warner Brothers Pictures

Overview | How do literary characters evolve in various portrayals? How do these variations affect our understanding of the characters? In this lesson, students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time.

Materials | Videos or DVDs, projection equipment, copies of the current class text

Warm-up | Read aloud the entire beginning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

Immediately afterward, have students freewrite about the Sherlock Holmes character - his age, mannerisms, personality, attitude, thought process and anything else they gather from this reading. Invite students to share their ideas.

Next, play a trailer for the 2009 Guy Ritchie film "Sherlock Holmes," and then ask: What did you notice about how Robert Downey Jr. portrays Sherlock Holmes? In what ways does Downey's portrayal seem true to the novel excerpt and how you imagined him? In what way does it seem different? If you like, you might also read additional excerpts from Doyle's other books to help them flesh out their ideas of Holmes, such as this section of "A Scandal in Bohemia" (note: this excerpt contains a reference to Holmes' drug use).

Share this reader comment on the Times article that they are about to read: "Thank you Conan Doyle for creating a character who lends himself to various interpretations, thus enabling him to remain alive for us to enjoy for decades! Each of the most enjoyable interpretations, including Rathbone, Brett and now, Downey Jr., have put a unique stamp on Holmes that contributes to his longevity. I say bravo!" Along with this comment, show students these images of different actors portraying Holmes. Ask: Based on the images you have just seen of different Holmes portrayals, what strikes you about the character of Sherlock Holmes? How can portrayals of one character differ so widely? How do different portrayals add to our understanding of a character?

Finally, lead a brainstorm about other literary characters who, like Holmes, have "lived" in many different ways (film, visual art, plays, literary adaptations, fan fiction, etc.). What gives some characters lasting power? Why and how have these characters been portrayed many times, and many different ways? How do these portrayals contribute to our interpretation of the literary characters? What might the original authors think?

Related | In "Sherlock Holmes, Amorphous Sleuth for Any Era," Charles McGrath examines the "afterlife" of Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes and wonders what Conan Doyle might think of the 2009 film "Sherlock Holmes":

Arthur Conan Doyle grew so to hate his greatest creation, Sherlock Holmes, that in 1893 he tried to kill him off, plunging him over the Reichenbach Falls. He called it "justifiable homicide," saying, "If I had not killed him, he would certainly have killed me."

Had Conan Doyle been able to consult with the writers of "Sherlock Holmes," the new movie directed by Guy Ritchie, he might have devised, as they did, more vengeful and imaginative perils, like having Holmes almost bisected by a buzz saw in an abattoir, or crushed by a runaway hull in a shipyard. As it was, Conan Doyle bowed to popular demand and the emptiness of his bank account, and in 1903, after the success of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," reluctantly resurrected Holmes for 24 more years.

Holmes is now unkillable - though purists will doubtless argue that Robert Downey Jr.'s rendition of him in the Ritchie film, which at times resembles a Victorian version of "Fight Club," is a fate worse than death. Even Conan Doyle's own demise in 1930 failed to finish off the great detective. Instead it propelled Holmes into probably the most successful and elaborate afterlife that any fictional character has ever enjoyed. He has appeared in countless movies, stage plays and television series, and has inspired a shelf full of literary sequels and knockoffs, as well as some cartoon versions. He has even been played by Daffy Duck.

Read the article with your class, using the questions below.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

1. How does the author imagine Conan Doyle would feel about the current film "Sherlock Holmes"?

2. Why did Conan Doyle grow to hate his most famous character?

3. Ironically, the author suggests that Sherlock Holmes would be a less memorable character if Doyle had been a better writer? Why? What is it that gives him continued life?

4. How does the author account for the evolution of images of Sherlock Holmes over time?

5. How does the current film version dialogue with other recent hit movies?

Activity | Gather two or three film, television or other interpretations of the literary work currently being studied in class, with a focus on an important character.

For example, American literature teachers might pair "The Great Gatsby" with the 1949, 1974 and 2000 (TV) movies and look at portrayals of Gatsby or Daisy; in British literature, you might pair the BBC's 1995 television series and the 2003 and 2005 film versions of "Pride and Prejudice" to examine Elizabeth Bennet or Darcy.

Use the structure below (which uses "Romeo and Juliet" as an example) to lead students in comparing portrayals of the character you have chosen to focus on.
Sample Character Study: Juliet

1. Begin the activity by reading aloud, or asking students to read, a key chapter or scene from the text, such as the balcony scene ( Act II, scene 2) or the ball scene ( Act 1, scene 5).

2. Students freewrite about what they perceive about Juliet, considering age, mannerisms, personality, attitude, etc.

3. Students to work in small groups to consider how they would portray Romeo and Juliet, if cast in their roles. Ask them to think about how they might move, speak certain lines to bring out subtext, and generally bring the characters to life.

4. Call for volunteers to play the class's Romeo and Juliet; you might repeat this a couple of times to elicit different interpretations. Students freewrite again after the performances.

5. Show three different interpretations of the same scene, asking students to freewrite after each. For "Romeo and Juliet," three suggestions are Franco Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), the Royal Ballet production with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the title roles (1966) and Baz Luhrman's "R+J" (1996).

6. Give students a few minutes to review their writing, then prompt discussion by asking students which portrayal they found most compelling and why.

7. Ask: What "unique stamp" does each actress bring to the role of Juliet? Which one do you think Shakespeare would prefer? Why? How does each portrayal resonate throughout the rest of the adaptation, affecting how we see Juliet's relationships, her situation and actions?

Going further | Independently, students find two or three additional interpretations of this character, or another character of their choice from the same text. Encourage them to search for portrayals in film, television, art, comic books, written adaptations or satires, fan fiction or contemporary literature, etc. from around the world and across time periods.

Students examine the portrayals studied in class alongside the ones they found, considering how the character has evolved over time. They then write letters from the point of view of the author about which one he or she prefers and why.

Students might also contribute to a classroom timeline with visuals, film and television stills and literary passages which reflect the character across time and space.

Standards | From McREL, for grades 6-12:

Language Arts
1 - Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
5- Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
6- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of literary texts
7- Uses the general skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts
8- Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Life Skills: Working With Others
1- Contributes to the overall effort of a group
4 - Displays effective interpersonal communication skills

Theatre
5- Understands how informal and formal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions create and communicate meaning.
6- Understands the context in which theatre, film, television, and electronic media are performed today as well as in the past

Art Connections
1- Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines

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Amanda Christy Brown and Holly Epstein Ojalvo

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What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations

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Warner Brothers Pictures Overview | How do literary characters evolve in various portrayals? How do these variations affect our understanding of the characters? In this lesson, students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time.

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Abstract:  This article examines how both scientists and creationists, as they argue over intelligent design, invoke and quote the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes to support their opposed positions. Rhetorical analysis of Holmes’s repeated contributions to the debate reveals not only how the argument for design falls apart, but also how the argument for Darwin compromises itself when following the detective onto shaky logical ground. The sciences and the humanities must work together to combat the corrosive influence of pseudoscientific reasoning on our students and the general public; this article contributes to that joint enterprise.

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Podcast: What can SH teach us about thinking?

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Podcast: What can SH teach us about thinking?

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While many lessons focusing on Sherlock Holmes is focused towards middle and high school, some lessons can be focused on the college or higher ed level as well. The following podcast by Maria Konnikova uses Sherlock Holmes and ideas surrounding the character to encourage critical thinking. Theme is a key concept surrounding SH and how we as humans interact with the world. how we can think better, how we can interact better, etc. Life for Holmes was very analytical and mindful. However, we as humans analyze things very little, and we go through life in a mindless way compared to Sherlock Holmes. It is important to pay attention to what isn't there. Using SH to make better decisions allows us to recognize what is or isn't there to influence our decision making to be more analytical, reflective, and influential.

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Maria Konnikova is a writer, doctoral candidate, and blogger at Scientific American. She has recently finished a series called "Lessons of Sherlock Holmes" - a chronicle that explores how examples from the fictional detective stories can help provide insight into not only how humans think, but also, how we should think.

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Sherlock Holmes Reimagined for Middle and High School Students

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Sherlock Holmes Reimagined for Middle and High School Students

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"But the main purpose of this blog post was to recommend some more recent novels featuring the character of Sherlock Holmes that would be great reads for a 6th-12th grade audience.  None of these books were written by Arthur Conan Doyle, but all of them were inspired by him.  Some of these stories focus primarily on the character of Holmes, while in others Holmes stays in the background for much of the time while other characters (like The Baker Street Irregulars) take the spotlight. Some of these stories take place during the time of Doyle's original stories, while others fill in gaps in the timeline."

Everyone as likely heard of Sherlock Holmes and what a great storyline he followed as a great detective character. Since the birth of the SH character, other stories and mystery novels have been influenced by the great detective. The following blog suggests some books that were influenced and/or inspired by the concept of SH, while also making literature following SH more relevant and interesting to younger readers. Traditionally, younger readers are uninterested in reading traditional works like Sherlock Holmes stories, so it's understandable when they might take more of an interest in newer novels influenced by SH.

SH is great to talk about in schools, as students can use this as an opportunity to think differently and explore new outlets surrounding the character. Lessons like a literature review or a rhetorical analysis can be created by analyzing different works by and/or influenced by SH.

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"This course is a writing workshop. Students plan, create, and research for a story they will write. You will discover the value of attention to detail for a plot for writing a novel, teleplay, or screenplay. The main goal of the course is for students to develop skills for writing a mystery-suspense-crime story. Technique is taught. Bring your creativity."

Unfortunately, this lesson is not free to use. However, I recognize that educators need to make some extra money in some way or another. Looking at the preview of the lesson does get me excited as an educator though. Using Sherlock Holmes and other crime, mystery, and thriller stories, I am interested in this creative writing lesson plan. I think it would be a great opportunity to have a narrative unit with this type of creative lesson for the students. With a mystery theme and perhaps even a SH theme, students get interested in critical thinking at the same time as critical reading and writing, as well as creative thinking, reading, and writing. While the focus of this lesson is to cater to suspence-thriller writers, any student who enjoys literature and writing can participate and creatively think/write.

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Terri Dawn ArnoldInstructor response • a year ago

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Creative Writing: The Mystery, Suspense, Crime Story

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"Rationale: Using powerpoint technology, students will be introduced to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his works concerning Sherlock Holmes. This can be used during
a unit on mystery and included with Doyle's work The Hound of the Baskervilles."

While this lesson plan is basic, it does provide basic information surrounding Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This plan would be really useful in creating a basic PowerPoint on the character and Doyle surrounding basic biographical information. The plan shows that this information is meant to be used as an introduction of SH and later turn into a thinking activity(ies) for students later on. However, I will say that these additional activities are pretty vague on this website, so I would think that the teacher will have to come up with that portion of the lesson plan on their own. However, the simple information for an introduction is really useful. I would just be sure to double check that information is relevant/correct with a quick Google search.

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#1700. A brief biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Hol

Literature, level: Senior
Posted Tue Apr 25 09:40:39 PDT 2000 by Beth Caspersen ( zgrg@grove.iup.edu).
IUP, Indiana, PA
Materials Required: Powerpoint, computer with TV hook-up
Activity Time: one 45-minute class period.

Rationale: Using powerpoint technology, students will be introduced to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his works concerning Sherlock Holmes. This can be used during
a unit on mystery and included with Doyle's work The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Objectives: Students will demonstrate base knowledge about Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle and his character Sherlock Holmes by completing a short multiple-choice quiz. Students will
solve mini-mysteries and logic puzzles in groups in preparation for puzzles to be given throughout
the unit.

Steps: 1)Introduce the author and give a brief biography of his life.
2)Introduce his character, Sherlock Holmes.
3) Give background information about the character where and when he was first introduced musical preference style of dress/image
4) Use a powerpoint presentation with logic puzzles and mini-mysteries for students to solve

Notes:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh Scotland and died in 1930.
He went to school at Edinburgh University and studied medicine under Joseph Bell. He practiced
as a doctor in Southsea, Birmingham for a short while before publishing his first short story
in 1879. His first novel was published in 1887, the same year A Study in Scarlet was
released in Beeton's Christmas Annual. Doyle wrote more than 50 books during his career,
spanning several genres, but is most well-remembered for his Sherlock Holmes stories which appeared
in The Strand, a magazine, from 1891 to 1905. In the course of his writing career he
authored 60 short stories about his famous dectective and one novel entitled,
The Hound of the Baskervilles. These works had a great
impact on the mystery genre and the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories are refered to as
the "Cannon" by its loyal followers.
Sherlock Holmes was born 6 January 1854. However the date on which he died still remains
a mystery. For most of his detective career Holmes lived at 221b
Baker Street with his collegue and friend Dr. John H. Watson. Holmes practiced
as a detective from 1881-1904. Most noted for wearing a cape and deerstalker hat, his image is
easily recognized. As a patron of the arts, Holmes is known for taking in the opera in London and
playing the violin. Many television series, movies, and games have been derived from this famous
detective, such as Young Sherlock Holmes> a movie produced in the 1985 and starring Nicholas
Rowe as the
great dectective and Sherlock Holmes
in the 22nd Century a current cartoon that places the detective in a futuristic setting.
The board game "221b Baker Street" was manufactured by Milton Bradley and recent computer games
including "The Adventure of the Rose Tatoo."

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Lesson Plan #1700. A brief biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Hol

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Literature, level: Senior Posted Tue Apr 25 09:40:39 PDT 2000 by Beth Caspersen ( zgrg@grove.iup.edu). IUP, Indiana, PA Materials Required: Powerpoint, computer with TV hook-up Activity Time: one 45-minute class period. Rationale: Using powerpoint technology, students will be introduced to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his works concerning Sherlock Holmes.

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This website is a link to various lesson ideas focusing on Sherlock Holmes. This includes biographical and basic information surrounding SH and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This link also includes some PDFs of short stories about SH that can be used in the classroom. One of my favorite things was that this website included links to literary adaptations activities and lessons for students.

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| Biography and Background | | Online Texts | | The Hound of the Baskervilles | | Other Stories |

Arthur Conan Doyle
Biography and criticism from the Internet Public Library.

The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A website for enthusiasts, with a wide variety of information.

Sherlock Holmes on the Web: the Sherlockian.Net Holmepage
Links to the stories and novels, background information and biography, even a link to "How to write a term paper."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A brief biography. Click the "watch video" link to hear Conan Doyle explain his inspiration for Holmes.

Queen Victoria's Scrapbook
Artifacts and insights related to the life and reign of Queen Victoria.

The Sherlock Holmes Short Stories
Text of the stories in multiple formats: MP3, PDF, web page. Some stories include student learning activities.

Arthur Conan Doyle
Biography and links to e-texts of the 4 novels. Click on "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" for links to e-texts of twelve short stories.

Classic Short Stories
Links to 6 short stories. Access requires MS-Word or compatible application.

The Original Stories
Links to texts of the short stories and the novels.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Click here : Sherlock, Watson, and these lesson plans have moved to their own page.

It's A Mystery To Me
Students look at Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Doyle's "The Red-Headed League," and Christie's And Then There were None . They work collaboratively and cooperatively to learn vocabulary and the elements of the detective genre, to analyze character, and to write. This extensive page includes background information, vocabulary, and other resources.

Sherlock Holmes: Teaching English Through Detective Fiction
This unit plan uses "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," "The Adventure of the Final Problem," "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," and "The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip." Students also read a dramatic adaptation of "The Adventure of the Second Stain" and view Young Sherlock Holmes . This page includes a biography of Doyle and reading questions for "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." This unit is designed for 9th grade remedial students.

Some Vocabulary from "The Red Headed League"
10 words, with definitions and sentences. Students who complete this activity with 100% accuracy are directed to an online copy of the story.

A Teacher's Guide to the Core Classics Edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Selected Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Extensive support for five stories: "The Speckled Band," "The Red-Headed League," "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb," "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," and "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches." This document includes study questions, vocabulary practice, literature circle guides, practice with sentence structure and parts of speech, and ideas for projects. The document is 92 pages long and requires Adobe Reader for access. Consider saving it to your computer and printing only the pages that you need.

What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
Students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time. This lesson refers specifically to Sherlock Holmes but could easily be adapted to other works that have more than one movie version.

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Biography and Background | | Online Texts | | The Hound of the Baskervilles | | Other Stories | Arthur Conan Doyle Biography and criticism from the Internet Public Library. The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A website for enthusiasts, with a wide variety of information.

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"How do literary characters evolve in various portrayals? How do these variations affect our understanding of the characters? In this lesson, students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time."

This would make for a fun narrative unit and/or literature review on creative mystery works!

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Warner Brothers Pictures

Overview | How do literary characters evolve in various portrayals? How do these variations affect our understanding of the characters? In this lesson, students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time.

Materials | Videos or DVDs, projection equipment, copies of the current class text

Warm-up | Read aloud the entire beginning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

Immediately afterward, have students freewrite about the Sherlock Holmes character - his age, mannerisms, personality, attitude, thought process and anything else they gather from this reading. Invite students to share their ideas.

Next, play a trailer for the 2009 Guy Ritchie film "Sherlock Holmes," and then ask: What did you notice about how Robert Downey Jr. portrays Sherlock Holmes? In what ways does Downey's portrayal seem true to the novel excerpt and how you imagined him? In what way does it seem different? If you like, you might also read additional excerpts from Doyle's other books to help them flesh out their ideas of Holmes, such as this section of "A Scandal in Bohemia" (note: this excerpt contains a reference to Holmes' drug use).

Share this reader comment on the Times article that they are about to read: "Thank you Conan Doyle for creating a character who lends himself to various interpretations, thus enabling him to remain alive for us to enjoy for decades! Each of the most enjoyable interpretations, including Rathbone, Brett and now, Downey Jr., have put a unique stamp on Holmes that contributes to his longevity. I say bravo!" Along with this comment, show students these images of different actors portraying Holmes. Ask: Based on the images you have just seen of different Holmes portrayals, what strikes you about the character of Sherlock Holmes? How can portrayals of one character differ so widely? How do different portrayals add to our understanding of a character?

Finally, lead a brainstorm about other literary characters who, like Holmes, have "lived" in many different ways (film, visual art, plays, literary adaptations, fan fiction, etc.). What gives some characters lasting power? Why and how have these characters been portrayed many times, and many different ways? How do these portrayals contribute to our interpretation of the literary characters? What might the original authors think?

Related | In "Sherlock Holmes, Amorphous Sleuth for Any Era," Charles McGrath examines the "afterlife" of Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes and wonders what Conan Doyle might think of the 2009 film "Sherlock Holmes":

Arthur Conan Doyle grew so to hate his greatest creation, Sherlock Holmes, that in 1893 he tried to kill him off, plunging him over the Reichenbach Falls. He called it "justifiable homicide," saying, "If I had not killed him, he would certainly have killed me."

Had Conan Doyle been able to consult with the writers of "Sherlock Holmes," the new movie directed by Guy Ritchie, he might have devised, as they did, more vengeful and imaginative perils, like having Holmes almost bisected by a buzz saw in an abattoir, or crushed by a runaway hull in a shipyard. As it was, Conan Doyle bowed to popular demand and the emptiness of his bank account, and in 1903, after the success of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," reluctantly resurrected Holmes for 24 more years.

Holmes is now unkillable - though purists will doubtless argue that Robert Downey Jr.'s rendition of him in the Ritchie film, which at times resembles a Victorian version of "Fight Club," is a fate worse than death. Even Conan Doyle's own demise in 1930 failed to finish off the great detective. Instead it propelled Holmes into probably the most successful and elaborate afterlife that any fictional character has ever enjoyed. He has appeared in countless movies, stage plays and television series, and has inspired a shelf full of literary sequels and knockoffs, as well as some cartoon versions. He has even been played by Daffy Duck.

Read the article with your class, using the questions below.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

1. How does the author imagine Conan Doyle would feel about the current film "Sherlock Holmes"?

2. Why did Conan Doyle grow to hate his most famous character?

3. Ironically, the author suggests that Sherlock Holmes would be a less memorable character if Doyle had been a better writer? Why? What is it that gives him continued life?

4. How does the author account for the evolution of images of Sherlock Holmes over time?

5. How does the current film version dialogue with other recent hit movies?

Activity | Gather two or three film, television or other interpretations of the literary work currently being studied in class, with a focus on an important character.

For example, American literature teachers might pair "The Great Gatsby" with the 1949, 1974 and 2000 (TV) movies and look at portrayals of Gatsby or Daisy; in British literature, you might pair the BBC's 1995 television series and the 2003 and 2005 film versions of "Pride and Prejudice" to examine Elizabeth Bennet or Darcy.

Use the structure below (which uses "Romeo and Juliet" as an example) to lead students in comparing portrayals of the character you have chosen to focus on.
Sample Character Study: Juliet

1. Begin the activity by reading aloud, or asking students to read, a key chapter or scene from the text, such as the balcony scene ( Act II, scene 2) or the ball scene ( Act 1, scene 5).

2. Students freewrite about what they perceive about Juliet, considering age, mannerisms, personality, attitude, etc.

3. Students to work in small groups to consider how they would portray Romeo and Juliet, if cast in their roles. Ask them to think about how they might move, speak certain lines to bring out subtext, and generally bring the characters to life.

4. Call for volunteers to play the class's Romeo and Juliet; you might repeat this a couple of times to elicit different interpretations. Students freewrite again after the performances.

5. Show three different interpretations of the same scene, asking students to freewrite after each. For "Romeo and Juliet," three suggestions are Franco Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), the Royal Ballet production with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the title roles (1966) and Baz Luhrman's "R+J" (1996).

6. Give students a few minutes to review their writing, then prompt discussion by asking students which portrayal they found most compelling and why.

7. Ask: What "unique stamp" does each actress bring to the role of Juliet? Which one do you think Shakespeare would prefer? Why? How does each portrayal resonate throughout the rest of the adaptation, affecting how we see Juliet's relationships, her situation and actions?

Going further | Independently, students find two or three additional interpretations of this character, or another character of their choice from the same text. Encourage them to search for portrayals in film, television, art, comic books, written adaptations or satires, fan fiction or contemporary literature, etc. from around the world and across time periods.

Students examine the portrayals studied in class alongside the ones they found, considering how the character has evolved over time. They then write letters from the point of view of the author about which one he or she prefers and why.

Students might also contribute to a classroom timeline with visuals, film and television stills and literary passages which reflect the character across time and space.

Standards | From McREL, for grades 6-12:

Language Arts
1 - Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
5- Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
6- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of literary texts
7- Uses the general skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts
8- Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Life Skills: Working With Others
1- Contributes to the overall effort of a group
4 - Displays effective interpersonal communication skills

Theatre
5- Understands how informal and formal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions create and communicate meaning.
6- Understands the context in which theatre, film, television, and electronic media are performed today as well as in the past

Art Connections
1- Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines

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Amanda Christy Brown and Holly Epstein Ojalvo

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What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations

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Warner Brothers Pictures Overview | How do literary characters evolve in various portrayals? How do these variations affect our understanding of the characters? In this lesson, students consider numerous portrayals of the same character to examine what gives characters lasting power and why and how they evolve over time.