Post-Show Classroom Activity

Invite students to reimagine Floyd Barton’s monologue. 

As always, please note that some steps of the activity may be condensed, eliminated, or extended based on the needs of your classroom.

I Had Seven Ways to Go

Activity Preparation

• Supplies
  • Floyd’s Monologue handout (one per student)
  • Digital copy of a feelings wheel
• Set-Up
  • As desired, plan a follow-up activity or extend this lesson into a unit where students revise, rehearse, and perform their monologues. 

This activity will take approximately 30 minutes.

---

Learning Sequence

1. Distribute the Floyd’s Monologue handout to students. Have a student read it aloud, and then have a second student read it aloud. Ask students to mark up the monologue and its margins for the most impactful words, phrases, or sentences. Invite a few students to share. (~5 minutes)
2. Ask: What emotions does Floyd experience through the course of his monologue? Prompt students to make a list of possible emotion words for the beginning, middle, and end of his monologue. If they are using less descriptive adjectives (like “sad” or “mad”), prompt them to brainstorm more specific emotions or use a thesaurus or feelings wheel to find stronger words. (~5 minutes)
3. Tell students that, in this activity, their goal will be to reimagine Floyd’s monologue to be delivered by another character in Seven Guitars. Have students consider which character they’d like to write a monologue for: Canewell, Red Carter, Vera, Louise, Hedley, or Ruby. Direct them to write their character’s name on the back of their handout. (~2 minutes)
4. Ask: Does your selected character have any of the same emotions as Floyd in the play? What emotions do you think they feel? Encourage students to take some artistic license as they consider the emotional arc of their characters in (and potentially beyond) the play. Have students write down some specific emotions on their handout. (~3 minutes)
5. Prompt students to begin to write their monologue, borrowing 1-3 impactful phrases from Floyd’s monologue as they wish. Remind them to make sure their character’s monologue communicates their selected emotions. Once everyone has finished their writing, give students an opportunity to share their monologues as time allows. (~15 minutes)

---

• This activity aligns with the following standards:
  • Illinois Arts Learning Standards 
    • Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    • Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
    • Anchor Standard 8: Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work.
  • Common Core State Standards 
    • CCSS.ELA.RL.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
    • CCSS.ELA.RI1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
    • CCSS.ELA.W10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Posted on June 3, 2026 in Learning Guides, Productions