Orlando Shakes
Twelfth Night: Study Guide
From lonely to luggage, it would be nearly impossible to have a modern-day conversation without using words that William Shakespeare coined. A Twelfth Night study guide introduces individuals to fun Shakespeare facts as they participate...
Curated OER
Much Ado About Nothing
In this Shakespeare worksheet, students decipher Much Ado About Nothing. Students read excerpts from the play and answer questions about specific quotes. They also translate lines into modern language.
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Hamlet's Soliloquy
In this literature instructional activity, students use Hamlet's soliloquy for a series of activities. Students match quotes with modern interpretations. Students reflect on and relate to Hamlet's feelings. They also give advice to Hamlet.
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Shortened Shakespeare
High schoolers discover the two main ingredients of a play: speech and actions. They then listen to a shortened version of "Macbeth" and write down one sentence to describe what is happening in each of the comic-strip cells.
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Shakespeare's Words
Students explore monologues of Shakespeare and the structure of the Globe Theatre. They participate in a Shakespeare phrase guessing game, examine a diagram of the Globe Theatre, and read and discuss monologues from Shakespeare.
Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story - Compare and Contrast
West Side Story, the modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, won ten Academy Awards for its rousing depiction of the tale of star-crossed lovers. But how closely does the plot align to its source material? Compare and...
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Reenacting Shakespeare
Students work in small groups to modernize and perform scenes from Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this Shakespeare reenact lesson, students have an active roll in completing the project which includes analyzing and summarizing scenes,...
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
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Macbeth
Students explore and analyze how to approach Shakespeare and create more meaning in a variety of contexts. In groups, they imagine three witches on the heath and trying to play it straight. They study various script extracts to evaluate.
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What Is Your Sign
Students analyze characters' personalities and relate them to the study of astrology in Shakespeare's time. This activity increases comprehension of early modern beliefs about astrology and, in doing so, give them a greater understanding...
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The Merchant of Venice
Pupils read parts of Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Using primary sources, they gain a glimpse into the early modern period's negative perceptions and stereotypes of human beings of African descent.
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Words, Words, Words
Students discover Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In this drama lesson, students read the first act of the play and then rewrite the original passages in today's English.
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The Bard, the Globe, the Midsummer Night's Dream
Students complete a unit of lessons to learn about William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre. In this William Shakespeare lesson, students complete 7 lessons of activities to study William Shakespeare, the Globe Theatre, and the play 'A...
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"Twelfth Night": What's so funny?
Students brainstorm and discuss elements of modern humor. They compare humor in their own lives to the humor that Shakespeare used in "Twelfth Night". They perform portions of "Twelfth Night" focusing on its humor.
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Examining Redemption in King Lear
Students examine the concept of the tragic hero in Shakespeare's King Lear and explore how it affects the plot of the play. In this theatrical analysis lesson plan, students investigate the redemption or defeat of King Lear and perform...
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Literary Response and Analysis Theme Literature
Analyze the central idea or literary theme found in a series of quotes from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. For literary analysis, learners paraphrase excerpts from the play and then identify the characters' motivations for their speech.
PBS
Talking to Myself: Hamlet’s Soliloquies
If you’re a first time teacher of Hamlet—or any Shakespeare play, this resource will help keep your head above water. Included are copies of Hamlet’s soliloquies, worksheets for student work, and high-quality videos that demonstrate to...
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Seventeenth Century Pick-up Lines
High schoolers analyze passages from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing, written in the seventeenth century. Students analyze the images, words and figures of speech the author used and compare...
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History of English
Did you know that in Japan you can drink "Poccari Sweat"? Ever heard of "Intervocalic fricatives become contrastive?" Sure. All this and more in a presentation that traces the history of English before England, in England including Old...
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Witches through History
Spark interest in a historic phenomena that lasted over 1000 years. The topic, witch hunts throughout history! A timeline beginning in 1000 BC follows how various religious groups have persecuted those thought to be witches up through...
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As You Like It
Students use online resources in order to examine patterns of imagery in As You Like It. By comparing these patterns to those of other Shakespeare plays, students draw conclusions about the different reasons Shakespeare uses imagery in...
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Lose the Lute!
Students use Shakespeare's plays to add modern music to match the mood in the play. They assign adjectives to the original songs of the play and find a song with the same mood. They work together to role-play the play with new music.
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Can't Buy Me Love?
Students activity find the multiplicity of meanings buried within Shakespeare's language. They examine how the meanings of words differ in modern America and in Venice.
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The Wooden 0
In this "The Wooden O" worksheet, students read about the first public theatres in London and answer discussion questions about attending a play during the 1500-1600's. Students then create a poster of the Globe theatre and perform an...