Curated OER
A Year in the Work of the Bard
Students study the life and times of Shakespeare. In this William Shakespeare instructional activity, students research the noted Web sites to discover details about Shakespeare's life and the times he lived in. Students also virtually...
Curated OER
Race and Crime in the United States: Are We Victims of Discrimination or Antiheroes?
Using methods adopted by Public Policy Analysts (PPA) class groups define a social problem, gather evidence to document the existence of the problem, identify causes, evaluate existing policies designed to deal with the problem, develop...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Fact Sheet: The First Globe
Where did actors perform plays during Shakespeare's era? Using the handout, pupils learn about London's historical Globe Theatre and discover which of Shakespeare's plays actors performed there. Scholars also explore the cause of the...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Fact Sheet: Indoor Theatres
Pull up a cushion, grab an apple or some nuts, light a candle, and get ready to explore indoor theatres from Elizabethan England. Readers use a handout to distinguish between indoor and outdoor theatres and the types of actors who...
California Shakespeare Theater
Hamlet Teacher's Guide
Even those experienced teachers of Hamlet can find much to like in a guide that offers many fresh ideas for activities. Class members may take on the role of FBI profilers that investigate Claudius and Hamlet as murderers, or designers...
Curated OER
Twelfth Night: QAR
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is used to model for readers how to craft four levels of questions that promote comprehension. Questions that can be answered with evidence right there in the text, questions that require readers to think and...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Project
Students research the life and times of William Shakespeare and present their research in a variety of ways. They make timelines, act out the story of one of his plays or create word searches.
Curated OER
Exploring the Expository Scenes in Macbeth
Students examine the function of exposition in play structure. They will be able to develop multiple interpretations and visual and aural production choices for Shakespearean scenes and choose those that are most interesting.
Curated OER
Hamlet's Soliloquy
Everyone is familiar with the beginning of Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be..." While reading Hamlet, help your middle schoolers analyze the lines that follow, but how do you help them make personal connections to the text? Use...
Curated OER
Macbeth: Fun Trivia Quiz
While this quiz on Macbeth is not highly collaborative or academically challenging, you might use it as brief check for understanding or sponge activity. This quiz is composed of ten multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions....
Curated OER
Richard the Second #2: Fun Trivia Quiz
Challenge your class to recall information about Shakespeare's Richard II. This online quiz provides fifteen questions based on characters and basic plot points. Use it as a check for understanding or a quick sponge activity. Since this...
Novelinks
The Winter’s Tale: Concept Analysis
A comedy? A romance? A little of both? Shakespeare's The Winter Tale is the focus of an overview appropriate for those who are considering using the play for the first time.
Jen London
Julius Caesar Funeral Speech Essay Assignment
"Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause." "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" As part of a study of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, individuals as asked to compare the funeral speeches of Brutus and Mark...
Curated OER
Who is Gertrude, Really?
Students form opinions about Gertrude by imaginatively creating 5 entries for Gertrude's journal. Each journal entry reveal much about Gertrude's character at pivotal moments in the play.
Curated OER
Reading Shakespeare
Students rebuild the a portion of the text of Twelfth Night by reordering lines of text to create meaning thereby gaining confidence when in their ability to gain meaning when reading Shakespeare.
Curated OER
"Tear him for his bad verses:" Cinna the poet and Shakespeare's Sonnets
Poor Cinna, the poet. His dream of “things unlucky” certainly comes true as the mob tears him apart, at first because they mistake him for Cinna, the conspirator, and then continue to “tear him to pieces for his bad verses.” As part of...
Curated OER
War and Remembrance: St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V
Students discuss their opinions about war. For this political science lesson, students use a video about war to analyze their own ideas about war. They discuss the terminology Shakespeare used in reference to war, and examine the...
PBS
Does Art Imitate Life?
Write what you know, sound advice for any writer and something many famous authors are known to have done. Use these materials to explore how Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. This resource is packed with readings, video segments,...
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet-Balcony Scence
Students create and carry out a "modern day" version of the famous scene from Romeo and Juliet to help them build understanding of the plot and the two characters.
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Fact Sheet: The Third Globe
Hopefully the third time's a charm when it comes to rebuilding London's Globe Theatre! With an informational text, readers learn about the reconstruction of the theatre in the 1990s. They also discover how modern health and safety...
Curated OER
The Tempest: Quiz
In this The Tempest activity, students answer 15 multiple choice questions on the plot, characters, and theme of Shakespeare's play.
Curated OER
Deception Lesson Plan
Students explore Shakespeare's portrayal of deception. In this plot lesson, students examine the use of deception in "Much Ado About Nothing." Students write their own mini-versions of the play that are limited to 3 minutes.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Blow, Crack, and Rage
Students add punctuation to a passage from King Lear and compare their version to the First Folio version. In this Shakespeare and punctuation lesson, students discuss the difference punctuation can make on a set of words. Students add...