Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...

Blanket, gossip, assassination, champion, generous. What do these words have in common? They were all coined by Shakespeare (or was it Shackespe, Shaxberrd, or Shake-Speare?) and are still in use today. Fustilarian, trundletail,...

What is poetry? Does hip-hop qualify as poetry? Do Shakespeare's monologues qualify as poetry? Class members grapple with these questions as they examine the poetic elements and themes presented in different texts. Groups of four study...

Students study the life and times of Shakespeare. In this William Shakespeare lesson, students research the noted Web sites to discover details about Shakespeare's life and the times he lived in. Students also virtually visit the Globe...

The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...

"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-instructional activity unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star...

'Tis not easy to understand the language of the Bard! But, hark! Fret not! With the assistance of this joyous lesson, young players learn how to translate Shakespeare's English into modern language. Groups examine passages from Julius...

Young scholars compare lyrics from hip hop songs with monologues from Shakespeare's plays, and perform both for the class.

Identify their feelings about Shakespeare's plays, addressing their readability and relevance to their lives. 2. Explore the effects of remaking Shakespeare plays in a modern context, as well as differences that emerge when a play is...

Shakespeare did more than write timeless literary works—he coined words such as moonbeam, fortune-teller, and even eyeball! A study guide for Henry V introduces key words the Bard first used with a fun vocabulary activity, part of a...

When it comes to William Shakespeare, there seem to be more questions than answers! Using the fact sheet, pupils uncover information about the Bard's home and family life, as well as his schooling and career. Readers also learn about his...

The Bard? Folly? Tragedy? How familiar are your pupils with terms associated with Romeo and Juliet? Class members rate their knowledge of a list of words and then share what they know with the class. The worksheet, discussion questions,...

Students practice their own acting skills. In this Shakespeare instructional activity, students participate in choral readings and reenact scenes from The Taming of the Shrew. Students then discuss the difficulties of Shakespearean acting.

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...

Students choose a Shakespearean play to reenact into a modern setting. In this Shakespeare lesson, students practice insulting each other using Shakespearean language. Students watch Shakespeare plays and complete online research....

Few teachers cover multiple Shakespeare plays in one year unless they teach a class on the Bard, so a quiz on multiple plays may have limited appeal. Despite this, it may be useful to you in planning your own quotation quiz.

The Tragedy of Othello is a tragedy indeed. Answer these 10 multiple-choice questions about the horrific events that occur in the Bard's play.

Capture your learners' attention with this online quiz on the characters who die in William Shakespeare's King Lear. Readers of The Bard answer ten multiple choice questions that detail 10 ways that different characters die during the...

Pupils conduct a close reading of "The Shakespeare Shakedown" by Simon Schama, and identify evidence the author uses to support his claims. Finally, they discuss and answer text-dependent questions before completing a Quick Write about...

Students research and record on a timeline the biography of a chosen poet correlating the poetry of the bard with those events which shaped his or her life. The events of the poet's life are examined to contrive meaning of the writings...

Tickle your funny bone with a activity that presents five famous puns drawn from Shakespeare's Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Much Ado About Nothing. Readers identify the play on words as a homographic or...

Rock stars are cool, but not as cool as the ones from the nineteenth century Romantic Movement. Present critical biographical information on the big three, Byron, Shelly, and Keats, before you dive into analysis of their major...

How do modern adaptations of Shakespearean plays relate to their original source material? Middle and high schoolers focus on Shakespeare's play Othello and its screen adaptation "O" to explore how modern film adaptations of Shakespeare...