Curated OER
Let's Shake Up Shakespeare!
Stray from the traditional by trying this modern approach to exploring history's distinguished bard.
Curated OER
Find the Main Idea in Romeo and Juliet
Finding the main idea in a text can be rather difficult! Work with your class and develop this skill. This resource contains an excerpt from Act II, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, and the reader must identify the main idea of Juliet's...
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...
Novelinks
The Tempest: QAR
Asking questions about a text is an effective way to improve reading comprehension. Apply the Question Answer Response strategy to your unit on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As kids read each passage, they decide if the answer...
Novelinks
The Winter’s Tale: Putting the Play on Trial
After reading the first act of The Winter's Tale, class members conduct a trial and consider Leontes' accusations against Herminone.
Prestwick House
Othello
Oh, beware, reader of the clues in a Othello crossword puzzle. What you know of Shakespeare's tragic tale of the Moor, his wife Desdemona, and the manipulative Iago, you know. Or you just might have to use the text of Othello to find the...
Prestwick House
Julius Caesar
Learners won't consider a practice crossword puzzle on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar proves to be the unkindest cut of all. As they complete the puzzle, high schoolers review key concepts and characters from the play, checking both...
Curated OER
Hamlet Research Paper: Find, Evaluate, and Select Appropriate Research Sources
Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....
Curated OER
Conflict Resolution Lesson Plan
What is a bully? Romeo and Juliet's Act 3 Scene 1 gives eighth and ninth graders the perfect opportunity to explore bullying. After doing some Internet research on bullying characteristics, groups reenact the scene to decide who is...
Curated OER
Figurative Language in Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare was such a talented writer, but why? It must be his use of figurative language, blended with his clever, twisting plots. This worksheet focuses on his use of metaphor, simile, personification, oxymoron, and hyperbole within...
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Fishbowl Discussion Strategy
Readers learn together with a group discussion activity. As they read William Shakespeare's The Tempest, high schoolers prepare for a fishbowl discussion in which three or four learners sit in the middle of a large circle and...
Novelinks
The Tempest: List-Group-Label (After Reading)
Collaborate with your class after reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a group labeling activity. As you note key concepts or words from the play on the board, class members suggest associations and connections...
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...
Orlando Shakes
Two Gentlemen of Verona
What teenager can't relate to the drama of a love triangle? Scholars put their literary skills to use in a gripping role-play drama. William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona unfolds as the classroom becomes a stage of...
Curated OER
Twelfth Night Act 3 Sc 4
Students complete analysis activities for the Shakespearean play, Twelfth Night. In this play analysis instructional activity, students review a summary of the Twelfth Night, complete journal prompt writings, and a scene blocking...
Curated OER
Twelfth Night, Act 4 Scene 1
Students watch the scene (divided into three segments). After each segment is played, students are given time to annotate and answer briefly the context questions.
Curated OER
Shakespeare in Parts
Students examine primary source manuscript fragments, discuss differences in performing a play without the entire script, and perform a scene from Twelfth Night with no preparation.
Curated OER
Shortened Shakespeare
Students 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.
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Hamlet's Soliloquy
Twelfth graders use the Internet to find Prince Charles' version of the Hamlet soliloquy, read and discuss Hamlet's To be or not to be soliloquy and, using the study guide questions, read and discuss Prince Charles' update of the soliloquy.
Curated OER
Shakespeare Project
Young scholars 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
Shakespeare's Words
High schoolers 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.
Curated OER
Shakespeare
Students read specific acts of Shakepeare's King Lear. Using the text, they identify the beginning stages of Lear's insanity and the causes of his instability. They examine the relationship between King Lear and Poor Tom and reenact the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Expository Scenes in Macbeth
High schoolers 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 State of Mind
Analyze various excerpts from Hamlet and read articles to develop an argument about his sanity. Middle and high schoolers write an argument essay defending whether or not they believe Hamlet is insane. You could modify this assignment...