Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...

Learners design theater programs which show their understanding of William Shakespeare's plays. They design original art to include in the programs.

Sixth graders explore figurative and literal language. They study literary devices through short pieces of Shakespeare's work. Then investigate Shakespeare's works and life.

This lesson will focus on the aspects of Shakespeare's comedy that become more evident in performance. By viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in different film versions, high schoolers have the opportunity to engage in a close...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature instructional activity, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short...

Young scholars explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing his astonishing command of rhetoric and figurative language. The diverse set of activities below include short group performances, writing exercises and the guided...

Students discover how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the most popular forms of drama of that era. Students perform certain...

Students review and reproduce an article of Elizabethan styled clothing as a part of an analysis of Shakespeare's Macbeth.  In this Elizabethan art lesson, students discuss the fashion of the Elizabethan era and research it online....

Students read Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. In groups, they "perform" Act 3, Scenes 1-3 by "striking a pose" that best depicts the characters in that scene and by bringing in music that would best accompany the scene.

Students complete play analysis activities for Act 1 Scene 5 of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In this play analysis lesson plan, students read a summary of the scene and complete close reading discuss activities. Students analyze the...

Students research Macbeth online and complete computer and graphing activities for the play. In this Macbeth activities activity, students research Macbeth and bookmark the URL's. Students complete activities for the topic on...

Ninth graders, while in the library working in groups of three, find an article about a gang altercation and present them to their groups. They discuss the articles and then tie them back to the themes (rivalry between two warring...

High schoolers study characterization and the difference between subjective and objective points of view by creating tableaux to depict three interpretations of the story of Prospero's overthrow, each with a very different point of view....

Students read Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In groups, they divide Act 2 and add a new character or direction to the plot. They reinterpret the scene as a musical, using contemporary songs.

Students are introduced to Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." In groups, they "mini-sculpt" four scenes from the play that illustrate the relationships between the four lovers. They create a living statue out of the other...

Students study Romeo and Juliet. In this language arts lesson, students read the play and complete a series of activities. Students choose the activities to complete. Students write a summary, draw a poster or compare and contrast Romeo...

Students create a newspaper based on their reading of Romeo and Juliet.

Students identify a key line from a Shakespearean play and create a poem based on the imagery evoked by the dialogue.

Students explore the use of sound as a special effect to enhance or radically change the meaning of a scene. They design a soundscape for Macbeth's porter scene, and conclude by listening to and watching two different film treatments of...

Students participate in a performance of Macbeth using the lighting techniques that were employed during the Shakespearean era. Working in groups, student reenact a scene. Afterward they discuss the challenges of working with limited...

Students analyze Macbeth through the lens of a pop song. In this Macbeth lesson, students read Act I, Scene 7 of Macbeth and determine Lady Macbeth's viewpoint. Students read the lyrics to Alanis Morrissette's song 'Wake Up' and work in...

Students explore the character relationships and their connection in the play "As You Like It." Working in groups, students act out the various scenes from the play and discuss the characters and their actions in the scene. Students...

Students connect a scene from a play they are reading to events in their own lives. Working in male/female pairs, students act out a scene from "Hamlet." Pairs work to role play a scene as an extension of the one they have read, using...