TeachersFirst's Shakespeare Resources
The amount of material available on Shakespeare is endless. These original and reviewed resources are an attempt to collect information on the works most commonly encountered in a K-12 curriculum using materials geared to high school and introductory college level students. In addition, we have included links to related sources dealing with the English monarchy and life and customs in Elizabethan England. Don't miss the TeachersFirst Exclusive Shakespeare lessons and activities included in this list.
View our entire collection of resources tagged Shakespeare.
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Humy - Humy.ai
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): american revolution (81), art history (86), artificial intelligence (136), authors (104), black history (128), chat (41), civil rights (197), civil war (135), DAT device agnostic tool (148), environment (237), great depression (29), greeks (32), presidents (124), religions (79), renaissance (33), space (215), Teacher Utilities (156), women (140), world war 1 (74), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free account provided by Humy to generate conversations on your interactive whiteboard with historical figures to introduce new lessons and units and engage students in upcoming activities. For example, before reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, select her name from the Humies to have a conversation to learn about her inspiration for writing the book and allow students to ask questions about her writing style and how she developed her storytelling skills. Use the chat conversations as a starting point for research projects on historical figures or periods. Ask students to share their projects by creating websites with Google Sites, reviewed here or by using Google My Maps, reviewed here to create an interactive story based on locations on the map.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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myShakespeare - Richard Clark and Greg Watson
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): england (50), literature (215), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
This site is a must-have for teachers of Shakespeare! Engage students by sharing the video performances to help students understand key events during any of the plays. Share and point out the glossed (bold) words to help students understand difficult language. Find the tool for glossed words in the top menu to turn it on and off. Have students answer the comprehension questions as a formative assessment for their self-reflection and to guide your lesson planning. This site is perfect for use in remote classrooms or as a flipped learning activity. Assign portions of the text to students to read before class discussions. Using myShakespeare in this way offers many tools for students to view the material in different formats as they complete the reading. Use Padlet, reviewed here to enhance student learning throughout your Shakespeare unit by asking clarifying questions and have students post video responses. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image. Extend learning further by asking students to create short video explainers of different scenes of the play using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What Jane Saw - The University of Texas at Austin/Janine Barchas
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (86), artists (80), authors (104), great britain (16), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Use this site to compare and contrast the exhibits from different times - in 1796 as a Shakespeare exhibit, and in 1813 as a display to promote local artists. Consider opening this site in two different browser tabs making it easier to go back and forth to see differences in displays and artwork. Have students explore on their own to gain an understanding of art in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Include this site when reading works by Jane Austen to consider the influence of art and Shakespeare on her writings. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Poster My Wall, reviewed here, or Lucidpress, reviewed here, to compare artwork from the different displays.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespeare Quotes - eNotes
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): hamlet (8), literary devices (13), macbeth (8), novels (31), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Share a link to this site on your class webpage for students to access at any time. Have students use this site as a model for creating their own explanation of quotes from Shakespeare (or any piece of literature). Encourage students to find a suitable quote to introduce their persuasive piece. Have students upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles to explain what they learned about Shakespeare using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. Challenge students to create a fictional Facebook account about a character in a Shakespeare play. Use the Fakebook, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespeare Uncovered - WNET
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): hamlet (8), macbeth (8), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Enjoy the wealth of material put together for you and your students! Share the videos with your students on your projector or whiteboard. Flip your classroom and assign students to view the video at home and be prepared to discuss the next day in class. (Most videos are between 45 - 60 minutes.) Use this program as a "background knowledge" builder before having the students read the play. Whether choosing your favorite play or the one that your district requires, you and your students are sure to enjoy this current, relevant look at Shakespeare.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Open Source Shakespeare - Eric Johnson, Bernini Communications LLC
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): literature (215), OER (43), plays (27), shakespeare (92), sonnets (5)
In the Classroom
Use this inclusive resource as you prepare to teach any of Shakespeare's classics. By making a direct link available from your class web page, you are opening the door for your students to have easy access and help when preparing for AP tests and other exams, as well as an ongoing method to guide independent reading and understanding for the many complexities in Shakespeare's literary works. The electronic text enables you to project it on your whiteboard, perhaps for a class reading where you could assign students parts to read aloud, or for students to highlight and "mark-up" evidence of literary techniques, or to critique or interact with the words in a variety of ways. One neat feature is that you can choose to place any two sonnets on a single page to view them side by side. This opens a world of opportunity for comparing and contrasting. You may want to enhance learning and use a Venn Diagram tool, reviewed here. Mark this collection in your favorites to use for planning during any of your units on Shakespeare. In a class where textbooks might be in short supply, or if there is a piece that you want to draw everyone's attention to, this is an excellent site to ensure everyone has access, just as long as they have internet access.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespearean Feast - TeachersFirst
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): elizabethan (13), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Use the recipes on this site to host a Shakespearean feast in your own classroom. Have students partner up to prepare the dishes at home, or coordinate with your family and consumer sciences faculty to try an in-class demonstration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): midsummer nights dream (3), shakespeare (92), summer (29)
In the Classroom
Post this site on your teacher web page for students to use as review both in and out of the classroom. The site provides a copy of the play.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Internet Shakespeare - Michael Best and Roberta Livingstone-University of Victoria
Grades
7 to 12Be aware: at the time of this review, a few of the links were no longer active. What remains is quite worthwhile, however.
tag(s): elizabethan (13), england (50), plays (27), shakespeare (92), sonnets (5)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark this website in your favorites for your study of Shakespeare. Post a link to it on your class page to give students access to the literary works at home. Not only will they be able to have an entire copy of Shakespeare's works on hand, they will also be able to click on links for summaries, analysis, and assistance with nearly everything they will need to know about his life and writing. This is a great resource for you and your students to refer to for review, research projects, or just for reading the text, both in and out of your classroom. Are you looking for more Shakespeare sources and ideas? Save yourself plenty of time by visting TeachersFirst Shakespeare Resources reviewed here, where you will find almost everything you are looking for within this rich collection of valuable materials.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespeare - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): literature (215), shakespeare (92), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group responsible to find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Enhance learning by having the groups share their words and definitions in an online book, using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector and embed them in a class wiki. And of course, don't miss the interactive word puzzles! This is a great addition to a unit on Shakespeare or even character education.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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In Your Ear Shakespeare - In Your Ear Shakespeare
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): romeo & juliet (7), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Share the podcasts at this site with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector. You may want to make this site a class project, to ensure the podcasts are all appropriate for your students. After listening to the podcasts, enhance learning by having students write a blog entry from the perspective of Romeo, Juliet, or another character from the literature. Or ask students to create an image to illustrate a scene and then narrate it using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here, or podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespeare's Staging - Regents University of California
Grades
11 to 12tag(s): literature (215), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
The ideas presented on this site offer imaginative teachers great scope. Using the short videos and/or the albums as jumping off points, students can create their own videos of their own productions. Enhance student learning by using a video tool such as Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Share the videos on YouTube or another tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.One of the central topics can be the ease or difficulty in staging some of the scenes. Since there are several of the videos where actors describe the experiences playing certain characters as well as short documentaries showing authentic Elizabethan music, dance, etc., students can incorporate their own ideas in making their own scenes more genuine.
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The Shakespeare Mystery - WBGH Educational Foundation
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): acting (19), elizabethan (13), mysteries (19), shakespeare (92), writing (319)
In the Classroom
This site offers a wide variety of activities from mock trials to timelines to actual discussions of the topic. Having students assume the roles of different participants either as those debating the issue or as Shakespeare himself, Marlowe, the Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth I enhances research, writing, persuasive, and acting skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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60 second Shakespeare - BBC
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): acting (19), shakespeare (92), writing (319)
In the Classroom
Since you can even submit your 60-second Shakespeare piece to the site for posting, this can be a real challenge to classes in competition. Have each class design its own 60-second program. They can use the ones already posted for inspiration. If you choose, you can use plans already posted by Paul Sibson, an IT teaching instructor, or you can pick and choose which ones you want students to attempt (or make better!). Make sure you have written parent permission before submitting student work and are within school policies. If policies prohibit posting on the BBC site, create a private wiki of your own within your school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Way with Words - Mary Beth Bauernschub
Grades
5 to 8--identify words invented by William Shakespeare.
--interpret the meaning of words through drawing.
--identify words by interpreting drawings.
--analyze the meaning of a line or phrase.
--pantomime to communicate the meaning of a line or phrase.
--interpret pantomime to identify a line or phrase.
--write a short story using Shakespeare invented words, lines, and phrases.
tag(s): phrases (6), shakespeare (92), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Intersperse these ideas as you read a play, giving your students a chance to exercise multiple intelligences.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Star-Crossed lovers Online - ReadWriteThink
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): blogs (65), romeo and juliet (3), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
This lesson just may be the answer to helping students become comfortable with Shakespear's works. Use this lesson as an introduction to Shakespeare, and then proceed with the play you want them to read. Alternatively, you could allow for student choice by shaing the summaries of Shakespeare's works from Absolute Shakespeare, reviewed here. Once the students have made a choice, have them use Read Ahead, reviewed here, as suggested in the review for Absolute Shakespeare.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Absolute Shakespeare
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): elizabethan (13), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Students seem to be prepared to think reading Shakespeare is hard. Engage them by starting with the summary of the play you plan to read. Next employ Read Ahead, reviewed here, to develop a guided reading activity, Next, enhance student reading by allowing students to highlight parts of the text with the part of the summary as an interpretation. Finally, extend student learning by having student groups create a reader's theater play for Shakespeare you used. Need some help with reader's theater? Take a look at Literacy Connections, reviewed here, many guides for teachers and students about incorporating, writing, and performing a reader's theater play. Find information about reader's theater by scrolling down the main page and finding a menu list on the right.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shakespeare for Kids - Folger Library
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): elizabethan (13), england (50), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Share some Shakespearean insults and vocabulary by way of introduction to students on a projector or interactive whiteboard before allowing students to use it individually or with a partner. Access the sections entitled "games, challenges and puzzles," and save them as a favorite on classroom computers for use as a learning center or station. Have students complete some of the puzzles or crosswords as a way to review a unit on the Playwright or courtship, courtly love and of course - Queen Elizabeth. Challenge students explore the site and create a quick presentation of what they learned. Students can create brief online posters using a tool such as Padlet, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Much Ado About Something - PBS Frontline
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): marlowe (2), plays (27), poetry (189), shakespeare (92)
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TeachersFirst: The Hamlet Quizzes - TeachersFirst
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): hamlet (8), plays (27), shakespeare (92)
In the Classroom
Share these quizzes as a way to check for understanding while students read the play. As an extension, invite students to create their own scene-by-scene or act-by-act quizzes for classmates to try, using a tool such as Easy Test Maker, reviewed here or Kubbu, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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