Shakespeare Teaching Resources

I like to think of Shakespeare plays as sheet music - the words are the notes. Shakespeare plays were written to be performed and the performance is melodic.

There is no doubt that Shakespeare and drama education go hand in hand. But what about bringing more drama activities into English lessons?

It occurred to me that drama teachers and English teachers alike teach Shakespeare. But the English curriculum is focused on the literary elements and the drama curriculum is focused on performance. I do not see why English and drama curriculum cannot be merged to teach Shakespeare - Shakespeare plays were after all, written to be performed.

SHAKESPEARE DRAMA UNITS

I have written these Shakespeare drama units as drama curriculum but with English curriculum in mind also. I am not an English teacher, but I believe in utilising good cross-curricular opportunities - Shakespeare is one. I believe that Shakespeare drama activities will enhance English lessons and student understanding and vice versa and that English teachers should absolutely be incorporating performance and drama into teaching Shakespeare!

ROMEO and JULIET Drama Unit (Lesson Plans)

This is a drama unit where students explore Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. This resource comes with 5 x 100 minute lesson plans. The lessons include activities to explore Romeo and Juliet, amended script extracts, the full script, Handouts, Homework tasks, Unit Assessment Templates and more...

THE TEMPEST Drama Unit (Lesson Plans)

This is a drama unit where students explore Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. This resource comes with 5 x 100 minute lesson plans. The lessons include activities to explore The Tempest, amended script extracts, the full script, The Tempest Drama Circle, Homework tasks, Unit Assessment Templates and more... This is a great first Shakespeare unit as it introduces the language of Shakespeare to students.

SHAKESPEARE PLAYS - PDF's

I was having trouble finding nicely formatted printable versions of Shakespeare's plays. So I've created these PDF's which you can download for free. The text is the original Shakespeare version and I have included a simple character resource in each for students to research the characters. The scripts are nicely spaced out for play reading and also performance rehearsal.

SHAKESPEARE DRAMA CIRCLES

These are a shortened version of the play, with some narration added and actual lines from the play (some amended). Each student will be given 2+ cards and begin to tell the story from the cards, in order around the circle. Actions are also added (some on the cards). No one student will play a character; it will just depend on where they stand in the circle. It’s a very fun introduction to the play, it’s plot and the characters. I find that that Shakespeare plays can be long and that students can find the language difficult so miss the plot / fun. This is a fun way to introduce the language with a plot overview... lines have been purposefully edited for good flow in these activities. They can be implemented on the spot (no rehearsal) as students simply read the cards in order (they are numbered).

SHAKESPEARE QUOTES DRAMA CARDS AND ACTIVITIES

This is a set of 98 printable Shakespeare Quotes to cut out and use with different drama activities. You can use these cards for Shakespeare Quote Scenes, Improvised Scenes, Monologues and each quote has been selected for use to create short performances. You could incorporate these activities into any Shakespeare unit. You can also find these drama cards in ANOTHER DRAMA CARD BUNDLE and the MEGA DRAMA CARD BUNDLE which come with multiple sets of drama / improv cards with suggested drama/theatre/improv games.

Happy Shakespeare Teaching!