Year 7 Shakespeare Unit
Please complete all tasks building up to your medal target.
Week 1
B/S: Research the playwright William Shakespeare and write a page of your findings in
your own handwriting.
G/P: Research the plot of a Shakespeare play of your choice and write a bullet point list
capturing the plot of the play in order of the events.
Week 2
B/S: Write a two minute script for a new Shakespeare comedy. You can base this on
anything we have studied so far linked to comedy.
Remember the features of a Shakespearean comedy. You do not need to write in
Shakespearean language.
•-A greater emphasis on situations than characters (this numbs the audience's
connection to the characters, so that when characters experience misfortune, the
audience still finds it laughable)
•-A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty, often presented by elders
•-Separation and re-unification
•-Deception among characters (especially mistaken identity) and disguise
•-A clever servant
•-Tension between characters, often within a family
•-Multiple, intertwining plots
•-Use of all styles of comedy (slapstick, puns, dry humour, earthy humour, witty banter,
practical jokes)
•-Pastoral element (courtly people living an idealized, rural life), originally an element of
Pastoral Romance, exploited by Shakespeare for his comic plots and often parodied
therein for humorous effects
•-Happy Ending, though this is a given, since by definition, anything without a happy
ending can't be a comedy
G/P: Draw two sketches of comical costumes for a Shakespearean play. Label them
carefully and include the fabric that they were made from and write a paragraph
explaining your choices. Remember to state the play and character!
Week 3
B/S: Research horoscopes and star signs.
1) Find out your star sign.
2) Draw a diagram of your constellation.
3) Explain a full paragraph why people in Shakespeare's time placed so much importance
in the stars.
G/P: Using the internet, research the characteristics of people and their star signs.
Choose a friend you know and
explain which star sign you think they'd fit into and why.
Week 4
B/S: A Crime Scene Investigator/ Police forensics expert is called to Elsinore in
Hamlet. Write a report of what s/he sees, describing the scene so that the police can
then put together what happened. Remember you must focus on the murder.
G/P: Draw an image of the crime scene labelling the scene of the crime. Explain your
findings.
Week 5
B/S: Shakespeare has different types of love in his plays, just like we see in films
today. Your task is to compare these examples of Shakespearean love to modern films
that you have seen. Write out the basic plot of a modern film that each is similar to and
decorate with pictures:
1. In 'Romeo and Juliet', the main characters find it difficult to be together because
their families don't get on.
2. In 'Much Ado about Nothing' Hero and Beatrice are best friends and stand by each
other through thick and thin
3. In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Demitrius loves Hermia, but she doesn't love him
4. In 'The Taming of the Shrew', Kate changes from a nasty person once she falls in
love
5. In 'The Tempest', Prospero forgives his brother despite the fact his brother has
been horrible to him
G/P: Forbidden love is one of the key themes in Shakespeareʼs ʻRomeo and Julietʼ.
Write a poem or short story exploring this theme.
Week 6
B/S: Design a magical character that Shakespeare might have used in one of his plays.
Draw your character, labelling it with key features and write a detailed paragraph
describing your character's personality, appearance and powers and why you designed
them the way you did.
G/P: Imagine you are one of the witches. You have decided to explain why you chose to
trick Macbeth and the impact you hoped it would have. Explain your motives and the
reasons behind your trickery.