William
Shakespeare
"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
www.dinternal.com.ua
All the world’s a stage
A fool thiks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so
Love all, trust few, do wrong to no one
It’s not enough to speak, but to speak true
Nothing can come of nothing
What’s done can’t be undone
The Earth has music for those who listen
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves
Pleasure and action make the hours seem short
We know what we are, but know not what we may be
A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you
have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows
you to grow
All that glitters is not gold
Make your hair stand on end
William Shakespeare
Who Was William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, widely regarded as
one of the greatest ever English writers. Some of Shakespeare’s better known
plays include ‘Romeo & Juliet’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 before moving to
London to become an actor at age 21. Shakespeare wrote different genres of
plays throughout his career, starting out mainly with comedies and histories
before moving on to tragedies as he grew older.
In 1599, along with some fellow actors, Shakespeare built a theatre on the
South Bank of the River Thames which he named ‘The Globe’. It was here
that many of his plays were performed. Today, visitors to London can still
watch Shakespeare plays at the restored Globe Theatre.
William Shakespeare was a very well-known character in Tudor England. It is thought that Elizabeth I
was a fan of his plays.
The original Globe Theatre
Fun fact:
William Shakespeare was the only member of his family that could read or write!
Shakespeare (Lesson plan)
Teacher’s notes
Level: Lower Intermediate (and above)
Topic: Shakespeare
Subject(s): Literature and History
Time (approx):
Activity 1: 15-20 minutes
Activity 2: 10 minutes
Activity 3: 15 minutes
Preparation:
Activity 1: Photocopy one set of A and B worksheets per pair of students.
Activity 2: Photocopy the activity for each student.
Activity 3: Photocopy the activity for each student.
Note: These activities are suitable for students who don’t know a lot (possibly nothing at all) about Shakespeare’s writing.
Procedure:
Activity 1
1 On the board write ‘William Shakespeare’ and ask your students to brainstorm everything they know about him - write this
information on the board.
2 Now divide the class into two groups, A and B.
3 Give group A worksheet A and group B worksheet B.
4 Tell them to read through their worksheet and then complete the eight questions they can ask to find the missing information.
5 Monitor and check their questions.
6 Now pair up a student from group A with one from group B.
7 Tell the pairs to take it in turns to ask and answer the questions using their worksheets (encourage them not to show the
information).
8 Check and discuss.
Key
William Shakespeare was born on (1) 23 April, 1564 in (2) Stratford-upon-Avon.
When he was (3) seven he went to the local grammar school for boys. He left school when he was about (4) 14. He was only
(5) 18 when he met (6) Ann Hathaway and they got married in (7) November, 1582. Their first daughter, (8) Susanna, was
born (9) eight months later.
In (10) 1592 Shakespeare was living in (11) London and had become famous. At this time he was writing and acting for the
Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare became very successful and in (12) 1599 he bought the (13) Globe Theatre. During his life he wrote at least (14)
37 plays including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. He died on his birthday in (15) 1616 at the age of (16) 52.
Activity 2
1 Ask students to read the short text.
2 Then ask them to look at the questions.
3 Put the students in pairs and get them to discuss the answers to the questions.
4 Check answers as a class.
Key
1 37
2 Comedies, tragedies and histories
3 A comedy has a happy ending while a tragedy has a sad ending.
4 A comedy
5 Romeo and Juliet
6 Because the facts are not always correct.
Activity 3
1 Ask students to read the three summaries.
2 Tell them to decide which is a comedy, which is a tragedy and which is a history.
3 Put students in small groups and ask them to compare and discuss their answers. Next, ask them if they can name each play
(from the summaries). You could give them a clue by telling them they have already read the titles in the worksheet. Check
and discuss.
Key
[A] Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet
[B] Comedy, Twelfth Night
[C] History, Julius Caesar
Activity 1/ Worksheet A
William Shakespeare was born on (1) ____________, ____________ in (2) Stratford-upon-Avon. When he was (3)
____________ he went to the local grammar school for boys. He left school when he was about (4) 14. He was
only (5) ____________ when he met (6) Ann Hathaway and they got married in (7) ____________ ,
____________ . Their first daughter, (8) Susanna, was born (9) ____________ months later.
In (10) 1592 Shakespeare was living in (11) ____________ and had become famous. At this time he was writing
and acting for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare became very successful and in (12)
1599 he bought the (13) ____________ ____________. During his life he wrote at least (14) 37 plays including
Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. He died on his birthday in (15) ____________ at the age of (16) 52.
Questions
(1) When _________________________________________________________________________________?
(3) How old _______________________________________________________________________________?
(5) How old _______________________________________________________________________________?
(7) When _________________________________________________________________________________?
(9) When __________________________________________________________________________________?
(11) Where ________________________________________________________________________________?
(13) What _________________________________________________________________________________?
(15) When _________________________________________________________________________________?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Activity 1/ Worksheet B
William Shakespeare was born on (1) 23 April, 1564 in (2) ____________. When he was (3) seven he went to the
local grammar school for boys. He left school when he was about (4) ____________. He was only (5) 18 when he
met (6) ____________ and they got married in (7) November 1582. Their first daughter, (8) ____________, was
born (9) eight months later.
In (10) ____________ Shakespeare was living in (11) London and had become famous. At this time he was writing
and acting for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare became very successful and in (12)
____________ he bought the (13) Globe Theatre. During his life he wrote at least (14) ____________ plays
including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. He died on his birthday in (15) 1616 at the age of (16)
____________.
Questions
(2) Where___________________________________________________________________________________?
(4) How old__________________________________________________________________________________?
(6) Who_____________________________________________________________________________________?
(8) What ____________________________________________________________________________________?
(10) When___________________________________________________________________________________?
(12) When __________________________________________________________________________________?
(14) How many_______________________________________________________________________________?
(16) How old_________________________________________________________________________________?
Activity 2
Read the short text about Shakespeare’s plays. Then answer the questions.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. These are usually divided into three types – comedies, tragedies and
histories. The comedies aren’t always funny, but they do have good endings that are happy. His most
famous comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night. Tragedies, on the other hand,
always have sad endings which can make people cry. Shakespeare seemed to like writing tragedies.
Probably his most famous one is Romeo and Juliet. Finally, the histories are plays that are about people or
events in history. In Shakespeare’s history plays the facts were not always correct! For example, in Julius
Caesar all the events happen on the same day. So in Shakespeare’s play, Caesar is murdered and buried
on the same day!
1 How many plays did Shakespeare write?
2 What are the three types of play called?
3 What is the difference between a comedy and a tragedy?
4 What kind of play was Twelfth Night?
5 What was Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy?
6 Why are Shakespeare’s history plays strange?
Activity 3
Read the short summaries of three of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Which is a comedy, which
is a history and which is a tragedy?
[A]
This play takes place in Venice where a young man of 18 falls in love with a girl of 14. But, there is a
problem - their families are enemies. The man is not allowed to meet the girl, but he does in secret. Then
he sees the girl on the ground and he thinks she is dead. He is so upset that he kills himself. When the girl
wakes up and sees him dead, she kills herself.
[B]
A brother (Sebastian) and sister (Viola) are shipwrecked, but they both think the other one has died. Viola
arrives at the palace of Count Orsino dressed as a boy. The Count is in love with Olivia, the daughter of a
local lord, but she doesn’t love him. He asks Viola to take a letter to Olivia telling her how much he loves
her. When Viola arrives Olivia falls in love with her because she looks like a man (she is still dressed in
boy’s clothes). Then Sebastian is found alive and in the end Olivia marries Viola’s brother, Sebastian, and
the Count marries Viola!
[C]
This play takes place in ancient Rome. A group of men decide to kill the Emperor. They kill him on
March 15th. Then the Emperor’s nephew comes to Rome to try and find the men who killed his uncle and
kill them. One of these men – Brutus – is so unhappy about what he has done that he wants to kill
himself.
Do you know the name of each of these plays?
Shakespeare Plays
Crossword
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
6
4
7
8
7
5
6
8
9
10
9
11
10
12
11
12
Across
Down
Across
3. Much Ado About _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
3. Much Ado About _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
1. As You _ _ _ _ It.
7. The Taming
_ _Errors.
_ _.
9. The _ _of_the
_ __
_ of
2.
Love's
4. The
TwoLabours
_ _ _ _ _____ __ __.of Verona.
9. The10.
_ _Hamlet,
_ _ _ Prince
_ of Errors.
of _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
4.
The_Two
_ _ _ _ _ _ of Verona.
5. The
_ _ _____'s_ Tale
7. The Taming of the _ _ _ _ _.
Down
1. As
You _ _ _ _ It.
2. Love's Labours _ _ _ _.
12. The
_ _ _of
_ __ _____ _of_Venice.
10. Hamlet,
Prince
_ _.
6. A
Midsummer-Night's
_ _ _ _ _.
5.
The
_ _ _ _ _ _'s Tale
12. The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of Venice.
6. A Midsummer-Night's _ _ _ _ _.
8. The Merry Wives of _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
11. _ _ _ _ Lear.
8. The Merry Wives of _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
11. _ _ _ _ Lear.
Copyright © www.ActivityVillage.co.uk - Keeping Kids Busy