Introduction:
Every ninth grade student in our school must begin their journey into the world of Shakespeare.
Before we begin reading the classic Romeo & Juliet, it’s important to understand the historical
background of this time period in England—clothing, the role of the theater, religion, the
bubonic plague & health issues, the renaissance, medical advances, and the general way of life.
Another aspect like the art of fencing is a good thing to know since this has a major role in the
play during many of the fight scenes. This WebQuest gives you the tools you need to research
several aspects of life in England so that you can understand the importance some of them have
in Romeo & Juliet or how they shaped the time period it was performed.
Task:
In this WebQuest, you will choose two topics out of the list below that you are interested in and
gather as much information that you can from the provided resources. You will record the
information in the outline handout. You will then take all of the information and choose one of
three creative assignments that includes the information of your topics—a newspaper article, a
“town” homepage, or a tourist ad for London. Everyone will share their projects when they’re
finished.
Process:
Step 1- Topics
 Choose two topics that interest you.
Possible topics:
Clothing/costumes
Theater
Fencing
Bubonic Plague/health issues
Religion
Queen Elizabeth I
Medical Advances
The Renaissance
Actors
Adventurers (ex: Sir Francis Drake)
Pirates
Shakespeare
**Note: If you think of one that isn’t on this list from this time period, check with teacher first!
Step 2- Research
You will be given three class days to complete your research. You need to use the resources
provided for you below. Look through the various sites some are more topic specific than others,
but there are some general sites to type in searches. You will record information into the outline
handout sheet to reference when producing your creative assignment. Remember that you need
to include information from your two topics in your creative assignment, so take good notes!
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/mediactr/englishpathfinder/romeo/
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/
http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html
http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/16thlinks.htm
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/index.htm
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/
http://www.history.com/
Step 3- Outline
Record the information you gather into the formatted outline. Be sure to give specific details in
your outline. These will be collected as a part of your final grade.
Step 4- Choose 1 creative assignment out of the list of 3.
Newspaper article: Write a newspaper article about your two topics. It could be chronicling an
event, interviewing a person, or reporting an idea. This should be written from this time period—
late 1500s early 1600s! Capture the voice and have fun with it! You should include at least 3
“facts” or pieces of information that you gathered from each topic.
Town home page: Today, if you google your hometown there will be a town home page giving
facts and basic information about the town. Create a town home page for London during this
time period. You should use at least three “facts” or pieces of information that you’ve gathered
for each topic. You may, if you wish, use more than two topics for this assignment—if you do,
make sure to fill out an outline sheet for each.
Ad- Create an ad to bring in tourists to London. It should be advertising your two topics
Task-
Process: