Shakespeare: The Plays, Education Sites, Resources

The Plays

absolute Shakespeare
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/glossary/a.htm
A dictionary for Shakespeare that explains the meanings of the words the Bard uses that are not in common use today. Also includes twelve study guides with a plot summary, commentary, characters, character analysis, and essay. Geared toward the English classroom, but the information is valuable.

Updated 2005. For High School teachers.

Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/lambtales/LAMBTALE.HTM
The classic retelling of:

• The Tempest
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• The Winter's Tale
• Much Ado About Nothing
• As You Like It
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Merchant of Venice
• Cymbeline
• King Lear
• Macbeth
• All's Well That Ends Well
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Comedy of Errors
• Measure for Measure
• Twelfth Night; or, What You Will
• Timon of Athens
• Romeo and Juliet
• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
• Othello
• Pericles, Prince of Tyre

For students grades 4 or 5 and up.

ASU Herberger Mainstage Theatre modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 2005.
Photo Credit: Tim Trumble.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html
It is all here.

For Junior High and High School teachers and students.

Shakespeare's Monologues
http://www.shakespeare-monologues.org/
Selected for women and men and then categorized alphabetically by comedy, history and tragedy. Each entry includes the character's name; the first line of the speech is marked as verse or prose; the location within the play is noted. Each entry includes a link to the full text of the scene in which the monologue is found. Actor Steven Shultz found these while in grade school at A.C.T. and then put them online for our use.

For High School students and teachers.

Glossary: The Plays of William Shakespeare
http://www.theplays.org/glossary.html
"If Shakespearean English is not your first language, you can look up unfamiliar words in the glossary. Or you can browse the glossary alphabetically." 902 words in the glossary. No discernable author or date.

For students and teachers

Education Sites

Folger Shakespeare Library: Teaching Shakespeare
http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=618
The Washington D.C. theater devoted to Shakespeare. This is as good as it gets. Everything here is quality. Check out these entries in the left hand directory:

Materials and Resources

• Lesson Plans
• Lesson Plan Archives
• Primary Sources
• Primary Sources Archive
• Study Guides

Other Resources

• Favorite Links
• Collaborative Projects
• Teacher's Lounge

Kept current for Elementary, Middle and High School teachers—and their kids.

In Search of Shakespeare: PBS
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/
Developed in partnership with the Folger Shakespeare Library, these classroom resources were designed around six thematic strands: Shakespeare's Language, Shakespeare on Film, Performance, Primary Sources, Teaching Shakespeare to Elementary Students, and Teaching Shakespeare with Technology. Under each theme you will find professional development strategies and lesson plans, a multimedia library of curriculum resources, and much more. Each component integrates the study of Shakespeare's greatest works with his life and the times that defined him.

2003. For Elementary through High School teachers.

Lynch Multimedia
http://www.lynchmultimedia.com/shakespeare.html
Well written adaptations for Macbeth, Hamlet, The Tempest, Winter's Tale, Antony Cleopatra, Merchant of Venice. Each play has:

• A prose adaptation
• An adaptation/audio
• A classroom version that has the original in a left hand column

Last updated in 1999, but still wonderful. For Junior High teachers and students.

Shakespeare High
http://www.shakespearehigh.com/
A wonderfully funky site by a high school teacher. Full of stuff to make Shakespeare come alive for students. Explore the whole thing!!

Kept current. For Junior and Senior High School teachers with some stuff for the kids.

TeachersFirst.com: The Plays of William Shakespeare
http://www.teachersfirst.com/shakespr.shtml
A variety of quite good materials and links from Amazon.com. Materials first, then the list of books to order. Featured plays with links to study guides and more are:

• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
• Henry V
• Julius Caesar
• King Lear
• Macbeth
• The Merchant of Venice
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Othello
• Romeo & Juliet
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Tempest
• Twelfth Night

Last updated 2001. For High School teachers.

Tools for Studying Shakespeare and Contemporaries
http://parallel.park.uga.edu/shaxper/
Teaching materials and resources for sixteen of the most read plays. Designed for college students, but there are ideas here that can be helpful.

Kept current. For High School teachers.

Resources

Mr. William Shakespeare
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu
A good general site with many annotated links – the “other sites” approach the Bard with a sense of humor. Here are also materials about Shakespeare, not unavailable elsewhere on the Internet.

Kept current. For teachers.

Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/main/1
On the Shakespeare Home Page you’ll find rich information about:

• FAQs
• Outline of Shakespeare's Life
• Shakespeare at School
• Shakespeare's Stratford
• Shakespeare's Authorship
• What Did Shakespeare Look Like?
• Plots of Shakespeare's Plays
• Study Materials
• Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations

Last update, December 2004. For teachers and students.

Shakespeare Resource Center
http://www.bardweb.net
Started by J.M.Pressley as a graduate assignment at DePaul University. His passion has kept it growing. Well written, it includes play synopses, a reading list and other links. Has good articles on:

• The Man
• The Works
• Play Synopses
• Authorship Debate
• The Globe
• Elizabethan England
• Language
• Reading List
• Theatre Companies
• Other Links

Updated February 2006. For High School teachers and students.

Stratford-upon-Avon
http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk
From the Stratford Herald, information about Shakespeare and visiting Stratford.

Kept current. For teachers and students.

The Shakespeare Web
http://tnellen.com/school/shakes.html
From MIT, a very good set of links that includes fun stuff, too.

Last update, September 2005.

Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!
http://archive.1september.ru/eng/1999/eng16-1.htm
An excellent article about the playhouse and the productions from the Kentridge High School Library Online.

For High School teachers and students.

www.shakespearehelp.com
http://www.shakespearehelp.com
Links and materials for Hamlet, Henry V Part 1, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Taming of the Shrew. Each play has:

• The Text
• Message Board
• Quizzes
• Stage/Film History
• Web Sites

Also includes essays about Shakespeare the Man and links to U.S. and Canadian Festivals.

Still growing. For High School teachers only! This crew is into selling 5 page essays to students!! But they’re sharing their sources with you – which are not bad!

See Great Sites for Kids for more Shakespeare for kids. Check under History/Shakespeare.
http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/kidsites/teens4.htm