I have a free 4-week Shakespeare unit study for kids. Look at these other Best Homeschool Unit Studies and my Fun Renaissance Unit Study Ideas for Kids and Lapbook Renaissance for more ideas and topics for hands-on learning.
Although there is debate about Shakespeare’s exact date of birth, we do know he was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a town in a farming area.
His mother, Mary, was the daughter of a local farmer. His father, John, was a glove-maker and wool trader with a large family house.
And Shakespeare lived during a remarkable period of English history.
The life of William Shakespeare is surrounded in mystery due to the lack of records from that time.
Elizabeth I became the Queen of England in 1558.
During her 45-year reign, London became a cultural center where learning and literature thrived.
Also, I share a few of the ideas we did at our co-op. There are just some activities that are way more to do with a group.
Especially if you have a tough subject to teach, gather families together and use the creative brain of those families in your group.
BOOKS ABOUT SHAKESPEARE
Next, add a few of these books that will get you started on your unit study.
And where possible, I prefer living books over textbooks to teach with.
6 Books About Shakespeare For Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Add one or two of these books to your unit study or learning day.
Who is William Shakespeare?" For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.
A Child's Portrait of Shakespeare, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb was written to be an 'introduction to the study of Shakespeare', but are much more entertaining than that. All of Shakespeare's best-loved plays, comic and tragic, are retold in a clear and robust style, and their literary quality has made them popular and sought-after ever since their first publication in 1807.
This edition contains the delightful pen-and-ink drawings of Arthur Rackham.
Retellings of the exciting stories of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet are augmented by full-color illustrations
Nobody knows exactly when or why William Shakespeare left his boyhood home of Stratford-on-Avon for the great city of London, but it didn't take long for him to make a name for himself. His plays are now performed almost every day in just about every part of the world; even people who've never seen them use words and phrases he introduced into the English language.
How did a man from an unremarkable family create a legacy that the world, even 400 years after his death, has never forgotten? There will always be unsolved mysteries about Shakespeare, but what we do know of his life, his times, and his theater makes for a very dramatic story.
Ken Ludwig devised his friendly, easy-to-master methods while teaching his own children. Beginning with memorizing short passages from the plays, his technique then instills children with cultural references they will utilize for years to come. Ludwig’s approach includes understanding of the time period and implications of Shakespeare’s diction as well as the invaluable lessons behind his words and stories. Colorfully incorporating the history of Shakespearean theater and society, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare guides readers on an informed and adventurous journey through the world in which the Bard wrote.
Joining Bruce Coville's earlier prose adaptations of Shakespeare's plays is this picture book treatment of the Bard's most popular work ever. The tender story of the young star-crossed lovers from warring families, Romeo and Juliet has moved audiences to tears for four hundred years. And Coville tells it in a way that will surely whet the appetite of young audiences, who will then find even greater enjoyment in the original. As with his earlier adaptations, Coville expertly combines his own dramatic language with key lines from the play. Dennis Nolan, who illustrated Coville's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, contributes stunning paintings, including a gatefold of the famous balcony scene. In addition to A Midsummer Night's Dream, which Publishers Weekly called "A first rate entree to the Bard," Coville also retold The Tempest and Macbeth. Of the latter, School Library Journal said, "Coville's muscular sentences, full of dramatic word choices, make this a good read-aloud." Both Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream were honored as ALA Quick Picks for Young Adults.
Next, look at some of these fun ways to incorporate history and geography into your Shakespeare unit study.
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY SHAKESPEARE UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 1
Queen Elizabeth I ruled from 1558, until her death on March 24, 1603, marking the Elizabethan era.
She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Queen Elizabeth also recognized the importance of the arts to the life and legacy of her nation.
She was fond of the theater, and England’s greatest playwrights.
- Salt Dough Map of England gets your kids involved hands-on.
- The Globe Theatre, built in 1599. Make your own globe theater stage
- Learn about the fashion of the Elizabethan period. Fabrics like velvet, silk and brocade. The wealthy wore extravagant clothing. A ruff is a collar that is large and comes around the neck.How to make a paper maché Elizabethan ruff
- Make a Tudor Rose and learn what is symbolized. Takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster.
- Research the contributions of England’s maiden queen then create a 3-D portrait.
- This was the Age of Exploration. Research Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake. Look at how to make a Sir Francis Drake Ship.
- Another fun twist on geography is to make a map of places where Shakespeare’s plays take place. For example, Macbeth took place in Scotland and some in England, Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy and A Midsummer Night’s Dream took place in Athens.
NATURE & SCIENCE SHAKESPEARE UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 2
Also, study a list of plants and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays.
For example, learn about roses.
A rose symbolizes love and beauty.
And think about the line “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” from the play Romeo and Juliet.
Here are some more examples and research about what they mean.
- Hamlet – Holly, Violet, Daisy, Fennel, Willow, Cypress
- The Winter’s Tale – Marigold, Mint
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Pansy, Cowslip
- Romeo and Juliet – Rose, Briar, Basil
- Make a homemade candle
- Plant a mini herb garden planting thyme, rosemary and lavender as used during the Elizabethan period.
- The clothes had to be dyed as well as using berries for ink. Look at this post for how to dye fabric from berries and vegetables and How to Make a Quill and Berry Ink.
MATH & LANGUAGE ARTS SHAKESPEARE UNIT STUDY IDEAS WEEK 3
Additionally, here are some fun ways to add a bit of math and language arts to your unit study.
Besides the obvious idea of focusing on a couple of Shakespeare’s plays, look at more ideas to flesh out your study.
- Talk about the 3 ways of telling time during Shakespeare’s time. Hourglass, sundial, and clocks. Look at this article which has interesting facts about time and how inaccurate clocks were then.
- Take a twist on math and learn about the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet which is 14 lines and research about iambic pentameter.
- Too, look at my post How To Teach Your Homeschooled Children Shakespeare
- Shakespeare Unit Study Starters
- Another fun way to bring Shakespeare’s plays to life is to act out certain parts. We had some teens in our group make a few props like a balcony and costumes and acted out their parts. It was way more fun for our teens.
- Discuss the shapes of The Globe Theatre to learn about geometry. Build a scale model of it.
- Learn about the money used during this time. For example, pounds, shillings, and pence.
- Prepare food of the time and practice math measurements. For example, learn about pottage, bread was popular, meat pies, cheese, beers and ale. Honey was a popular flavoring since sugar was expensive. Look at my post Fascinating and Fun Honey Bees Unit Study and Lapbook for Kids.
- Apothecary was an occupation during Shakespeare’s time. Look at my post Apothecary Salve.
- And I know not everyone lives near a renaissance fest but I contacted them to get names of folks they used as actors. We had a volunteer “Bard” come and go over with our kids about Shakespeare.
Also, look at some of my favorite sites. They are text retellings.
ARTS & CRAFTS SHAKESPEARE UNIT STUDY WEEK 4
Finally, look at these fun art and craft ideas during the Shakespeare and Elizabethan period.
- Look at these fun puppets and coloring pages for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- In addition, use simple paper plates, string, paint to make masks of favorite characters from his plays.
- Make stained glass windows. Look at my post How To Make A Kids Easy Medieval Stained Glass Window and Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft.
- In addition, learn about glassblowing. Look at my unit Glass Blowing lapbook and unit study.
- And here are some fun dresses for paperdolls. Use them to create your own costume or use them for paperdolls.
- For older kids interested in fashion of the time look at these model templates they can use to create their own designs.
- Discover some of the trade crafts of that time. For example, there were playwrights like Shakespeare, quillmaking, costumer, actor, blacksmith, chandler, tanner and shoemaker.
- Host a fashion contest within your co-op.
Last, whether your focus is on poetry, history, comedies or tragedies, look at some of Shakespeare’s works.
Also, grab my Renaissance lapbook to go with this unit study.
TRAGEDIES
COMEDIES
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
- King Lear
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Much Ado About Nothing
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
HISTORIES
POETRY
- Henry VI
- Richard II
- 154 Sonnets
- Venus and Adonis
We add to our unit study as we learn more about Shakespeare.
What hands-on fun have you done?
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