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Illustrated Words of Shakespeare

Shakespeare's words, "Shall I Compare Thee?" will inspire students to illustrate some of the author's rich and vividly expressive phrases.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a prolific English playwright and poet and is widely regarded as the world's pre-eminent dramatist. So many of his themes transcend time and have relevance today, but it can be a challenge for students to interpret the Early Modern English that Shakespeare wrote in. Have students recall phrases from works they may have studied in class or have them research some notable quotes from his works. Suggestions might include, "We are such stuff as dreams are made of...," "O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!," and "By the pricking of my thumbs,/ Something wicked this way comes."

  • Step 2

    Have students form small groups, and ask each group to choose the Shakespeare quotes they will illustrate. Have them cut pieces of various colors of construction paper (so the quote and illustration do not obviously match). Have them write the phrases and draw the illustrations on separate pieces of differently colored paper. Then have them challenge classmates to a matching game. Collect all the illustrations and phrases that all the teams have made and mix them up. Challenge students to match each quotation with the illustration it represents.

  • Step 3

    When the words and illustrations are correctly matched, they can take this matching game to another class and have other students play. After the game, students will explain the sources and meaning of the quotations.

Standards

LA: Add drawings or other visual displays to written text to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. 

LA: Apply knowledge of how language functions in different contexts to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading, writing, speaking, and/or listening.

Adaptations

Have students to find passages written in Old English (c.500-1100), Middle English (c. 1100-1500), and Early Modern English (c. 1500-1800). Ask them to try to read them before looking up their meaning, or see if they can infer the meaning based on context since Old English looks nothing like Modern English!

Extend this to explore the ways Modern English (c.1800-present) has evolved. Could someone who lived in the early 20th century understand 21st-century communication? Have students generate a list of words that would perplex a time traveler from 100 years ago. Suggestions might include, cryptocurrency, noob, megabyte, riz, bromance, smartphone, etc.