Learning Shakespeare can be a challenge. However, with these resources it no longer has to be. Make teaching and learning Shakespeare for your students fun by spicing up your Shakespeare curriculum with these 7 amazing resources...
Shakespeare is a beautiful language however for beginners, it can be a difficult at first. SparkNotes' No Fear Shakespeare, is a great tool for students to use when they're still finding trouble understanding sonnets. With No Fear Shakespeare, every Shakespearean text is accompanied by its translation in modern English on the right hand page.
Calling on different students to read scenes out loud is a great way to embrace Shakespeare. Why not end a great lesson with a short clip of "Shakespeare The Animated Tales"? Or why not start your class with one of BBC's shorts to further inspire your students to fully embrace their designated character. Originally broadcasted on BBC, this mini series is available all over the web.
Shakespeare's writing not only shaped the Renaissance age, it shaped the entire English language and how it's spoken today. Without even knowing; some of the most basic and frequently common sayings spoken amongst us is derived from Shakespearean texts. Connecting the dots between Shakespeare and modern English, opens your student's mind to not perceive Shakespeare so much as foreign. This is a great way to break the ice between your students and Shakespeare.
It's crunch time for the next Shakespeare module test and let's face it; memorizing Shakespeare quotes can be tedious. About.com's "Know Your Shakespeare Quotations", offers students and beginners a multiple choice quiz asking where each quote is from. So the burning question still remains; was it Othello or Macbeth?
Tests don't always have to be boring or done individually. With ShortList's Ultimate Shakespeare Quiz; invite your students to participate as a team to answer personal facts, dates and details pertaining to Shakespeare's works as well as himself.
For everything Shakespeare - there's Shakespeare words. This website holds all the Shakespearean content you and your students may need including a complete glossary of Shakespearean words.
So yes your students can read and speak Shakespearean, but can they write it? Oxford Dictionary has an engine that allows users to write text in English and at the click of a button, it is then translated into old Shakespearean expression. How neat!