Introducing Shakespeare | Intro to Shakespeare | Shakespeare worksheets

Are you introducing Shakespeare to your students? Sick of boring intro to Shakespeare lesson plans? Wondering how to teach Shakespeare and looking for fun activities to use while teaching Shakespeare?  Use our engaging intro to Shakespeare worksheets.

This mini-bundle of introduction to Shakespeare worksheets has been created to pair with the Crash Course Theater and Drama videos (episodes 14, 15, and 16).  The bundle includes three student worksheets of scaffolded notes and three sets of teacher notes to accompany the free YouTube videos. They’re great to use as part of pre-reading activities for any Shakespeare plays or sonnets, or for background information when teaching about Shakespeare. 

The videos and worksheets 

• summarizes the important and interesting facts on Shakespeare
• explain what quartos are and how the First Folio was created
• discuss the difference between Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies
• explore whether Shakespeare’s plays support the idea of the divine right of kings
• explain how Elizabethan acting companies were organized
• describe how Shakespeare’s plays were performed
• explain similarities and differences between Greek tragedies and heroes and Shakespearean tragedies and heroes
• describe what constitutes a Shakespearean comedy and romance
• discuss Shakespearean heroines
• explain the ‘problem plays’ or ‘unfunny’ comedies
• describe the background and plot of a history (Richard III), a tragedy (King Lear), and an ‘unfunny’ comedy (Cymbeline) to further understanding of Shakespeare’s plays

These worksheets make teaching Shakespeare easy because they are so flexible. These Shakespeare activities can be used in so many ways, including

• as pre-reading activities for any Shakespearean plays
• as an introduction to Shakespeare
• to leave for a substitute lesson - no prep and less behavior follow-up for you because students are engaged
• as a homework task students won’t complain about
• to cover background information about Shakespeare, his plays, and his writing context quickly
• to give a very short summary of Richard III, King Lear, or Cymbeline so you can spend more time practicing close reading of specific passages of the plays
• as an easy ‘catch-up’ task for students who have missed lots of class time while you’ve been  teaching about Shakespeare and his plays
• as one of many introduction-to-Shakespeare activities on a choice board

You’ll love these intro to Shakespeare worksheets because they are an engaging way to scaffold student note-taking for the Crash Course Theater and Drama videos about Shakespeare and his works.  The worksheets help students learn Shakespeare with notes that are scaffolded to help them keep track of the main information from the videos.  But these Shakespeare activities also encourage student ownership over their notes by enabling creativity.

Not only do the videos and worksheets give students a quick summary of Shakespeare, his works, and Elizabethan theater,, they are the perfect print-and-go, fun Shakespeare activities for students. 

Other products you might enjoy . . . 

✨ Shakespearean Insults Lesson - This fun and funny CCSS-aligned Shakespearean insult lesson is designed to get your students excited about studying Shakespeare. This digital Google Slides activity can be used to introduce ANY play and helps take away the fear of Shakespearean English.

✨ Crash Course Literature Shakespeare bundle - these fun Shakespeare worksheets cover all of the Crash Course Shakespeare videos that are about Shakespearean texts, including Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and several sonnets.

✨ Shakespeare mega bundle - these Shakespeare worksheets cover the Crash Course Shakespeare videos about Shakespearean texts, as well as 3 Crash Course Theatre and Drama episodes about Shakespeare’s life, his tragedies, and his comedies.  It also has a bonus (and very popular!) Shakespearean insults lesson.

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All rights reserved by theauthor. Copies arepermitted for single-classroom teacher only.  See terms of use within the product for more information.