1. William Shakespeare When, In Disgrace With Fortune And Men's Eyes
(Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29)
Composition and Vocals by Rufus Wainwright
Let students know you are going to play a song for them, and have them simply listen. Tell them to pay close attention to the lyrics. Ask the students what the song means. Are there underlying meanings to the song?
Bring up the words and pictures for slide and discuss that the lyrics in the song are from William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. Tell students that they are going to be learning more about Shakespeare in the coming weeks.

2. William Shakespeare Why Should We Care?
She’s The Man (2006)
How do Shakespeare’s works still captivate today’s audience?
Is Shakespeare as relevant today as he was when he lived 400 years ago?
How within our lives and todays vast entertainment do we still see comedy and tragedy similar to that presented in Shakespeare’s works?
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
Discuss how the concepts within Shakespeare’s works are timeless, and how his plays imitate life. People today still experience the same feelings that Shakespeare captured in his works—love, loyalty, friendship, prejudice, revenge, loss.
Language can be a barrier, but this has been overcome through stage performances by directors and actors who have studied Shakespeare, and by adaptations which have been influenced by Shakespeare’s works to be more relevant to today’s society—Ask students if they know of any Shakespeare adaptations—examples of this are West Side Story, Romeo + Juliet, Gnomeo and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), She’s the Man (Twelfth Night), 10 Things I Hate About You (loosely based off Taming of the Shrew), Shakespeare in Love (revolves around creating Romeo and Juliet.

3. William Shakespeare
Shakespeare was born around April 23, 1564 in Stratford, England.
His father was a local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner.
It is assumed that his family paid for William Shakespeare’s education.
When Shakespeare was 18, he married an older woman named Anne Hathaway. His first daughter was named Susanna. The couple had two more children, but William’s only son, Hamnet, died at age 11.
Shakespeare most likely wrote the majority of his sonnets during the 1590s.
Because of well timed investments, Shakespeare became financially secure and able to devote most of his time to writing and acting.
Retrieved February 11, 2011 from biography online website

4. William Shakespeare Fun Facts
Shakespeare performed in his own plays and the plays of others.
Shakespeare wrote more than 37 plays, and 154 sonnets (152 were published—though not until after his death).
…but did he really write them? Whether he did or did not plagiarize his works is up to debate.
No one truly knows what Shakespeare looks like. All of the artist renditions we have of him were made after his death.
Many scholars believe Shakespeare plagiarized plays from Edward de Vere.

5. Elizabethan Time Period
William Shakespeare
Elizabethan Time Period
Shakespeare’s contemporaries
Christopher Marlowe
Edmund Spencer
Social trends
Fashion
Entertainment
Customs/Practices
Politics, religion, and economics
Discuss these topics of the Elizabethan time period in more depth. Ask “If you lived in the Elizabethan time, which activities of the 16th century would you have liked to be involved in?”

6. William Shakespeare http://www.william-shakespeare.info/
Explore sites with students. Point out main features—biography, plays, sonnets, quotes, Shakespearian terms dictionary, current Shakespearean festivals.

7. Some of Shakespeare’s most loved plays
William Shakespeare
Some of Shakespeare’s most loved plays
Romeo and Juliet
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Nights Dream
As You Like It
Much Ado About Nothing
Give a brief summary of plot of these plays and discuss the similarities and differences between them, and let the students know that they will have group presentations on these plays giving a more detailed look into the stories.

8. William Shakespeare
Show video clip of She’s The Man and discuss Twelfth Night and their similarities.
She’s The Man (2006)

9. A few of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets
William Shakespeare
A few of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets
Sonnet 29 - When in disgrace with fortune
Sonnet 116  - Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Sonnet 18 - Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
See if students have heard these sonnets before (Sonnet 29 they listened to at the top of the lesson), and let them know that there will be a writing assignment later on concerning sonnets.

10. William Shakespeare
Imagine you are living in 16th century Stratford, England. It is spring of Assume the identity of a citizen of this time and place, and write a journal entry of this day.
Hints: Think about entertainment, fashion, food, family life, education, job, religious beliefs, etc.