TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Apr 27, 2025

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to go to the Featured Sites Archive

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An Introduction to Julius Caesar Using Multiple-Perspective Universal Theme Analysis - ReadWriteThink

Grades
6 to 12
  
ReadWriteThink offers a comprehensive lesson plan titled "An Introduction to Julius Caesar Using Multiple-Perspective Universal Theme Analysis." This resource helps students explore...more
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ReadWriteThink offers a comprehensive lesson plan titled "An Introduction to Julius Caesar Using Multiple-Perspective Universal Theme Analysis." This resource helps students explore the play through a thematic lens, emphasizing how power, loyalty, and ambition play out in different characters' perspectives. The lesson guides students to analyze key scenes and speeches, encouraging critical thinking and discussion. It also includes activities such as group work and text analysis to engage students in understanding Shakespeare's themes and their relevance today. The plan is designed to be adaptable for middle and high school classrooms.

tag(s): julius caesar (11), plays (32), themes (16)

In the Classroom

Ask students to write an alternate ending to Julius Caesar from the perspective of one of the characters. Challenge students to draw parallels between Julius Caesar and modern political or historical figures. Assign students different themes from the play (such as ambition, betrayal, or loyalty) and have them create a visual collage representing their theme using a resource such as PhotoCollage, reviewed here. Have students create a comic strip and include scenes that could have happened during Roman times using Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here. Use Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here for rough drafts or classrooms without computers.
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Summary and Analysis - Storyboard That

Grades
6 to 12
  
This page from Storyboard That provides resources for teaching Julius Caesar in a classroom setting, including customizable lesson plans, pre-made activities, and engaging visuals....more
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This page from Storyboard That provides resources for teaching Julius Caesar in a classroom setting, including customizable lesson plans, pre-made activities, and engaging visuals. Teachers can use storyboards to help students break down complex scenes, explore character motivations, and understand themes. The activities focus on key elements such as plot diagramming, character analysis, and vocabulary building, making it a versatile tool for guiding students through Shakespeare's famous play. Additionally, the platform allows for creative expression by having students create their own visual summaries or alternative endings.

tag(s): julius caesar (11), plot (15), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Have students create storyboards on Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Students can compare and contrast two characters on their actions, motivations, etc. Using a resource such as Timeline Infographic Templates, reviewed here create a timeline of Julius Caesar's life events. Create a fictional social media account for one or more of the characters using Fakebook, reviewed here.
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Julius Caesar - Royal Shakespeare Company

Grades
6 to 12
   
The Royal Shakespeare Company's Julius Caesar learning section offers a wealth of resources for teachers looking to introduce Shakespeare's play to their students. The site includes...more
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The Royal Shakespeare Company's Julius Caesar learning section offers a wealth of resources for teachers looking to introduce Shakespeare's play to their students. The site includes detailed lesson plans, videos, and activities to help students engage with the text, understand key themes, and explore character development. The resources support a deeper comprehension of the play's political and moral dilemmas with interactive tools like scene analysis and relevant background information. Teachers can use these materials to bring the drama of Shakespeare's world to life, making Julius Caesar accessible and relevant to all learners. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): julius caesar (11), plays (32), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Divide the class into groups and assign each a key scene to rehearse and perform for the class. Students can work in groups to create a Roman-era newspaper covering the play's events using a resource such as Smore, reviewed here. Select a few students to embody key characters from the play (Brutus, Cassius, Caesar) to play a game of Character Hot Seat. The rest of the class asks these characters questions about their motives, actions, and emotions. This activity helps students delve deeper into character analysis and understand the complex motivations driving the play's events.
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Shakespeare: Full Circle - NPR

Grades
9 to 12
 
Dive into Shakespeare with NPR's Shakespeare: Full Circle, a podcast that unpacks the timeless works through modern lenses. Perfect for educators looking to enliven their classroom...more
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Dive into Shakespeare with NPR's Shakespeare: Full Circle, a podcast that unpacks the timeless works through modern lenses. Perfect for educators looking to enliven their classroom discussions, this series explores themes, characters, and plots in a way that resonates with today's students. From the famous soliloquies to the nuances of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, this podcast offers valuable insights and fresh perspectives for teaching classic literature.

tag(s): characterization (19), plot (15), shakespeare (99), themes (16)

In the Classroom

Break students into groups, assign podcast episodes, and have them discuss how modern themes from the episodes relate to their understanding of Shakespeare's works. Students could choose a character from the podcast episodes and debate their motives, actions, and relevance in today's society. Students could also rewrite and perform a famous Shakespeare scene, incorporating contemporary language and references from the podcast.
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No Sweat Shakespeare - NoSweat Digital Ltd.

Grades
6 to 12
 
Unlock the wonders of Shakespeare in your classroom with No Sweat Shakespeare--a teacher's go-to resource for bringing the Bard to life. This website offers modern, student-friendly...more
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Unlock the wonders of Shakespeare in your classroom with No Sweat Shakespeare--a teacher's go-to resource for bringing the Bard to life. This website offers modern, student-friendly translations of Shakespeare's most famous plays, making his complex language accessible and engaging for learners of all ages. From detailed summaries and character analyses to lesson plans and quizzes, No Sweat Shakespeare provides everything you need to help your students appreciate Shakespeare's timeless works. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): ebooks (43), plays (32), shakespeare (99), sonnets (6)

In the Classroom

Have students work in groups to explore major themes in a specific play. Create a game similar to "Taboo" using vocabulary from Shakespeare's plays. Students can work in teams to describe words or phrases related to the plays without using certain "taboo" words. Have students select a scene from one of Shakespeare's plays and rewrite it in modern language. Ask students to create social media profiles for key characters from a chosen play using a resource such as Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, or Fakebook, reviewed here.
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Theater & Drama - Crash Course

Grades
4 to 12
 
Theater and Drama, from Crash Course, offers a collection of YouTube videos related to many famous (and not-so-famous) dramas. Find video titles, such as Shakespeare's Tragedies and...more
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Theater and Drama, from Crash Course, offers a collection of YouTube videos related to many famous (and not-so-famous) dramas. Find video titles, such as Shakespeare's Tragedies and an Acting Lesson, The Spanish Golden Age, Greek Comedy, Satyrs, and Aristophanes, among many others. The videos include a short paragraph describing the content; some also have lesson stems. What a great collection for secondary English teachers or anyone looking for short videos related to Shakespeare and the history of drama. Be aware - some of the videos include short advertisements before they begin. As these videos are hosted on YouTube, if your school does not allow YouTube, this site would not work well for you. There is an option on the site to download the video to view off of YouTube.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): acting (19), plays (32), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Share the Shakespeare videos during a unit on The Bard - or even to recognize his birthday! These videos would be ideal to use for flipped or blended learning. Have students view the videos at home and then use a tool such as Magic School, reviewed here to create instant questions to review the video and use for a quick entrance ticket at the start of the next class.
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Humy - Humy.ai

Grades
4 to 12
 
Chat with over 1,000 historical figures, from Tutankhamun to Michael Jackson, with Humy's chatbots, or Humies. Create an account, then visit the Humies to search for specific characters...more
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Chat with over 1,000 historical figures, from Tutankhamun to Michael Jackson, with Humy's chatbots, or Humies. Create an account, then visit the Humies to search for specific characters or scroll through options that include diverse groups such as Greek Gods and Space Exploration. Select a character to begin your conversation and ask questions. Additional tools found on Humy include lesson planning and question generation tools. Visit the collections to find options to edit and share curated collections. The free subscription consists of 800 messages (renewed monthly, approximately 25-30 chat conversations) and access to over 40 history collections; however, activating a collection uses many more credits than individual chat conversations.

tag(s): american revolution (82), art history (102), artificial intelligence (181), authors (107), black history (133), chat (41), civil rights (209), civil war (139), DAT device agnostic tool (147), environment (252), great depression (30), greeks (46), presidents (135), religions (95), renaissance (38), space (220), Teacher Utilities (200), women (151), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

In the Classroom

Take advantage of the free account provided by Humy to generate conversations on your interactive whiteboard with historical figures to introduce new lessons and units and engage students in upcoming activities. For example, before reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, select her name from the Humies to have a conversation to learn about her inspiration for writing the book and allow students to ask questions about her writing style and how she developed her storytelling skills. Use the chat conversations as a starting point for research projects on historical figures or periods. Ask students to share their projects by creating websites with Google Sites, reviewed here or by using Google My Maps, reviewed here to create an interactive story based on locations on the map.
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myShakespeare - Richard Clark and Greg Watson

Grades
8 to 12
 
myShakespeare provides interactive content, including videos and study tools to accompany six of the most well-known Shakespeare plays. In addition to the play's complete text, the...more
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myShakespeare provides interactive content, including videos and study tools to accompany six of the most well-known Shakespeare plays. In addition to the play's complete text, the supplemental materials include video performances of key scenes, character discussions, complete audio recordings, and pop-up notes that share insight into the literary devices used within the text. Another option includes viewing portions of each play in modern language to help guide comprehension of the material. The Notebook portion of the site offers study tools that have comprehension questions and includes the ability for students to highlight and annotate the text. Finished notebooks can be saved, shared, and exported to teacher accounts. Select any play to begin; at the top of the page, you will find links to the materials, including a summary, the number of videos, toggle glossed words on or off (alternative words for items in the text), and notebook activities. Then, as you scroll through the page, available items appear next to the selected area on the right and left side of the screen. Use the links to share to your Google Classroom account as desired.

tag(s): england (50), literature (221), plays (32), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

This site is a must-have for teachers of Shakespeare! Engage students by sharing the video performances to help students understand key events during any of the plays. Share and point out the glossed (bold) words to help students understand difficult language. Find the tool for glossed words in the top menu to turn it on and off. Have students answer the comprehension questions as a formative assessment for their self-reflection and to guide your lesson planning. This site is perfect for use in remote classrooms or as a flipped learning activity. Assign portions of the text to students to read before class discussions. Using myShakespeare in this way offers many tools for students to view the material in different formats as they complete the reading. Use Padlet, reviewed here to enhance student learning throughout your Shakespeare unit by asking clarifying questions and have students post video responses. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image. Extend learning further by asking students to create short video explainers of different scenes of the play using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here.
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Great Performances: Shakespeare - PBS Learning Media

Grades
8 to 12
  
PBS LearningMedia presents Great Performances, a performing arts series with a worldwide range of performing arts specials. This collection includes classroom-ready resources from several...more
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PBS LearningMedia presents Great Performances, a performing arts series with a worldwide range of performing arts specials. This collection includes classroom-ready resources from several productions, including''?'Shakespeare Uncovered,'''?Romeo & Juliet,'''?Much Ado About Nothing,'''?Merry Wives,'''?Making Shakespeare: The First Folio, and'''?Hamlet. The series of lessons uses a media gallery and video segments to tell the stories behind some of Shakespeare's greatest plays. Choose any link to access the full lesson including suggestions for use, links to PDF forms, and introductory through culminating activities. Use links to assign to students in Google Classroom or share with social media links.

tag(s): england (50), literature (221), plays (32), poetry (194), shakespeare (99), sonnets (6)

In the Classroom

Incorporate the videos and lessons from this site into your current Shakespeare lessons. Instead of written responses for portions of your assignments, have students use a video response tool like Gravity, reviewed here to share answers. Upon completion of your Shakespeare unit, instead of a written test or research project, ask students to create a digital book using an online tool like Ourboox, reviewed here. Have students include images, videos, and their written work to create the book.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Shakespeare Quotes - eNotes

Grades
6 to 12
If you teach Shakespeare, you'll want to check out these explanations of over 200 Shakespeare Quotes. Each quote contains an explanation of the meaning of the quote along with the ...more
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If you teach Shakespeare, you'll want to check out these explanations of over 200 Shakespeare Quotes. Each quote contains an explanation of the meaning of the quote along with the context used within the play. Tags below each explanation lead to additional quotes with a similar theme.

tag(s): hamlet (8), literary devices (13), macbeth (9), novels (34), plays (32), quotations (19), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Share a link to this site on your class webpage for students to access at any time. Have students use this site as a model for creating their own explanation of quotes from Shakespeare (or any piece of literature). Encourage students to find a suitable quote to introduce their persuasive piece. Have students upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles to explain what they learned about Shakespeare using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. Challenge students to create a fictional Facebook account about a character in a Shakespeare play. Use the Fakebook, reviewed here.
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Shakespeare Uncovered - WNET

Grades
8 to 12
   
PBS LearningMedia's Shakespeare Uncovered is a collection of resources, including videos and discussion questions, that delve into Shakespeare's history, context, and relevance of Shakespeare's...more
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PBS LearningMedia's Shakespeare Uncovered is a collection of resources, including videos and discussion questions, that delve into Shakespeare's history, context, and relevance of Shakespeare's greatest plays. It explores the stories behind Shakespeare's plays, incorporating history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the perspectives of celebrated hosts. There are plenty of interesting lesson plans such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Shakespeare's Characters, Supernatural Elements in Shakespeare, In Shakespeare's Time are just a few interesting titles. Click Episodes on the bottom menu to view rare footage from some renowned productions, including Taming of the Shrew with commentary by Morgan Freeman. The series is built on interviews with actors, directors and scholars, clips from screen versions of the plays. PBS LearningMedia's "Shakespeare Uncovered" series offers a variety of resources, including lesson plans and classroom activities, that can be used as a teacher's guide. These resources provide engaging ways to bring Shakespeare's works to life for students of all ages. PBS LearningMedia also provides a Shakespeare Uncovered Viewing Guide.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): hamlet (8), macbeth (9), plays (32), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Enjoy the wealth of material put together for you and your students! Share the videos with your students on your projector or whiteboard. Flip your classroom and assign students to view the video at home and be prepared to discuss the next day in class. To make sure students are prepared use Acclaim, reviewed here to add questions to the video. (Most videos are between 45 - 60 minutes.) Use this program as a "background knowledge" builder before having the students read the play. Whether choosing your favorite play or the one that your district requires, you and your students are sure to enjoy this current, relevant look at Shakespeare.
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Shakespeare Bookshelf - IPl2: Drexel-College of Information Science & Technology

Grades
7 to 12
This attractive library of Shakespeare's literary works is organized just as you want it: each poem, comedy, history, and tragedy is bound in its own volume and placed in alphabetical...more
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This attractive library of Shakespeare's literary works is organized just as you want it: each poem, comedy, history, and tragedy is bound in its own volume and placed in alphabetical order on the appropriate shelf of the bookcase. The titles link to the 1914 edition of The Oxford Shakespeare at Bartleby and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare from Jeremy Hylton at MIT. This is truly a delight for librarians, English teachers, or any lover of literature! You can find the actual text of any Shakespeare work.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): literature (221), shakespeare (99)

In the Classroom

Students and teachers will enjoy using this Shakespeare offering because it is just "As You Like It"! Include this site on your classroom web page to provide students, parents, and yourself ease of access to reputable on-line versions of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and all the other literary works. This website will come in handy for projecting text on your classroom whiteboard to highlight, compare, and interpret particular scenes and lines. If you assign students to create multimedia interpretations of sonnets or passages from the plays, this is a great way to find copy/pasteable text. Two tool suggestions that give students a choice of projects to complete are Genially, reviewed here and Sway, reviewed here. Both Sway and Genially will allow your students to create multimedia projects.
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Shakespeare - Myvocabulary.com

Grades
6 to 12
 
As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Shakespeare. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Shakespeare vocabulary...more
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Shakespeare. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Shakespeare vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): literature (221), shakespeare (99), vocabulary (238)

In the Classroom

Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group responsible to find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Enhance learning by having the groups share their words and definitions in an online book, using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector and embed them in a class wiki. And of course, don't miss the interactive word puzzles! This is a great addition to a unit on Shakespeare or even character education.
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The Shakespeare Mystery - WBGH Educational Foundation

Grades
9 to 12
 
Since almost every high school reads Shakespeare, the look at the man himself and the controversies surrounding him make fascinating study for students and pull them into the Elizabethan...more
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Since almost every high school reads Shakespeare, the look at the man himself and the controversies surrounding him make fascinating study for students and pull them into the Elizabethan world (generally making study of the plays more interesting!). You will need to click the TEXT VERSION of this site to get links that work. Originally aired in April 1989 (and no longer available for purchase), this site offers the text and links to the fascinating debate of whether Shakespeare was the man from Stratford or really an intimate of Elizabeth I, the Earl of Oxford. It is divided into three sections: The Debate Continues, Updates, and Shakespeare on the Web. In a related report, the site looks at Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe as contemporaries, rivals, or being the same man.

tag(s): acting (19), elizabethan (13), mysteries (23), shakespeare (99), writing (324)

In the Classroom

This site offers a wide variety of activities from mock trials to timelines to actual discussions of the topic. Having students assume the roles of different participants either as those debating the issue or as Shakespeare himself, Marlowe, the Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth I enhances research, writing, persuasive, and acting skills.