RATIONALE

            William Shakespeare is one of the most widely studied and widely read writers in all of English literature.  Even though his plays were written over four hundred years ago, they are still widely performed and constantly adapted for more modern audiences.

            While it would be very nice to take a field trip to witness a Shakespearian play being performed in person, sometimes this is not practical from a financial standpoint.  Our field trip idea, therefore, is one taken within ones own school along with an activity that can be completed within the confines of the school that will help teach students the details about the production aspects of plays and give them the information needed to compare present day stage production with Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.  Through combining in class work with the real experience of studying and exploring a production stage, students will be able to obtain a better understanding of not only the literary aspects of Shakespeare’s works but the production aspects as well.

            This resource guide will include several materials that will pertain to William Shakespeare and, specifically, the modernization of his works in both a literary and performance sense.  Contained inside this portfolio are the following: concept maps, activity plans for both in-class activities and an on-location activity for the field trip planned, published resources for helping to teach Shakespeare in a modern era, an annotated bibliography of web sites that can be helpful for a teacher looking to teach Shakespeare, an example of a WebQuest activity (with enclosed example of student’s completed project), a rubric for grading, and a CD copy of the Virtual Field Trip created with PowerPoint.