For this project, you should:

1) Get into groups of four
2) Determine who will take which “role”. (Ms. Levengood highly suggests that the person in the group most familiar with Shakespeare take the part of Playwright or Stage Director.)
3) Read through the questions that your “role” is required to answer.
4) Begin to search through the selected sites for the answers for your questions. DO NOT PRINT PAGES! TAKE NOTES! You will need to have your information and have it summarized for your part of the Power Point.
5) Create your Power Point presentation with your group members. Remember, to follow your rubric!
6) E-mail your Power Point to Ms. Levengood so she can grade it.

Phase 1 - Background Information
As wdiscussed in class before, the Internet is an amazing resource, but it must be used carefully. For Shakespeare, as with everything else on the Web, there is a lot of false information.

With this information in mind, please use the selected sites below for your research for this project, especially since class time to work on the project is limited. If you wish to use a site outside of these, please have Ms. Levengood review the site before you begin to take notes.

• Shakespeare: Subject to Change
• Absolute Shakespeare
• Encyclopædia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare
• Discover Shakespeare – Folger Shakespeare Library
• A Shakespeare Timeline

Phase 2 - Roles
Since there is much to learn and discover about Shakespeare, his works, and what the theatre was like during his time period, each person in your group is to have a specific “role” with elements of Shakespeare’s world to explore and questions to answer. (**Hint: You may find it extremely helpful to copy and paste the questions for your “role” into a Word document and type your notes into the document as your answer the questions.**)

Descriptions of the four “roles” are listed below.

Director:

Research general background information on Shakespeare (date of birth, date of death, family life, careers, when published).
Questions to answer:
- When was Shakespeare born?
- When did Shakespeare die?
- In what country did Shakespeare live? What monarchs ruled in this country during the time of Shakespeare?
- What careers did Shakespeare have?
- Was Shakespeare married? Did he have children?
- When were Shakespeare’s works first published?

Playwright:

Research Shakespeare’s different types of writing (including the three categories of plays) and his contributions to the English language.
Questions to answer:
- What types of writing did Shakespeare do?
- What are the three categories of his plays? Provide three examples of each.
- What are some of the words that are part of modern English language that Shakespeare invented? Include at least three examples words and the titles of the plays in which they appeared.
- What are some of the common expressions that are used today that Shakespeare invented? Include at least three examples words and the titles of the plays in which they appeared.

Stage Designer:

Research The Globe Theatre (including who sat where, what kinds of props, costumes, and sets were used, and the shape of the Globe).
Questions to answer:
- Where was The Globe Theatre located?
- What was The Globe constructed of?
- What was the shape of The Globe?
- During what time of the day were the plays held? Why?
- What classes of people attended performances at The Globe? Where did each class sit?
- How much did people pay to attend a play?
- What kinds of costumes, props, and sets were used on stage?
- What often caused the closure of theatres?

Actor:

Research what being on the stage was actually like in Shakespeare’s day. Also, begin to research Julius Caesar.
Questions to answer:
- How were actors cast into plays?
- Who played women on the stage?
- Where did actors perform their plays?
- What was the name of Shakespeare’s acting group?
- Who were some of the actors in Shakespeare’s group? What parts in the plays did these actors play?

Phase 3 - Reaching Consensus
When your group members have found answers to their “role” questions, you and your group are now ready to put together your Power Point presentation.

Remember that your Power Point should contain at least 22 slides with text and pictures, be visually appealing, and include correct information. Be sure to follow the grading rubric that you received in class.

Also, remember that Ms. Levengood should not see large blocks of text in your Power Points – for once she wants to only see phrases and complete, detailed sentences.

When your Power Point is complete, send it to Ms. Levengood’s e-mail for her to grade.

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Conclusion

So, why study Shakespeare?

You should see that Shakespeare contributed greatly to the English language, to the culture of theatre, produced some of the greatest works of literature that are still relevant in today’s society.

Still not convinced that Shakespeare is worth studying and got some time on your hands? Go to any Web search engine and search for “Shakespeare” and see how many sites come up. Even if you are convinced, try the search or visit the suggested sites above more thoroughly.

Here’s to experiencing Shakespeare!

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Content by Ms. Levengood, lml190@psu.edu http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/webshakespelm.html Last revised Sat Jul 26 7:21:47 US/Pacific 2008