This works as an introduction to Shakespeare’s characters and stories for young children. It also gives older pupils the experience of working with Shakespeare&'s raw materials of character, motive and props. This makes them think about how he wrote for the stage: crucial for gaining marks in Shakespeare exams! Please read Lesson Notes to understand how it works. I have provided two of the sheets in a version with cartoons: Characters and Props. Useful if you are doing this in an MFL. The other sheets would probably need a translation on the back. Have fun! - Also, check out my YouTube Channel, “pavertutor”, for my Shakespeare Puppet videos!

This is a traditional ballad which dates back at least as far as 1611. So it is contemporary with Shakespeare e.g. 'Macbeth&'. Pupils could write a modern version with the talking crows, or poems to lament the mysterious dead knight. GCSE students could compare different interpretations of the imagery. See my Lesson Ideas for more things to do. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons & concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This video can be used with my ‘MACBETH’ - ANIMALS IN CHAOS! Worksheets. Two puppet horses explain ‘Macbeth’ with reference to beliefs about natural order in Shakespeare’s time. They focus on ‘Macbeth’ Act 2 Scene 4: 'Duncan’s horses…Turn’d wild in nature…‘Tis said, they eat each other.’ The horses then explain the Great Chain of Being, to help us understand the whole play in the context of its time. This eight-minute film will help anyone studying Shakespeare’s tragedies or history plays to grasp the beliefs about God, man and nature that underpin the plot, characters and language. It is particularly helpful to GCSE English Literature pupils who need to place Shakespeare’s plays in context. I’ve included two images from the video: the Great Chain of Being Diagram and the cartooned extract.

This detailed cartoon explains three stages of creating a play: 1. The playwright choosing lines and stage directions 2. The characters onstage with various props and effects of lighting and sound 3. The audience reaction with emotions ranging from tension to anger, sadness to disgust. You can print this off and give it to pupils and then get them to practise that three-stage analysis themselves. It can apply to any play. In essays, get them to include points & even start sentences with 'Priestley', 'The stage directions' and 'The audience' to help nudge dramatic insights.

This lesson gives pupils ways to dig themselves out of ‘going blank’. You can give the Worksheet to pupils & put up a choice of photos for them to write about. Example from Worksheet: Start by asking yourself some simple questions. There are no right answers. Just see what comes up in your mind: 1. Am I warm or cool? Hot or cold? See Worksheet for more ways to get ideas from your own mind! Note: You can use the Worksheet with any photos of places. (These were all taken in Greece; the tomb pix = Mycenae.) See my ‘WORD WITCH’ for another way to get ideas: rub two words together like sticks…

This sheet is designed to help students to think of the play they are studying as a drama to be acted onstage, not a book to read in silence. You can do some of the exercises in class or as a homework. Reading a section of dialogue with sock puppets is a fun way to explore who is speaking to whom, who has power in a scene and who is silent. Encouraging students to do this at home can make revision stimulating and memorable. Theatrical observations start to creep into essays as a result.

A filmed parody of the Kate Bush song, 'Wuthering Heights&', which sends up the original novel as much as it does the song! Fun to watch as part of a term&';s work on the Gothic genre: pupils can spot the elements of the Gothic in the whole style in which the film is shot as well as the performance itself. Good for teaching them what parody and satire are as well. Fun if you've studied &'Wuthering Heights&';, too! I enclose leadsheet (lyrics and chords) and video script. There may be some differences between the leadsheet, script & final film.

You can give this sheet to pupils and let them read all the words on the witch's cloak. They can then draw or write in words around her, to give her some things to fly over. Or give them the Page of Nouns, too, for lots suggestions! Finally, they can take one word on her cloak and partner it with one word that names a thing, eg &'The Ancient Tree&';, 'The Empty House&', &';The Secret Road' Later, use this in a grammar lesson (see my GRAMMAR OCTOPUS) - all the words on the witch&'s cloak are adjectives.

Who or what is the Fire of the West? Get children to guess before they listen to the song. Get them to guess again after hearing you read aloud the first verse. Then listen to the song! Pupils could write their own ballads or stories with mysterious titles. Other creative tasks: diaries, letters, posters &c. For literature, use it to introduce ballad form: originally, a song that tells a story. Listen out for metaphor, simile, repetition, refrain, é rhymes. Enjoy using the song for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See lyric sheet for details.

This song tells a story in the first person. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own ballad songs/poems, creating feeling with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In lit. lessons, the song can introduce storytelling poems, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure. Interpretation, too: is ‘Thunder Gold’ a place? A symbol? In creative writing, use it as a springboard for stories: who is/was this person? Diaries, posters etc. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This song tells the story of a tooth fairy who wants to become a surgeon. It may comfort children worried about a wobbly tooth or going into hospital. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own songs/poems about a character who is fed up wants a change. Other creative tasks: diaries, letters, posters &c. The subtext for anyone worried about career choices is: one thing can lead to another. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

A song which creates a character mostly through setting, detail & imagery. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own songs/poems é learn about rhythm é rhyme. Other creative tasks: 'Meeting a Witch&', diaries, letters, posters éc. it can also introduce ballad form. This helps quatrains, dialogue, imagery, repetition, refrains é rhymes to make more sense. The use of metaphor é simile to create mood can be studied, too. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This song tells a story through first-person description. As well as performing it, pupils can write stories, poems, songs e.g. ‘Letter from a Ghost’. They learn about creating atmosphere with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In literature lessons, the song can introduce storytelling poems, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure. Enjoy using this song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

'Comment on the choice of words&' often puzzles pupils. &';You're Shakespeare - Choose A Word!&' gets pupils to choose their own words to fill in the gaps in 10 lines of Shakespeare. Pupils then speak the lines aloud to see what effects their word choices have had on meaning, feeling and sound. &';Which Words Did Shakespeare Choose?' gives them the complete lines with the names of the characters and plays. Of course, you could compile your own examples from a play you&'re teaching. It’s worth teaching &';effect' = noun, &'affect&'; = verb, before they write their analysis.

This song tells the story of Friendly Shoeman Jake whose red shoes suddenly learn to talk. They want to do different things so they start fighting... Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons & concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright.

This song tells a story in the first person. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own ballad songs/poems. Use it as a springboard for stories: who was the Star Mountain Girl? What was her story? Diaries, posters etc. Pupils learn to create feeling with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In lit. lessons, the song can introduce ballads, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure.Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

Dramatic Irony in Shakespeare explained with a model of the Globe Theatre. Catherine Paver, English Tutor, made the mini theatre to bring Shakespeare to life for GCSE students and A Level students. This video starts with a definition of Dramatic Irony using a green plastic dinosaur. It then discusses examples from ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Page to Stage - bringing Shakespeare to life! Terms used in the video: Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something important that the character or characters do not. This may be something that has happened, is happening or will happen in the future. Heavens The roof over the Globe stage, painted with stars, moons, and signs of the zodiac. This image reflects the Renaissance belief in the influence of the movements of the stars upon the world below. Hell The area underneath the stage where the stage trap door leads. It might be used for graveyard scenes by Shakespeare’s company, as a tomb or a place from where devils or witches appear.

This two-page worksheet uses explanations, quotations and cartoons to help students grasp that the murder of Duncan is a crime against God that upsets the whole natural order. ‘Macbeth’ is stuffed with animal references which are fun for students to look out for in lessons and extract questions, but they need help first to grasp why Shakespeare uses them. These sheets are designed to do this. You can use these sheets at any point during your study of the play. Act 2 Scene 4 is a good moment for them, though. You can show my video - ‘MACBETH - ANIMALS IN CHAOS!’ after going through the scene, then give them the worksheets. I have also included two images from the video: the simple diagram of the Great Chain of Being and my cartooned extract from Act 2 Scene 4.