Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespearean Context!

This engaging, in-depth lesson enables students to make detailed links between Much Ado About Nothing and its social and historical context. In particular, students analyse how social features such as courtly love, patriarchal society, social class, and illegitimacy are evidence throughout the play.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through:
- Defining and exemplifying the key features of Shakespearean context;
- Reading and comprehending key extracts from Much Ado About Nothing, relating them to the features of Shakespearean context;
- Completing an essay style response in which they consider how the key features of social and historical context influence the events of the play.
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and detailed - just download and teach from it!
- Pictures of Shakespearean society for the introduction activity;
- Shakespearean society worksheet (and teacher answer sheet);
- Extracts from the text;
- Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses;
- Comprehensive lesson plan.