The Tempest - Act 1 Scene 1!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to develop a rich understanding of Act 1 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In particular, students learn about some of the key features of historical context (including travel literature, class systems, and supernatural beliefs at the time) before linking this information with what they interpret in the play.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through:
Engaging with the title and make predictions about events and characters;
Developing an understanding of the key features of social and historical context;
Reading and comprehending the main events and meanings in Act 1 Scene 1;
Precisely linking what they read with their understanding of social/historical context;
Visually depict their interpretations from the scene, based on Shakespeare’s stage directions, the dialogue, and their understanding of key meanings;
Self assessing their learning through the lesson;

Included is:
Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
Research Template;
Worksheet - Linking the Play to Context;
Copy of Act I Scene I (freely available online);
Comprehensive lesson plan.

Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting) and Word (so that they are easily editable - they can be found in the zipfile)

The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.