William Shakespeare and His Works
Shakespeare's Life
 A
Child's Portrait of Shakespeare, by Lois Burdett, a teacher of Grade 2
students, who takes them back in time every year to Elizabethan England to introduce them
to the life and works of William Shakespeare. Her students have even performed at the
Stratford Festival. In this book,Burdett has compiled the actual pictures and essays of
children to illustrate her own rhymed portrait of Shakespeare. 64 pages, with teaching
tips at the end. List, 6.95. Now, 4.93-B. Out of print, supply limited.
 Shakespeare for Kids: His Life
and Times by Colleen Aagesen and Margie Blumberg. Trade paper, 11 x 8˝''.
Chicago Review Press, 1999. Helps kids experience William Shakespeare’s England
and get their first taste of the Bard’s sublime craft. This lively biography contains
21 different activities which bring this period of history to life: staging swordplay,
learning to juggle, creating authentic costumes like a flamboyant shirt with slashed
sleeves or a lady’s lace-trimmed glove, making a quill pen and using it to write a
story, binding a simple book by hand, creating a fragrant pomander ball and a dish of
stewed apples. Inspired by scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, kids can
invent new words, write songs, and devise scathing or comical insults just as he did. This
fascinating and accurate historical information and the accompanying activities open
a dramatic new world of learning for children ages 8 and up. 149 pages. Illustrated with
drawings, art reproductions, and photographs. Cat. #15565-23475. $15.26-D
 The
Play's the Thing: A Story about William Shakespeare by Ruth Turk. Black
and white illustrations by Lisa Harvey. A Creative Minds Biography, Lerner,
Carolrhoda Books, 1998. For grades 3 and up. A highly readable story of
Shakespeare's life for the chapter book crowd. Includes a list of Shakespeare's
works, a bibliography, and an index. I have very much enjoyed all the books I
have read from this series. Equally good for upper elementary grades and
reluctant older readers. 64 pages. BTH-4163. $6.26-D
 The
World of Shakespeare, an Usborne book. Trade Paper, 64 pages packed with
highly visual material on what is known of his life, the Elizabethan world his lived in
and the theater and drama in his time. Discusses his plays by type: tragedy, comedy,
history, romance, and problem. Also discusses Shakespeare's poetry. There is a brief
discussion on how the plays have been performed through the ages, acting a directing
styles, costumes and make-up. There are brief plot summaries of the plays, a biographical
glossary of Shakespeare's contemporaries, a glossary of terms and phrases, a glossary of
Shakespearean words, a glossary of Shakespearean characters, a chart of important dates, a
quiz, and an index. There are beautiful illustrations and photographs throughout
the book, mostly in color. For ages 11 and up.Cat. #BTH-2023.
$8.96-D (Cover pictured is from earlier
edition.)
Shakespeare's Works
Shakespeare Plays in the Classroom:
This series helps students in grades 6-9 become involved with Shakespeare
through intensive, motivating units on his individual plays. Each book provides
a unit on one play, including background on Shakespeare's life and the
Elizabethan stage, a summary and edited version of the play, a
comprehensive vocabulary list, suggestions for producing the play,
journal/discussion topics, and a multitude of interactive activities that draw
students into the plot, characters, and meaning of the story. Students will be
encouraged to express themselves in oral presentations, drama, art, writing, and
other theater related activities. Reproducible for classroom use. These
were originally published by Good Apple and sold for $9.99. I'm offering them
for only $6.93 each, but supplies are limited to what I have on hand, since
these are out of print in this form. Here are the titles:
 Macbeth:
A Practical Guide for Teaching Shakespeare in the Middle School Classroom.
BTH-1588. $6.93-D
 Twelfth Night: A Practical Guide for Teaching Shakespeare in the
Middle School Classroom. BTH-1590.
$6.93-D
 Getting to Know
Shakespeare by Elody Rathfrn and Pauline Scanlan. Teacher Created
Materials, ©2003. For grades 6 and up. 64 pages. the innovative activities in
this book cover a broad range of plays grouped into three high-interest areas:
The Supernatural, Crimes and Criminals; and Women in Shakespeare. This book is
designed to create interest in Shakespeare's plays through historical context,
quotations, and acting out selected scenes. Students work with snippets of text
which can serve as springboards form which to launch into more detailed study of
specific plays. This is a book of appetizers -- not entrees. But many literature
teachers will find it useful. BTH-2025. $8.09-D
 Great Scenes from Shakespeare's Plays
by
John Green and Paul Negri. A Dover coloring book suitable for older children. Each double
page spread has a famous scene from one of the plays with the text of the scene on the
opposite page. Includes scenes such as these: Hamlet in the graveyard, musing over the
skull of Yorick the jester; Juliet on her balcony and Romeo in the courtyard below,
exchanging their feelings about their new-found love; Mark Antony addressing the citizens
of Rome after Caesar's assassination; Macbeth's scene with the three witches; Cleopatra's
suicide ; and many more. Many are death scenes, so be prepared. 59 pages in all.
BTH-2024. $2.66-D Currently out of stock.
Literature in Context: The books in this series develop
students' appreciation of literature and improve their reading comprehension.
They include reading comprehension exercises, vocabulary exercises, and Stop and
Think exercises, which encourage students to summarize; describe and explain
events, personalities, and problems; make predictions; discuss themes; infer
motivation; compare situations with current events; look for connections to
their own lives; and more. There are also objective and open-ended exercises
which help students review the story. Includes a teachers' introduction, the
exercises, and the answers. The book is not included. For grades 6-12. Teachers
may reproduce student pages for classroom use. Here are the available titles on
Shakespeare's Plays:
 Literature in Context:
Macbeth, by Venetia Ozzi and Kathi Godiksen. 106 pages. BTH-3854.
$13.46-D
 Literature in
Context: A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Venetia Ozzi and
Kathi Godiksen. 102 pages. BTH-3855. $13.46-D
 Romeo and Juliet Curriculum Guide by Laura Maravilla. Incentive
Publications, 2001. This guide to teaching Romeo and Juliet is aimed at students
in grades 8-10. It suggests modern music and movies for review of the play, its
language, and its themes. Each lesson includes creative content-based
activities, vocabulary and discussion questions. These activities include
vocabulary word finds, crossword puzzles, quizzes and tests, project ideas,
lovelorn advice letters, and a game. Students will explore the themes of
loyalty, family, revenge, and communication and they try to see connections
between these themes and their own lives. 95 pages. BTH-4027. $10.79-D.
 Shakespeare
by Mari Lu Robbins. A challenging interdisciplinary unit for middle and
junior high grades from Teacher Created Materials. 176 pages. The book begins
with activities related to Shakespeare's life and times. The bulk of the book
focuses on three of the plays:
A comedy: Much Ado About Nothing
A tragedy: Romeo and Juliet
A history: Richard III
These have been chosen for their appropriateness of theme and
content for today's adolescents. For each play there are sample lesson plans, an
overview of activities, and some reproducible worksheets, an objective test, and
an essay test. Students will also look at some of Shakespeare's sonnets, and
other Elizabethan sonnets and news ballads.
The plays are followed by an assortment of cross-curricular
activities from the fields of language arts, math, science, social studies, arts
and crafts, and life skills. They include such activities as writing and
producing a puppet play, a Shakespeare word search, an active verb crossword
puzzle, producing a morality play, theater math, converting Celsius to
Fahrenheit, medicine and the Black Death, discovering how a telescope works,
comparing how people lived in Elizabethan times as compared to the way most
people live today, building a model pageant, learning how refrigerators work,
and much more. Suggestions for culminating activities include building an
Elizabethan museum, producing a Shakespeare play, an Elizabethan Masque and
Feast and more.
Also included are bulletin board ideas, a Shakespeare Family
Tree, a reproducible scroll pattern, instructions for making scenery frames, a
crown pattern, a theater map of London, a map of Europe in 1560, a bibliography,
and an answer key.
BTH-123. $17.99*. Now out of print. Supply limited to stock on hand.
Will Works: Getting to Know Shakespeare by Elody Rathgen and Pauline
Scanlan. Revised Edition, Educational Impressions, 2008. This book was designed
to help teachers students in grades 5-8 to love Shakespeare -- not hate him.
After some suggestions for brief introductory activities, the plays are
introduced in three categories by theme: Supernatural Shakespeare, Crimes and
Criminals, and Women of Words. There are quotes from some of the plays as these
themes are discussed, and they are used to highlight points about language,
common themes, social contexts, characters, story, and humor. There are
activities to encourage students to act out, design, read, write, think, and
work in groups. 56 pages. BTH-4678. $10.76-D
Tales from Shakespeare by Mary and Charles Lamb. Mass
market size paperback. The authors have retold 20 Shakespeare's best-known plays in prose
form, keeping the original words where possible, just for children to enjoy. It first
appeared in London in 1807. Since then, it has also delighted many generations of adults.
332 pages. A Penguin Classic. Cat. # 04515-23911. $5.36-D
 Shakespeare Made Easy Series. These
books feature a modern English translation side-by-side with the full original text of one
of Shakespeare's plays. Each is introduced with information on his life, his plays, his
theater, and his verse. Then there are some introductory notes on the specific play
featured in the book. Print is comfortable to read. $6.26-D each.
Available titles:
Hamlet, Cat. # BAR-36387
Henry IV, Part I, Cat. # BAR-35852
Julius Caesar, Cat. # BAR-35739
King Lear, Cat. # BAR-36379
Macbeth, Cat. # BAR-35712
Merchant of Venice, Cat. # BAR-35704
Midsummer Night's Dream, Cat. # BAR-35844
Romeo and Juliet, Cat. # BAR-35720
The Tempest, Cat. # BAR-36034
Twelfth Night, Cat. # BAR-36042
 Literature Made Easy Series by
Barron's: Each guide contains the following:
Commentary covering themes, setting, characters, style,
language, and viewpoint
Pictures and graphics that make the guide lively and easy to use
Questions to help you develop your personal view of the play you are
studying
A special section on How to Get a "A" in English
A section to help you improve your general study skills
A model and plan on how to write an essay on the play
Suggestions on how to get ready for an essay exam on the play
A glossary and index
Available Shakespeare titles are Julius Caesar /
Macbeth / Merchant of Venice
Midsummer Night's Dream / Romeo
and Juliet / The Tempest.
Designed especially for high school students. Each title is $4.46-D.
Use the same catalog number, BAR-LME for each title.
Picture This! Shakespeare Series, edited by Philip Page
and Marilyn Pettit. Barron's. This series presents the plays of
Shakespeare in the form of graphic novels combined with extensive written
passages taken straight from Shakespeare himself. This new approach to the works
of Shakespeare is designed to attract readers of middle school age. Each
book begins with a brief, attention-grabbing introduction. This is followed by a
page of literary terms defined. An illustrated cast of characters helps students
prepare for the graphic-style picture stories that are a substantial part
of every book. Hard-to-understand words and idioms are defined in the margins,
and Think About It questions are scattered through the text, usually at the end
of passages. Books in this series are a great way to interest middle school
students in Shakespeare's plays. Teacher editions for each book suggest topics
for class discussion and provide a variety of activities to stimulate interest
and help students think through the plays. Available title include
 Hamlet,
BTH-3521. $7.16-D
 Macbeth,
BTH-1811. $7.16-D
 Macbeth,
Teacher Resource Book, BTH-1816.$8.96-D
 A
Midsummer Night's Dream, BTH-1812 $7.16-D
 A Midsummer
Night's Dream Teacher Resource Book, BTH-1817. $8.96-D
 Romeo
and Juliet, BTH-1813. $7.16-D
 Romeo and Juliet,
Teacher Resource Book, BTH-1818. $8.96-D
 Twelfth
Night, BTH-1814.$7.16-D
 Twelfth Night,
Teacher Resource Book, BTH-1815. $8.96-D
Simply Shakespeare: Original Shakespearean Text with a Modern
Line-for-Line Translation, A Barron's Series. English has changed
since Shakespeare's day, and today's students need a little help in
understanding him. Books in this series print Shakespeare's undiluted words with
a modern line-by-line translation on the facing page. Each book has an
introduction with background on Shakespeare's life and the theater of his time,
and a little general information about his style and the publication of his
plays. This is followed by a brief introduction to the play the book covers.
Each act of the play has it's pre-act notes, followed by the text of that act.
After each act is a section that includes an assortment of review activities;
comprehension questions, activities and role-playing for classes or small
groups, discussion questions, and suggestions for writing. Here are the
individual plays available:
 Hamlet.
BTH-1805. $8.06-D
 Julius Caesar.BTH-1806
$8.06-D
 Macbeth.
BTH-1807. $8.06-D
 Romeo and Juliet.
BTH-1808. $8.06-D
 The Tempest.BTH-1809.
$8.06-D
 Twelfth Night.
BTH-1810. $8.06-D
Teaching Success Guides for the
Advanced Placement Classroom. Prufrock Publicatons: These guides help
teachers to motivate students by introducing investigative hands-on activities:
debates, role-plays, experiments, projects, ad more. These are all based on
Advanced Placement and college-level standards for learning.
Advanced Placement Classroom: A Midsummer Night's Dream by
Kathryn L. Johnson and
Laurie Heinemann. Students will examine Shakespeare’s inventive
language by collecting words and phrases to use later in a “Sweet-Talk
Challenge,” akin to a modern-day poetry slam; discover the history behind the
play by researching and giving presentations on Elizabethan occupations; and
recognize the challenge of performance by reenacting scenes. (Publisher
description.) BTH-5360. $22.46-D
Advanced Placement Classrooom: Hamlet by Timothy J. Duggan. Students
will study cultural variations of the Hamlet story, recreate the tale’s events
in a news show format, rewrite scenes using modern-day perspectives, and create
their own blogs to discuss the play’s relationship to contemporary life. The
author also provides easy-to-use discussions of Shakespeare’s life and times and
the ways Hamlet can be studied from a critical perspective. (Publisher
description.) BTH-5361. $22.46-D
Advanced Placement Classroom: Macbeth by Daniel G. Lipowitz and
James M. Conley. In this book students will examine the play critically
and analytically to understand aspects such as the nature of villainy and the
history of the events that inspired the play. An extended section provides
teachers with information on societal implications that impacted the play’s
creation, including witchcraft and The Gunpowder Plot. Teachers also will be
able to implement exciting hands-on projects such as putting Macbeth on trial
for the murder of Banquo and developing a soundtrack for the play. (Publisher
description.) BTH-5362. $22.46-D
Advanced Placement Classroom: Romeo and Juliet by
R. Brigham Lampert. Featuring more than 50
reproducible pages to supplement student projects, debates, and writings, this
guide teaches students to consider new perspectives on the traditional tale.
Teachers can implement day-to-day study of the play with intriguing journal
prompts, introduce challenging critical thinking with lessons that put Juliet’s
nurse and Friar Lawrence on mock trial for their role in bringing together the
lovers, and much more. (Publisher description.) BTH-5363. $22.46-D
Dover Thrift Editions: Many of Shakespeare's plays and
poems are available in a no-frills Dover Thrift edition for those who simply want the full
text of the works, perhaps even in multiples for group use. These are available on our Inexpensive book page.
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