GCSE English Literature - Virtual communities 2020 Resources - Shakespeare resources

Sep 5, 2026

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A curated set of free, classroom-ready resources for teaching GCSE English Literature focusing on Shakespeare. The materials consolidate teaching approaches and digital content from major organisations, including filtered learning by key stage, text and theme. Resources cover context exploration, close reading activities, lesson plans, interactive tools, and video or image-based study support. Guidance also extends to specific plays, with targeted packs and activity sequences for Macbeth and other key texts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Shakespeare resources

Making connections

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Virtual communities 2020 Resources Published: Autumn 2020 Contents | Contents | Page | | --- | --- | | Shakespeare resources | 4 | | Making connections | 14 | Shakespeare resources Below we’ve compiled a list of free resources to support your teaching of Shakespeare. Please note that this is neither exhaustive nor prescriptive. | Organisation | Resource | Link | | --- | --- | --- | | British Library | Discovering Literature: Shakespeare and the Renaissance is a free repository of online resources designed to help students and teachers explore the contexts of Shakespeare’s work. Use treasures from the library to bring the teaching of literature to life including original digitised manuscripts, articles and videos. (Content can be filtered by age/key stage and theme. ) | [bl.uk/shakespeare](bl.uk/shakespeare) | | British Library in collaboration with the English and Media Centre (EMC) | Teacher's Toolkit: Using Discovering Literature in the classroom is a free resource showing you how to make the most of the wealth of materials on the Discovering Literature website and is packed full of practical strategies to refresh your teaching of English Literature. | [bl.uk/teaching](bl.uk/teaching)resources/discoveringliterature-teachers-toolkit | | Shakespeare’s Globe | Hundreds of teaching resources including lesson plans, activities and interactive content that can be filtered by age range (key stage) and text. | teach.shakespearesglobe.com/ | | | A guide to resources for teachers from Shakespeare’s Globe, published in NATE’s Teaching English magazine, summer 2019, issue 20. | [nate.org.uk/publications/tea](nate.org.uk/publications/tea)[ching-english/](ching-english/) | | | Strengths , weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT): a strategy designed to practise students’close-reading skills. Here used as part of a sequence of lessons for A Midsummer Night’s Dream but could be adapted for any play (as featured in autumn 2019 GCSE English hub school network meeting materials) . | teach.shakespearesglobe.com/ks3-midsummerlanguage | | RSC | In the Shakespeare learning zone , resources are organised by text and grouped by Story, Characters, Language and Staging, and then categorised according to level (‘new to the play’,‘more detailed information’ and ‘in-depth study and analysis’) . It includes images from past productionsand videos of actors and directors talking about the play in performance. | [rsc.org.uk/shakespeare](rsc.org.uk/shakespeare)learning-zone | | | Activity toolkits: short (15-minute) activities,
available for Macbeth , Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, | [rsc.org.uk/education/about](rsc.org.uk/education/about)rsc-education/home- | | | Merchant of Venice , Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. | learning-with-thersc/activity-toolkits | | --- | --- | --- | | Shakespeare Birthplace Trust | Downloadable resources for teachers (and home educators) . Filter by key stage and play or topic. | [shakespeare.org.uk/educati](shakespeare.org.uk/educati)[on/teaching-resources/](on/teaching-resources/) | | | Home learning area: a selection of the most popular classroom resources suitable for home learning for 11–14 year olds. | [shakespeare.org.uk/educati](shakespeare.org.uk/educati)[on/home-learning/11-14-](on/home-learning/11-14-)[year-olds/](year-olds/) | | Etymonline | Use this online etymological dictionary to encourage students to investigate the unfamiliar/challenging words they encounter in Shakespeare’s work (as featured in the autumn 2019 GCSE English hub school network meeting materials) . | [etymonline.com/](etymonline.com/) | Macbeth | Organisation | Resource | Link | | --- | --- | --- | | British Library in collaboration with EMC | This pack offers a wealth of ideas for using the British Library’s Discovering Literature to teach the play, its contexts and criticism, including:
• innovative ways of using articles and primary sources on witchcraft
• activities to support stude

FAQs

What is the document’s purpose?

It compiles free online resources to support teaching Shakespeare for GCSE English Literature, including ideas and links for teachers and students.

How are many of the resources organised for teaching?

Resources are typically filtered or grouped by factors such as age/key stage, theme, and text, and often categorised by levels of study.

Are the resources limited to one Shakespeare play?

No. The document includes a section for Shakespeare resources and also provides dedicated resources for specific plays, including Macbeth.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Skyler