Activity 1: Recite the Story Information
- Before and after reading or listening to the story, recite aloud the title and author of the play.
Activity 2: Narrate the Story
- After reading or listening to the story, narrate the events aloud in your own words.
Activity 3: See the Playwright and Poet William Shakespeare
- Study the controversial 'Cobbe portrait' below, which may be a real-life portrait of Shakespeare.
- The portrait contains the Latin phrase 'Principum amicitias!' which means 'The alliances of princes!'
Activity 4: Map the Play
- The comedic play, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' takes place in and around the city of Athens, Greece.
- Find Greece on the map of Europe.
- Point to the location of Greece on the map of the world.
- Find Athens on the map of Greece.
Activity 5: Study the Forest Plant Life
Recite aloud the names of the listed forest plants from the play.
- Oxlips
- Woodbine (also called Honeysuckle)
- Musk-Roses
- Eglantine
- Dewberries
- Green Figs
- Mulberries
Activity 6: Can You Find It?
During the week, zoom in to study the painting, 'Hermia and Lysander. A Midsummer Night's Dream,' by John Simmons. Soak in the magical ambiance of the play's woodland setting, and find the following:
- Hermia
- Lysander
- Helena
- Demetrius
- Fairy Talking to an Owl
- Fairy Riding a Bat
- Fairy Holding Woodbine
- Fairy Flying in a Moonbeam
- Fairy Wrapped in a Gossamer Cloth
- 4 Additional Fairies Sitting or Standing on Leaves
- Bug
- Moon
- Dagger
- Tiara
- Arm Cuff
- Peacock Feather
Activity 7: Create Your Own Reusable Theater to Study and Stage Shakespearian Plays
Materials:
- 1 large, sturdy, and solid-colored foam board
- Laminating pouches
- Self-adhesive Velcro tape, squares, or dots
Background:
- The foam board will serve as a theater for putting on Shakespeare's plays.
- You will build sets for your theater, populate it with characters, and use it to act out scenes.
- Attaching Velcro to the foam board, set pieces, and characters will enable creating multiple configurations of sets and characters.
Directions:
- Fasten approximately 30 1-inch strips or dots of evenly spaced Velcro to the front of each foam board.
- Color, cut out, laminate, cut out, and attach Velcro to the backs of the theater decorations on page 3 of 'Third Grade Shakespeare Theater Pages.'
- See an example of a full laminated sheet of characters, set items, and labels before the final cut out.
- Decorate your theater as you see fit.
Activity 8: Cast the Characters
- Serve as the casting director and audition actors and actresses for parts in your play.
- Color, cut out, laminate, and attach Velcro to the backs of the labels on pages 4-5 of 'Third Grade Shakespeare Theater Pages.'
- Color, cut out, laminate, and attach Velcro to the backs of the actors and actresses trying out for the roles (make sure to keep the boxes attached to the characters) on pages 6-15.
- You will have more characters than roles.
- Attach an additional piece of Velcro to the box under each of the actors and actresses.
- Using what you know from reading the story, cast each character by Velcroing a label to the box under the actor or actress you feel is best suited for the role.
Activity 9: Create a Character Map
- Cut out the relationship connectors on page 16 of 'Third Grade Shakespeare Theater Pages.'
- Using what you know from reading the story, place the relationship connectors between the characters to show their relationships.