sacherb

Just thought I'd throw up some links...

I teach "Romeo & Juliet" in the Spring, and I start off with a WebQuest kids do to find out as much as we can about Elizabethan England, and Shakespeare himself. This is, I've found, a great way to dispel the idea of Shakespeare as some "fruity guy in tights"...

With that in mind, I've found the following sites very helpful...

http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/players/player21.html (nice historical site, if a bit "stuffy" in tone.)

http://elizabethan.org/compendium/ (FANTASTIC SITE!!! Tons of info on Life in London, broken down into incredibly detailed categories - lots of fun stuff (like the fact that Elizabethans emptied their "chamber pots" by tossing the filth out the window!))

http://romeoandjuliet.com/author/times.html (Baz Luhrmann site for the film - not a lot of stuff here, but some good bits on what the life of a player was like, and very "kid friendly". Especially good for middle school, 9th grade)

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/life/lifesubj.html (Another good "technical" site on Shakespeare himself. Lists all the plays, facts and details of his life, etc...)

Enjoy!