No Sweat Shakespeare

Check out http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com


Since most secondary English teachers will have to teach Shakespeare at some point, it seems like a good idea to have some sources that relate to his life and works. This website has several different pages, each relating to a different aspect of Shakespeare's life or work. Under the "Shakespeare Resources" tab, there are links to areas of his life such as a basic biography, a timeline, information about his family, and a dictionary of words commonly used in his works. There are also links relating to different aspects of his works such as general information about his plays and sonnets, and more specifically, information about the characters in his plays, the different genres his plays fit into, and quotes and monologues translated into modern English.


Though this website isn't completely comprehensive of everything you need to know about Shakespeare, I feel like it serves as a great starting point for teachers and students. The way that it breaks down the life and works of Shakespeare into different categories could be a very beneficial way to plan lessons in a unit on Shakespeare. Whether or not students have already read his plays or sonnets and learned about his life, it is always beneficial to look at the background information of an author. Also, since Shakespeare’s plays have been performed for several centuries, it is important to consider the context in which they were written and performed. This website gives information about the Globe and how his plays would have been performed at the time he was writing them.


Another idea for using this website in the classroom would be to have the students use it as a starting point for projects or activities. Since the website does not cover the entire scope of information that students can learn about Shakespeare, it would be beneficial to have them explore the topics this website provides on their own in further detail. For example, the “Shakespeare Dictionary of Extinct Words” is a very short list. Students could add words to the list and study their origin and use at the time the play was written and performed. Students could also create graphic organizers for the lists of characters the website provides for each play.


Teachers and students could take this website in virtually any direction they please. It provides information that can help them learn more about Shakespeare, but can also serve as a building block for further exploration and learning.