Shakespeare's plays

Introduction

For this Webquest we will find information about some of Shakespeare's plays. As you may know, this year is the 400th aniversary of the writer's death, so it is a great opportunity to learn about why Shakespeare's plays are so famous. However, it will not be that easy... You will have to find the passwords required to advance through the quest! But fear not, for I shall give you the ancient scrolls that will lead your way! Well, not ancient scrolls, but you get the idea.

Task

Your task in this Webquest is to show the rest of your classmates what you have found about one of Shakespeare's plays. You will work in groups of 3 and in our next class, each group will make a short presentation (5-6 minutes) explaining the characters, plot, circunstances and outcome of the play, along with your personal opinion. You will be able to use the classroom equipment so feel free to support your presentation with a powerpoint, pictures or anything you imagine!

You will also have to make a poster about the play that we will hung on the classroom. You should design it to fit the play's atmosphere, but otherwise you can make anything you want too.

As I said, finding the information will not be that easy. You will begin with one question. In order to continue the quest, you will have to find the password to that question and so on!

Process

And here begins your quest.

Your first test is.... This year is the 400th anniversary of the death of two great writers, Shakespeare and....? Use google to find the answer.

Good job! Next question: how was Shakespare's playhouse called? (This question would only be visible after introducing the fist answer)

That's correct! And it was rebuilt so is possible to visit it if you ever have the opportunity. (Again, only visible after answering the last question)

For the next question you have to complete a table. You will find a really short description of six of Shakespeare's plays and you will have to find out what the title of each play is.

Descriptions	Two teens from enemy families fall in love	Forest fairies mess up with human couples	Witches make a procephy about a king	A ghost ask his son to avenge him	People playing tricks on a couple	A girl disguised as a man falls in love
Title

Match: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Much ado about nothing,macbeth, a midsummer night's dream, Twelfth night

Perfect! Now, click on the title of the play that catched your attention. That will be the play you will work with.

Romeo and Juliet! One of the most famous plays indeed, a tragic love story. You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.

A midsummer night's dream! Full of fantasy and pranks. You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.

Hamlet! Ghosts and revenge, sounds intense. You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.

Macbeth! How a procephy can mess up with people's thoughs is scary. Be warned! You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.

Much ado about nothing! A pretty funny story, though you may feel sorry for the poor man. You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.

Twelfth night! A guide of how to make everything more and more complicated. You can click here to see an animation video that sums up the story and here to find a longer summary with more details.http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/play-summary/twelfth-night/

Depending on their choice, they will get one of the messages

Nice job, team! Use this information to make your presentation next day and feel free to make research on it. Don't forget to be creative and... break a leg!

Evaluation

Finishing the quest is a minimal requirement to pass this webquest, so work together to find all the information.

The presentation will be the 60% of the mark for this activity. Don't worry about speaking perfectly, but try to pronounce every word as best as you can (remember that you can use howjsay.org to heard any word you don't know). Every member of the group should participate in the presentation. The use of electronic or visual support will be taken into account along with the quality and originality of it. Don't forget the conclusion and your personal opinion about the play! Make sure your classmates understand your point of view and do not finish with a lame "I like it", elaborate!

The same applies to the poster, which counts as a 15% of the mark by the way, be original. You could try drawing, maybe doing a comic strip, look for pictures from shows or movies, anything! One of the requirements for the poster is to fit the atmosphere of the play: was it happy? make it funny; was it tense? Make it darker. Try to make the best poster out of the whole class!

The 25% that is missing will be evaluated during this session, according to your performance and the information you gather. The more, the better!

Conclusion

Try to learn as much as possible from the play, but don't forget to have fun. Shakespeare' stories have been used in a lot of films, books, series or comics because of how interesting they can be. So don't start this quest thinking they are just old stories, you may recognize the plot from somewhere else! Think deeply about you opinion, share it with your group and your classmates and enjoy!