13 easy, engaging lessons for Romeo and Juliet

by mindroar | Aug 22, 2021 | blog | 0 comments

Looking for lessons for Romeo and Juliet ? Are you teaching Romeo and Juliet in high school and desperately looking for activities and resources for the Shakespearean tragedy? Check out these 12 Romeo and Juliet teaching resources.

Pre-reading lessons

1. shakespearean insult lesson.

If your students are unfamiliar with English from the Elizabethan era, it can be a steep learning curve. And it can make it difficult to teach Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet .

Students often feel intimidated by the language and find it hard to get into. And if you’re teaching one of Shakespeare’s plays for the first time, you can feel intimidated yourself. I know I was when I first started!

A great way to overcome this fear factor is to have some fun activities for teaching Shakespearean language and the specific play you will be teaching.

One of my favorite ways to start any unit about Shakespeare is by having a Shakespearean Insult Lesson (see h ere for my blog post about it and here for my digital and in-class lesson ).

Not only is the Shakespearean insult lesson lots of fun, but it also helps reduce the fear factor of Shakespearean language.

2. Watch a video about Shakespeare and his plays

Another great way to introduce students to Shakespeare and his plays is to watch a short video about Shakespeare’s life and his tragedies.

There are heaps of videos around, but some of my favorites are the Crash Course videos: this one , which is all about Shakespeare’s life, and this one , which is about Shakespeare’s tragedies.

Both videos are short and sweet, less than fifteen minutes. The video about Shakespeare’s tragedies covers King Lear in more depth, so you can also stop the video at about eight minutes and fifteen seconds if you’re short on time.

These are also great activities to set as homework because they are short and easy to get into. Plus, if you had to choose between a video and solving algebraic equations, which would you choose?

The videos are funny and engaging, and they use illustration, a presenter, and quotes to delve deeper into Shakespeare’s life and plays. That series also has a video about Shakespeare’s comedies, just in case you teach any of those too.

If you’re looking for a worksheet to go with the videos, check out our Shakespeare life and plays bundle on TPT.

While reading lessons

Now, once you’ve introduced Shakespeare, gotten your student more comfortable with his language, and begun reading Romeo and Juliet , you’ll probably be wondering what other lessons for Romeo and Juliet you can use in class.

1. Romeo and Juliet Crash Course Literature videos

The Crash Course Literature series also has two videos specifically about Romeo and Juliet . Again, I rate these highly as they’re short, entertaining, and cover important content such as plot, characters, and themes.

If you’re looking for worksheets for these, we have some too. Check out the Romeo and Juliet mini bundle , which has worksheets for both of the videos.

Be warned that the videos do have plot spoilers though, so if your students don’t already realize that R+J die, you may want to hold off until you’ve read the whole play.

2. Romeo and Juliet Text Messaging Activity

This great lesson by The English Teacher’s Pet asks students to choose a scene from the play and recreate the scene through text messages on Romeo’s phone. And the best part? This lesson plan for Romeo and Juliet is free.

This Romeo and Juliet activity includes an explanation of the activity and a model answer, an evaluation sheet, and a text-message printable worksheet for students to write on.

3. Read some comics

These comics by David Rickert give an introduction to the main events of each act and have activities that explain an important concept or literary device.

Using comics is a great way to take away that fear that students often have of not understanding Shakespearean language. As an added bonus, the visuals in comics help with comprehension.

4. Learn about the characters using body biographies

These body biographies by Danielle Knight of Study All Knight are another great lesson for Romeo and Juliet . In the activity, students analyze characters from the play in an engaging way. In completing the projects, students have to:

  • find direct quotes
  • analyze how the character has changed (or stayed the same)
  • explore the characters’ inner thoughts/feelings
  • analyze the characters’ values and beliefs
  • explore the characters’ strengths/weaknesses
  • identify the characters’ goal/s in the play
  • describe what the character/s look like
  • choose the characters’ best accomplishment/s
  • identify symbols
  • and describe the characters’ background, family, personality, and conflict

5. Using Romeo and Juliet to learn how to integrate quotes and paraphrasing in literary analysis

This lesson helps students understand how to quote and paraphrase in literary analysis using Romeo and Juliet quotes. Included in the lesson, useable in both print and digital, are:

  • a scaffolded introduction with examples of how to integrate quotes
  • independent practice with rubrics
  • suggested answers
  • an editable homework task and quiz
  • bellringers for the play

6. Romeo and Juliet photo booth printable props

This Romeo and Juliet activity would be a great way to get students to revise the play as they go. At the end of each scene, students could do a fun comic-book style photo-booth scene summary that they act out, write dialogue for, and then print and put in a comic-book template .

It would not only be fun, but it would also help students identify the important elements of each scene and remember what happened in the plot of the play.

After reading lessons

So you’ve finished reading or watching Romeo and Juliet , and now you come to the pointy end where you need to review before an assessment task. These great Romeo and Juliet review activities are sure to be a hit with your students.

1. Digital escape room review

This digital escape room review by Gamewise is a great no-prep escape room that is paperless and completely online. You just buy the game, give students the link and password, and set them loose.

Even better, for students to get to the completion page, they need to answer all of the questions correctly.

The game covers topics such as:

  • the plot of the play
  • the main characters in the play
  • language and technique analysis
  • close reading of Romeo’s soliloquy in the tomb

2. Escape room review for Romeo and Juliet

If you prefer your students to do a paper-based escape room, this one by Nouvelle ELA can be used as an escape room with clues hidden around the room. Or it can be used as a breakout box, with students remaining in their desks to complete the tasks. It covers elements such as:

  • figurative language
  • plus, it can be increased in difficulty using ‘You’ve been poisoned’ cards

Romeo and Juliet movie lesson plans

If your students are going to watch a video version of the play, this lesson for Romeo and Juliet helps students compare the Baz Luhrman movie adaptation to the play.

This film to play comparison by Visual Thinking Classroom is a great Romeo and Juliet movie lesson plan because it includes a no-prep instructional slide deck, as well as scaffolding to help students compare the original play to the Baz Luhrman adaptation.

The Romeo and Juliet movie lesson plan also helps students focus on important elements such as characters, story elements, and important moments in the play.

Romeo and Juliet entire unit lesson plans

Now, maybe you’ve read through all of the Romeo and Juliet lesson plans so far, but what you’re really after are Romeo and Juliet unit lesson plans for a whole unit instead of individual lessons. If so, keep reading.

1. Laura Randazzo’s Romeo and Juliet unit lesson plans

This five-week Romeo and Juliet unit of lesson plans contains the following:

  • a calendar with suggested pacing and activities
  • scene-by-scene study questions in both PDF and Google Drive versions
  • life in Elizabethan England team speech activity including many topics and a rubric
  • a lecture and craft activity about Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
  • a Shakespearean comedy presentation about puns and oxymorons
  • a presentation about the power of tone and line delivery with interactive activities for 27 students
  • Shakespearean sonnet lecture and creative writing activity
  • one-question quizzes to hold students accountable for reading
  • Shakespearean slam contest
  • art assignment to illustrate Mercutio’s Act 1, Scene 4 monologue
  • an Act 2 prologue activity
  • plot timeline to review play’s chronology
  • quote review challenge
  • 50-question exam using matching, true/false and quote identification
  • in-class end-of-unit essay prompts

2. The Daring English Teacher’s Romeo and Juliet Teaching Bundle

This final resource with lessons for Romeo and Juliet is this differentiated teaching bundle by The Daring English Teacher. This bundle includes writing prompts, cloze activities, character analysis, and vocabulary.

But one of the best things about this product is that it is easy to differentiate – the one unit of work enables you to run Romeo and Juliet ESL lessons but can also be adapted to suit other learners too.

Want more English lesson and resource ideas?

Hopefully, the resources listed above have been helpful for your lesson plans for Romeo and Juliet. If you are an English teacher, you may be interested in my other blog posts with lesson ideas and resources for other texts, including:

  • 12 excellent teaching resources for Macbeth – make Macbeth easy
  • Teaching Lord of the Flies: 12 awesome activities & wonderful worksheets
  • How to improve research skills when you have NO time
  • 5 awesome free resources to teach Shakespeare
  • Fun, engaging, and easy Shakespearean insults lesson you have to try
  • 9 quick and easy study skills lesson plans for high school

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  • Schools and Teachers
  • Teacher Resources

Activity Toolkits

Here you can access and download our Activity Toolkits for independent and home learning, offering creative and exploratory activities for students.

romeo and juliet art activities

The Activity Toolkits each contain a number of short 15 minute activities on each play. These are ideal for remote learning tasks, as a an extension to classroom or online work or for use as part of a blended curriculum. 

Each activity also contains some extension suggestions that will take longer than 15 minutes but provide lots of different ideas for exploring the texts creatively. You can watch RSC actors completing some of the tasks in their own homes as inspiration, and uncover a host of supporting materials from Adobe that will help students to complete some of the activities using their freely available Adobe Spark platform.   

Macbeth Activity Toolkit

Complete toolkit.

Download the complete Macbeth Activity Toolkit for all 20 activities. 

If you choose to work through in order, we recommend you watch the Macbeth Live Lesson  after activity 10, before completing the remaining activities.

Several activities also contain Primary versions with slight adjustments that may help younger learners.

Activity List

Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on Macbeth. You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you. Several also contain Primary versions of the activities with slight adjustments that may help younger learners. 

  • 1 - The Witches
  • 2 - The hero of the battle
  • 3 - The prophecies
  • 4 - The thane of Cawdor
  • 5 - The letter
  • 6 - The plan
  • 7 - The doubts
  • 8 - The murder of Duncan
  • 9 - The bloody daggers
  • 10 - The aftermath 

At this point we recommend you watch the Macbeth Live Lesson , exploring Lady Macbeth's character, before completing the remaining activities.

  • 11 - The marriage
  • 12 - Banquo
  • 13 - The king and queen
  • 14 - The second prophecies
  • 15 - Macduff
  • 16 - The alliance
  • 17 - Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking
  • 18 - Macbeth's journey
  • 19 - The downfall
  • 20 - A new king

Romeo and Juliet Activity Toolkit

Download the complete Romeo and Juliet Activity Toolkit for all 20 activities.

If you choose to work through in order, we recommend you watch the Romeo and Juliet Live Lesson  from 2019 after activity 10, before completing the remaining activities. 

Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on Romeo and Juliet. You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you.

  • 1 - The Prologue
  • 2 - The opening fight
  • 3 - The Story
  • 4 - The Characters
  • 5 - The world of the play
  • 6 - Romeo and Love
  • 7 - The Capulets
  • 8 - When Romeo meets Juliet
  • 9 - The Balcony Scene
  • 10 - Juliet's Language

At this point we recommend you watch the Romeo and Juliet Live Lesson from 2019, with the actors who play Juliet and Friar Lawrence, before completing the remaining activities. 

  • 11 - The Dilemma
  • 12 - The disobedient Daughter
  • 13 - The Friar
  • 14 - The Nurse
  • 15 - The Feud
  • 16 - The death of Tybalt
  • 17 - The wedding night
  • 18 - The Banishment
  • 19 - The deaths
  • 20 - The Proclamation

Watch RSC actors demonstrating the Toolkit activities

Hamlet activity toolkit.

Download the complete  Hamlet Toolkit for all 20 activities.

Please note this Toolkit is aimed at students working at KS4. Work may be suitable for both younger and older students. 

Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on  Hamlet.  You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you.

  • 1 - The opening of the play
  • 2 - The Story
  • 3 - The Characters
  • 4 - The World of the play
  • 5 - The Backstory
  • 6 - Hamlet's first Soliloquy
  • 7 - Hamlet's language
  • 8 - Ophelia and Polonius
  • 9 - When Hamlet meets the ghost of his father
  • 10 - To be or not to be
  • 11 - When Ophelia breaks up with Hamlet
  • 12 - Get thee to a nunnery
  • 13 - An antic disposition
  • 14 - Ophelia
  • 15 - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
  • 16 - The play within the play
  • 17 - Claudius' confession
  • 18 - When Hamlet confronts Gertrude
  • 20 - The themes

The Merchant of Venice Activity Toolkit

Download the complete The Merchant of Venice Toolkit  for all 20 activities.

Please note this Toolkit is aimed at students working at KS3-4. Work may be suitable for both younger and older students. 

Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on The Merchant of Venice .  You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you.

  • 1 - The Story
  • 2 - The Characters
  • 3 - The world of the play
  • 4 - Antonio and Bassanio
  • 5 - Portia's Suitors
  • 6 - Prejudice
  • 7 - Shylock and Antonio's Bond
  • 8 - Lancelot Gobbo
  • 9 - Jessica leaves home
  • 10 - Gossip
  • 11 - If you prick us...
  • 12 - The casket scene
  • 13 - Portia
  • 14 - Cross Dressing
  • 15 - The Venetian court
  • 16 - The Trial
  • 17 - The Quality of Mercy
  • 18 - The Ring
  • 19 - A happy ending
  • 20 - The Themes

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Adobe Digital Activities

Discover the basics of creating digital images, graphics and video with Adobe Spark. These creative activities complement the RSC Activity Toolkits and are perfect for independent and online learning.

Othello Activity Toolkit

Download the complete Othello Toolkit  for all 20 activities.

Please note this Toolkit is aimed at students working at KS5 .

Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on Othello .  You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you.

Please note this Toolkit is aimed at students working at KS5 . Work may be suitable for KS4 students who enjoy a challenge. 

  • 1 - The Set up
  • 4 - Tragedy
  • 5 - The worlds of the Play (part 1)
  • 6 - The worlds of the Play (part 2))
  • 7 - The Secret Marriage
  • 8 - Othello's Story
  • 9 - Desdemona's Duty
  • 10 - Iago's First Soliloquy
  • 11 - Iago's Motives
  • 12 - The Army and Cassio
  • 13 - The Party
  • 14 - Iago reels in Othello
  • 15 - Power and Status
  • 16 - Verse and Prose
  • 17 - The Willow scene
  • 18 - Cassio stabbed and Roderigo's death
  • 19 - Othello's Language
  • 20 - The Death scene

Much Ado about Nothing Activity Toolkit

Download the complete Much Ado about Nothing Toolkit  for all 20 activities.

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Keep Your RSC educating

The RSC is a charity and our mission is to transform lives through amazing experiences of Shakespeare and great theatre. If you can, please consider supporting us by making a donation and Keep Your RSC.

  • Rehearsal Room Approaches to Shakespeare
  • Tales From Shakespeare Resources
  • Interactive Learning Resources
  • Teaching Shakespeare
  • Matilda The Musical Resources
  • Shakespeare Lives in Schools
  • RSC School Shakespeare
  • Romeo and Juliet Pack 2024

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The Daring English Teacher on Teachers Pay Teachers Secondary ELA resources Middle School ELA High School English

10 Activities for Teaching Romeo and Juliet

romeo and juliet art activities

Romeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably heard of the story or will relate to the plot as it has been retold in various films and literature. If you need some fresh ideas before you start this unit, read on. 

Here are 10 activities for teaching Romeo and Juliet

1. relatable bell ringers.

If you’re going to focus on a Shakespeare play, you must go all in. Immersing students into a unit from start to finish is such a perfect way to help students understand a topic in-depth. Start off each class with these Shakespeare Bell Ringers . Each one includes a famous Shakespearean quote and a quick writing prompt. Students will explore various writing styles based on the quote.

2. Character Focus

Help your students identify and organize characters with these graphic organizers . This resource has two sets for almost every character in the play. Students will identify characters as round or flat, static or dynamic, and other basic qualities. This will also require them to provide textual evidence. The second organizer focuses on tracing emotions and motivations throughout the play. It’s a creative way for students to organize the play’s characters and is also a great resource for ESL students and struggling readers. 

3. Get Interactive

I can remember interactive notebooks becoming all the rage. And while the paper notebooks are creative, a motivator for some students, and it’s generally pretty easy to put an interactive spin on old ideas already at hand. Having a digital version is just one more layer to add something unique to the interactive notebook. My digital notebook resource can work as its own unit and includes analysis activities covering characters, symbols, major events, writing tasks, and response questions. Digital notebooks are great for classrooms trying to limit paper use, use more technology, prepare students for tech demands, and for any classes that need to work with mobile options.

4. Engaging Writing Tasks

Help students understand and analyze the play by giving them unique writing assignments. Have students explore different writing styles, analyze universal themes, and study character development. My Writing Tasks resource does all this and more. Each act has its own unique writing assignment, and I’ve included brainstorming organizers for each. You’ll be able to use this with differentiated instruction, and there are several additional resources and organizers included. 

5. Read “Cloze”ly

Prep passages for students to summarize to help them understand events from the play. This is an ideal activity for review, comprehension, or even assessment. Cloze reading is an ideal way to help students understand what is happening. Cut your prep time down by using this resource, with 6 passages ready to use AND written in modern-day English. Use as an individual assignment or collaborative activity. 

6. Use Office Supplies

Increase student engagement with hands-on activities using sticky notes. You can use various colors to coordinate different aspects of study (literary elements, major events, character development, etc). It’s an easy and quick way for students to organize thoughts and notes, and the bits of information can be manipulated and moved around for different assignments. Students can gather relevant information for various essays, or can organize their sticky notes in a way that makes sense to them (by topic, or chronologically, as an example). Check out my Sticky Note Literary Analysis activity that includes 12 sticky note organizers. 

7. Make Use of Bookmarks

There are many creative avenues when it comes to bookmarks. Have an activity where students pick a favorite quote, draw a scene, or draw what they know about the play prior to reading (they can use the back to draw after reading the play). Consider a foldable version like this one where you can jam-pack a variety of questions, vocabulary, literary analysis and more. These are foldable, interactive, fun, engaging – and it saves you time passing out one activity to be used throughout the play. 

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8. Plan an Escape 

Escape rooms live up to the hype. Challenge your students with a fun and engaging review escape challenge. Have students work together in groups to complete collaboratively and spark authentic discussion. This escape room activity includes 40 timeline events to sort from the play correctly.

9. Don’t Forget Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important aspect of understanding any work, but Shakespeare is on a whole other level. In addition to reading an older version of English in poetic form, students must grasp key vocabulary to understand the play more deeply. Engage your students with hands-on activities to learn vocabulary, whether that be through graphic organizers, visual dictionaries, or word puzzles. Check out my ready-to-print vocabulary packet that includes word lists, puzzles, organizers and quizzes for the entire play. 

10. Practice Annotations

Start at the very beginning with an engaging activity for the prologue. This will allow students to explore the Shakespearean language and the set-up to the drama that is Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy. Using this resource , students will read and annotate the prologue, be introduced to Elizabethan English, and have context and background information before reading the play. Students then will rewrite the prologue in modern-day English following the same sonnet form. I love having students explore language, and this activity fits perfectly into the unit. 

If you’re starting fresh with activities to fill a unit, or you’re looking to refresh your tried-and-true activities, check out my 5-week unit plan for Romeo and Juliet here . It’s full of goodies including a pacing guide, pre-reading activities, bookmarks, vocabulary, passages, writing tasks, essays, review activities, and more. 

Put a new spin on the classic tragedy by refreshing your activities and finding new ways to present to students. Just a few simple updates and changes can keep students engaged and help them relate to the material. I love seeing what others do in their classrooms, so please share your favorite ideas in the comments below. 

Is Teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Still Revelant?

In an earlier blog post , I discuss if teaching Shakespeare is still relevant.

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Romeo and Juliet Lesson Plans: Free Teaching Ideas

Do you need Romeo and Juliet activities for teaching ninth grade? Included are Romeo and Juliet lessons and introduction activities. Also, possible fun introduction activities are in a free download.

Looking for  Romeo and Juliet  lesson plans? Typically, teaching Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade is part of teaching freshmen. If you need Romeo and Juliet assignments, I wrote several out for you and provided a free planning sheet for you. So many ideas exist, you can organize yours with the free download .

My feelings are mixed about teaching this love story. Is this a love story? My students typically comment that Romeo and Juliet is a bad rom-com, and I find that approach hilarious. It also reminds me why I love teaching teenagers.

I have taught Romeo and Juliet … dozens of times? I’ve created lessons that have bombed and directed less than enthusiastic students through lines; I’ve met standards and realized that I should have done way better.

And! I’ve scored too! Since I’ve taught Shakespeare’s famous play so many times, I can report to you what has worked and not worked. You can take this information and make it your own. So… here is where I’ve found success when creating Romeo and Juliet lesson plans.

Provide background information when teaching Romeo and Juliet

Provide background.

Brain-based learning research tells teachers to provide background before starting a unit. I created a concept map where students have the flexibility to choose their research area. Typically, students study about Shakespeare’s life, his writings, the English Renaissance, and Shakespeare’s enduring fame.

Some students become enthralled with the Elizabethan time period. People had strange outfits and wore lead makeup . I like using concept maps because students can choose an area to study as they find interesting topics. Great Romeo and Juliet introduction activities can set your unit for a positive tone.

Students who might not love reading the play often find the historical aspects interesting. I try to grab their attention that way.

Is Romeo and Juliet a comedy or a romance? Ask students to decide.

Acknowledge the romance.

I’m jaded and internally roll my eyes when I read Romeo and Juliet . (They. Just. Met.) Young students enjoy the romance, and I capitalize on that.

Since high school students date and watch shows with romantic storylines, I poke at Romeo and Juliet’s relationships. Debate the existence of love at first sight. Discuss parental involvement in dating. How do friends treat each other with the onset of a new relationship? Students connect to the conflicts Romeo and Juliet face, and they see that Shakespeare’s plays still have a purpose .

Students often tell me about characters from graphic novels, movies, and shows who fall in love quickly. We discuss the repetitive themes humans explore.

The movie version of Romeo and Juliet is a great classroom activity

Show the movie first.

A teacher mentioned this trick at a conference, and I tried it last year. I’ve always utilized the movie as we studied the play, but my students and I never completed the movie first.

This order makes sense: Shakespeare wanted the material viewed, not simply read. As we study it, we’ll of course read it. Now, we watch the movie and then reference the actors and setting from the movie.

The students are often nervous to study Shakespeare, but having a visual in their heads help. The clothes, the gestures, the setting… it is so strange to modern teenagers. Seeing the play first, and then studying and reading it makes a huge difference in interest levels and comprehension.

Plus, students are more confident as we proceed in reading the play. Watching some version, the play or a movie version, is an important part of Romeo and Juliet lesson plans.

Romeo and Juliet activities and lesson plans included.

Write and write.

I keep a handful of writing prompts on hand, but often, class discussions dictate what students will write. We choose from interesting characters, complex conflicts, or foreshadowing. We analyze quotes and literary devices. Through writing, students discover deeper meanings and ask questions.

Shakespeare’s plays are dense. When students write about the information, they process it. They work through complications and are more likely to ask me clarifying questions.

Many Romeo and Juliet assignments can branch from short writing assignments. Look what students develop and find interesting.

Analyze quotes of Romeo and Juliet

Watch modern interpretations.

What would Romeo say in an interview? Is the Friar confused by the basic facts? For extension activities,  My Shakespeare is a wonderful resource that will put Romeo and Juliet in a fresh light. (I want to gush about it. That website is golden.)

Plus, My Shakespeare provides great Romeo and Juliet introduction activities. The videos clarify the setting, plot, and author.

As a fun alternative, students can translate portions of the play into graphic novel pages or short videos.

Romeo and Juliet has beautiful language and exploring it is the perfect activity.

Highlight the language.

Romeo and Juliet is not my favorite Shakespearean play, but that final line is stunning: “For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” All of the language is purposeful, specifically, the iambic pentameter. Use this video to explain the concept.

The language and the beauty of the devices deserves study. Students and I frequently make a word wall with the literary devices and their definitions. We can reference them as we continue reading the play.

Romeo and Juliet activities

Make posters.

The numerous characters have odd names, and students need to keep them organized. I ask students to create a “Capulet” wall and a “Montague” wall. As we study the play, we reference the walls, especially as the families interact and people start to die. These simple posters keep the characters organized.

I also use digital designs to analyze characters. Those can be printed as well.

Romeo and Juliet lessons.

Show the comedy.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, but parts are hysterical. My favorite line? “Saucy boy. “  Dependent upon your students, highlight highlight lines from Nurse and Mercutio where appropriate. Doing so shows the depth of Shakespeare.

You can easily find Shakespeare insult generators online too.

Romeo and Juliet lesson plans.

Note the fame.

In my introduction to Romeo and Juliet , I ask students what they know about the play. Students know the lines, “Oh Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?” and  “ What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Students know these lines because the play is famous. They are studying a famous piece of literature! That fact is powerful.

Romeo and Juliet writing prompts

Connect to present life.

Shakespeare endures because humans today see themselves in his literature. Do some families argue and not get along? Has a parent ever told a child not to marry or date someone? Do teenagers become upset about lost love? Is miscommunication a problem? Do adults mess up situations? When students relate the ideas to their lives, they will appreciate the play on a new level.

There you have it: ten ideas to implement in your Romeo and Juliet lesson plans. I hope these ideas inspire you to personalize your Romeo and Juliet unit for your students.

Are you interested in more specific ideas for other common stories? I have free ideas for Animal Farm , The Hunger Games , and Julius Caesar .

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29 Shakespeare Activities & Printables for the Classroom

A lesson plan! a lesson plan! My kingdom for a lesson plan!

30 Free Shakespeare Activities and Printables

Think teaching Shakespeare is all toil and trouble? Methinks thou dost protest too much! These Shakespeare activities and printables will help you screw your courage to the sticking place and remember that the play’s the thing!

Shakespeare Activities

1. solve a cold case.

romeo and juliet art activities

Ripped from the headlines! Set up a crime scene and challenge your class to find the motivation behind Caesar’s murder. Who says Shakespeare has to be boring?

Source: Ms. B’s Got Class

2. Craft Bumper Stickers

romeo and juliet art activities

This works for any play. Have your students design bumper stickers! Simple concept but lots of room for creativity.

Source: theclassroomsparrow / instagram

3. Build a Globe Theatre Model

romeo and juliet art activities

Knowing about the theater where Shakespeare’s plays were first performed is essential to understanding the plays themselves. Have your students build this simple paper model as you learn about the Globe Theatre.

Get it: Papertoys.com

4. Design a Mask for the Ball

romeo and juliet art activities

Have students create a mask for a specific character to wear to the Romeo and Juliet masquerade ball. They must justify their color and style choices for that character—a fun way to do character analysis.

Source: Lily Pinto / Pinterest

5. Transl8 a Scene 2 Txt

romeo and juliet art activities

The language may be archaic, but the stories are endlessly modern. Have your class re-write a scene or sonnet in text, tweets, or other social media for a fun twist.

Source: fifteen eightyfour

6. Replace Words With Emojis

romeo and juliet art activities

Take things a step further and remove words from the equation entirely! Have students devise book covers or re-write a scene or sonnet using only emojis to tell the tale. Discuss the difficulty of encapsulating some concepts in brief images and compare them with Shakespeare’s word choices.

Source: For Reading Addicts

7. Design a Book Cover

romeo and juliet art activities

Combine art and graphic design with literature when you have kids originate book covers for a Shakespeare play. They make a fun classroom display too!

Source: Small World at Home

8. Dress the Part

romeo and juliet art activities

Dramatic readings are much more fun with a few props and costumes! This easy DIY paper ruff is made from coffee filters, and younger kids will love dressing up while they learn.

Source: Red Tricycle

9. Make Shakespearean One-Pagers

romeo and juliet art activities

Challenge students to represent a play visually—all on one page. Templates are available at the link below to help get you started.

Source: Spark Creativity

10. Generate Word Clouds

romeo and juliet art activities

Use a computer program like Tagxedo or Wordle to build a word cloud identifying important words from a play or sonnet. (Tagxedo allows you to create word clouds in a variety of shapes.) Discuss these words and their importance.

Source: Mrs. Orman’s Classroom

11. Try Running Dictation

romeo and juliet art activities

Get kids up and moving with “running dictation.” Print out a sonnet, prologue, monologue, or other important speech. Cut it up by lines and hang the sections up around a room or other area. Students find the lines, memorize them, report them to a scribe, and then put them in order.

Source: theskinnyonsecondary / Instagram

12. Fashion Upcycled “Laurel” Wreaths

romeo and juliet art activities

Need some impromptu costumes for Julius Caesar or Coriolanus ? These clever “laurel” wreaths are made from plastic spoons!

Source: A Subtle Revelry

13. Write a Scene in Comic Form

romeo and juliet art activities

Like storyboarding, writing a scene in comic form helps capture the essence of the action. Kids can use the actual text from the scene or add in their own sense of humor. (Mya Gosling has re-written most of Macbeth in this form. For inspiration, check it out at the link below.)

Source: Good Tickle Brain

 14. Write Concrete Poems

romeo and juliet art activities

Turn pivotal quotes from a play into concrete poems, using shapes that represent the concept. Students can do this by hand or using the computer.

Source: Dillon Bruce / Pinterest

15. Stage Scene Snapshots

romeo and juliet art activities

Performing an entire play takes a lot of time. Instead, have student groups stage scene snapshots capturing key moments from the play. Assemble them into a storyboard that covers the whole play.

Source: The Classroom Sparrow

16. Enjoy a Musical Interlude

romeo and juliet art activities

Compile a playlist for the play, act by act. Have students explain their song choices and listen to some of them in class.

Source: Cal Shakes R + J Teacher’s Guide

17. Write in Style

romeo and juliet art activities

Get younger kids excited about Shakespeare when they write with their own “quill” pens. Color, cut out, and tape around a pen or crayon for old time fun!

Source: Crayola

Shakespeare Printables

18. william shakespeare coloring page.

romeo and juliet art activities

Meet the Bard! Use this coloring image to introduce Shakespeare to young readers or as an anchor for other creative activities.

Get it: Super Coloring

19. Cheer Up, Hamlet! Paper Doll

romeo and juliet art activities

Have a little fun when teaching Hamlet . This free printable paper doll collection includes standard costumes but also hilarious extras like Captain Denmark and Doctor Who.

Get it: Les Vieux Jours

20. Shakespeare Mad Libs

romeo and juliet art activities

Remove key words from scenes or sonnets, fill in some new ones, and let the fun begin! Hit the link below for several pre-made games. You or your students can also make your own.

Get it: Homeschool Solutions

21. Shakespeare Lettering Sets

romeo and juliet art activities

Download these free letter sets (one for general Shakespeare, one for Macbeth ) to create bulletin boards or other classroom displays.

Get it: Instant Display

22. Elizabethan Language Terms

romeo and juliet art activities

Print a copy for each student to keep handy as they tackle Shakespeare’s works.

Get it: readwritethink

23. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Coloring Pages

romeo and juliet art activities

Introducing younger students to A Midsummer Night’s Dream ? These printable coloring pages and finger puppets are just the ticket.

Get it: Phee Mcfaddell

24. Phrases We Owe to Shakespeare Poster

romeo and juliet art activities

Shakespeare’s language becomes much more relatable when you realize how many of his phrases are still in use today . Hang this poster to introduce your students to some of these phrases.

Get it: Grammar.net

25. Shakespeare Notebooking Pages

romeo and juliet art activities

Keep students organized with these free printable notebooking pages for a variety of Shakespeare plays.

Get it: Mama Jenn

26. Shakespeare’s Life Poster

romeo and juliet art activities

Hang this tongue-in-cheek timeline of the man himself to give students an overview of his life.

Get it: Imgur

27. Shakespeare Plays Word Search

romeo and juliet art activities

Print this simple word search to familiarize your class with Shakespeare’s plays.

Get it: Word Search Addict

28. Vintage Shakespeare Quote Printables

romeo and juliet art activities

These pretty vintage images with Shakespeare quotes will add a touch of class to your classroom.

Get it: Mad in Crafts

29. Shakespeare Plays Flowchart

romeo and juliet art activities

Wondering which Shakespeare play to see? This flowchart has got you covered! You can print your own version for free or buy a full-size poster.

Get it: Good Tickle Brain

What are your favorite Shakespeare activities and printables? Come and share in our  WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus,  How to Teach Shakespeare So Your Students Won’t Hate It .

romeo and juliet art activities

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Super ELA!

January marks the beginning of third quarter, or what I fondly think of as the start of “Shakespeare season” in English classrooms. Sure, Shakespeare Day isn’t until April 23 rd , but anyone who’s taught one of Billy Shakes’s plays will tell you that they take a long time to get through, so it’s best to start early.

My first go-round with teaching the bard was in 2016 in my English I Honors classroom. I chose to start our Romeo and Juliet unit with iambic pentameter , and I remember the unbridled optimism with which I distributed Sonnet 18 for my students to mark up. That optimism died a swift death, as I watched class after class of panicked ninth graders struggle to scratch out the meter above the words. They whispered loudly to each other:

“Do you understand this?”

“I have no idea what’s going on.”

“I hate Shakespeare!”

“Why is she torturing us?”

Their indignant mutterings signaled that I was in danger of committing the classic teacher sin: robbing something wonderful of its joy by making it all academic and no fun. (Even Shakespeare has Romeo comment on the drudgery of school when he observes in Act II [1] , “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, / But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.”)

I had to act quickly.

Like I would do many times over the next few years, I implored my colleagues, Ms. Temple and Mr. Wood, for some much needed help. They were more seasoned than I, and they also imbued their classrooms with the kind of creativity that inspires cultish admiration. I knew they’d have answers, and I was right.

The following Romeo and Juliet teaching resources are a conglomeration of those handed down to me by Ms. Temple and Mr. Wood, as well as activities that I eventually (when I had the bandwidth) created myself. I did not use each activity every year, but I can attest that each helps elevate Shakespeare’s most famous play from a “horrible nightmare our teacher is forcing us to read” to “way better than that time she made us read Animal Farm ”—all while keeping iambic pentameter!

Family Shields Activity

Capulet and Montague Family Shields

In this activity, students create their own family shields, complete with family colors, values, and self-portrait. I recommend this activity especially if you’re going to have the students read aloud, as it helps them invest in the Capulet-Montague feud (but don’t encourage them to bite their thumbs at one another!).

Romeo and Juliet Family Shield Activity

Materials Needed:

  • Romeo and Juliet Family Shield Template (FREE download)
  • Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
  • Laptops or phones (to research quotes)

Instructions:

  • First things first: Are you a Capulet or a Montague? You can either have the students pick their allegiance, or you can assign it randomly in order to promote even numbers for both houses. Once this is decided, have them write a C or an M in the bottom right corner of their shields (C for Capulet or M for Montague).
  • Now that students know where they stand, have them write their names and draw their self-portraits in the upper left corner.
  • Next, students should write a quote that represents them in the upper right corner. I tell students that this quote should capture something about their values or how they view the world.
  • After students have their quotes, they should list five activities they enjoy in the lower left corner. This represents who they are as individuals within their respective families.
  • Finally, have the students color the upper left and bottom right corners of their shields with their family colors (red for Capulet and blue for Montague).
  • Hang the shields on opposite sides of the room to showcase their allegiances, and then get to reading!

R omeo and Juliet Comics

romeo and juliet art activities

Ms. Temple gave me this idea to help students who struggle to understand and remember what happens in the play. (As someone who makes comics to help students remember concepts, I feel a little daft not having thought of this myself.) The beauty of this assignment is that it allows students to summarize each of the acts and scenes with very few words!

Here’s an example comic from Macbeth :

Romeo and Juliet Comic Activity

  • Romeo and Juliet Comic Template (FREE download)
  • Pencils, colored pencils, markers, etc.
  • For example: In Act II, scene 2, Romeo swears his love to Juliet, invoking the moon. Juliet responds, “O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon, / That monthly changes in her circled orb” (lines 109-110). This is a great quote to summarize the content of the scene, and would pair well with a picture of a changing moon and balcony to help students remember what happened.
  • After finishing each act, have students write a five-sentence summary in the rectangle preceding that act’s scenes.

As an incentive, you can tell students that they may use this as a reference sheet on their final test.

Act III: Pool Noodle Swords

Pool Noodles = Safer Swords

Yes, you read that correctly: pool noodles. You know, the kind you use as floaties or water cannons at pool parties? I owe this idea entirely to Mr. Wood. It may seem silly, but it’s a great way to visualize the sword fight in Act III. It’s also effective for engaging students who can’t easily sit still for long periods of time.

Act III Fight Diagram Romeo and Juliet

  • Two pool noodles , cut in half
  • Note: I recommend having one set of students read the parts and one set of students act out the parts. It’s too difficult to do both at the same time.
  • A good time to ask for volunteers is after Mercutio exclaims, “O calm, dishonorable, vile submission! / Alla stoccata carries it away. / Tybalt, you rat catcher, will you walk?” (lines 72-74).
  • Give the students the pool noodles. (1) When stage directions instruct Mercutio and Tybalt to draw, tell them to draw their swords, but remain still, creating a tableau. (2)
  • Tell them they should not hit one another, but focus on the clashing of swords. (They love fighting with the noodles, and it usually always elicits laughter from the class.) After 15-30 seconds, instruct them to freeze in their fight.
  • Instruct the student playing Romeo to walk between Mercutio and Tybalt, putting their hands up to separate the fighting pair. (4)
  • When the stage directions say Tybalt under Romeo’s arm stabs Mercutio , have the student playing Tybalt push the pool noodle under Romeo’s arm and “stab” Mercutio. (5)
  • Instruct the student playing Mercutio to fall or swoon. (6) (Usually, this student moans dramatically and elicits more laughter. Sometimes a student will volunteer to be Benvolio and drag Mercutio away.)
  • Have the students reading the parts continue, with Romeo and Tybalt frozen in a tableau. Wait for the inevitable gasp when Benvolio says, “brave Mercutio is dead!” (line 115)
  • Instruct Romeo to draw his sword after he says, “This shall determine that” (line 130).
  • Instruct Romeo and Tybalt to engage in a sword fight, again not hitting each other, but clashing swords, for 15-30 seconds. (7) Then, instruct Romeo to “stab” Tybalt. (8) Tell Tybalt to fall.
  • Thank the students for their incredible performances and tell them to return to their seats.

More Romeo and Juliet Resources

If you’re looking for resources to help with Shakespeare’s language (including poetic elements, like iambic pentameter and motifs), I have activities that I have created available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store . They include:

romeo and juliet art activities

Language in Romeo and Juliet: Motifs (Free Resource)

First, students will look for words that use light and dark imagery in the famous balcony scene soliloquy (Act II, scene 2). Next, students answer questions about Romeo’s word choice and determine the figurative meanings behind it. After completing this activity, students will gain confidence in identifying and analyzing the light/dark motif in later acts and scenes throughout the play.

romeo and juliet art activities

Introduction to Romeo and Juliet: The Prologue

This packet includes two worksheets that help students work through the elements of the Prologue in Romeo and Juliet .

Worksheet 1: The Shakespearean Sonnet

In this activity, students will evaluate the prologue for elements of the Shakespearean sonnet. Students will mark the meter and rhyme scheme, as well as the quatrains and couplets. The link to a recommended (and fun!) video on iambic pentameter is included in the download.

Worksheet 2: Translate the Prologue

In this activity, students will annotate the prologue and then translate it into their own words. This will help students feel more confident in their ability to read Shakespeare and give them a solid understanding of what to anticipate from the play. When students are finished writing their translations, invite them to share with the class. The results are often insightful and humorous!

romeo and juliet art activities

Write an Original Soliloquy

This mini-project combines elements of character analysis, creative writing, and student performance in a fun activity for the end of Act IV of Romeo and Juliet .

Note: This activity is most successful when students have already covered the following concepts:

• Iambic pentameter • Elements of the Shakespearean sonnet

After reading through Act IV of Romeo and Juliet , students will complete a character analysis of one character. Then they will write an original soliloquy in iambic pentameter from that character’s perspective. Finally, students will embody the character in a performance of the original soliloquy.

An example soliloquy and helpful tips for writing in iambic pentameter are included.

[1] All citations are from this edition of Romeo and Juliet .

romeo and juliet art activities

Romeo and Juliet – Fun with the Balcony Scene

Balcony_scene

Because it’s Shakespeare you want to have some fun with it. Here are some activities that you can do that will help students understand the situation and the language.

View some productions

The Royal Shakespeare Company has a lot of good resources for those who teach Shakespeare. Here’s a link to a resource that deals exclusively with the balcony scene.

Within this packet there’s a link to a series of images from different productions. As the students look at them, ask them to notice what are common trends in these productions. What’s apparent right away from them is that there should be a significant distance between Romeo and Juliet – in some cases, it appears that they can never actually touch. But the distance is always visible, or at least there is always the wall of the balcony between them. Students should observe that the physical distance represents the barrier that exists in their relationship, so this bit of staging is important.

All of the actors are different ages too, and none of them are teenagers. Ask students if this works for them. Are they able to suspend their disbelief and pretend that they are young lovers? It’s a great opportunity to talk about how drama works, especially on the stage – we are willing to accept a lack of realism on the stage that we don’t in a film. If we see wires holding up a flying person on stage, we are okay with that. If it happens in a movie, we think the special effects are lousy.

Look at some images

The balcony scene has been rendered in art a number of times. Just do a search for “romeo and juliet painting” or “romeo and juliet illustrations” and you’ll find some good examples (and some weird example of what I can only describe as fan art.) Pick a few of the better ones and ask students to analyze the choice of color, the composition, etc. This is a great way to meet CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7 which asks students to examine an interpretation of a scene over various media.

As an extension of this activity one thing I’ve done in the past is pick about five painting or illustrations from the play and put them on slides. I project each one for 5-10 minutes and ask students to tell me what scene is depicted, how they know, and which line from the play they would use as a caption for the image. It’s also a good way to assess CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7 .

Dig into the language

Once students have read the passage once, you can have them go back and look at some of the stuff that’s going on. One of the activities involves finding words in Romeo’s opening soliloquy that have to do with light . We then talk about why they chose certain words. They frequently miss the word “window,” for example, and we talked about why that might have been a good choice. They also picked “heaven” and we had a good discussion about why we associate life with heaven (near death experiences came up since people talk about “seeing the light.”) And then finally what “light” might have to do with the scene in general beside providing unity.

Of course you’ve got a great opportunity to clear up the misconception that “wherefore” means “why” and not “wherefore.” They’ll see that in other Shakespeare plays as well. But we also have a great Shakespeare quote that students might know apart from the play: “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Have students put this concept in their own words (they’ll inevitably fall short) and have a conversation about the importance of names. How much of your identity revolves around your name?

Get them acting

Everyone will tell you Shakespeare shouldn’t just be read; it should be acted. And this is a great scene to have some fun with. And you can work with a small excerpt – just the first few lines will do.

You can break students into groups and assign different emotions. For instance they can play Juliet as angry than Romeo has appeared in the garden, or super scared that they’ll be discovered.

Another thing you can do is have a couple of students playing Romeo and Juliet while a couple of other students pose as guards and slowly walk in front of them from one side to the next. When the guard get within a certain distance (tape on the floor works well) Romeo and Juliet have to whisper their lines. This is pretty fun, but you do need to have a decent sized area in order to make this work. And as always, anytime you have students acting in front of the classroom its a good idea to give them a little time to practice beforehand.

The Royal Shakespeare Company has a lot of good resources for getting kids up and moving when you do Shakespeare.

Watch a stage performance

As much as I like the Zefferelli version I’m a big believer that students need to see Shakespeare as it was meant to be seen: on the stage. Here’s a link to a rehearsal of the balcony scene done by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHoaPLO6Zd8&w=560&h=315]

The Globe Theater has a terrific series of filmed productions that are well acted. Here’s a preview of one of them. You can purchase the DVD on Amazon . Frequently my students like these better than the films.

And here’s a teaching tip – if you watch the film, turn the subtitles on. That way students are getting an extra dose of Shakespeare!

Additional Resources

A lot of students can use whatever help they can get understanding Shakespeare, so I’ve developed comics and activities for a few frequently taught plays, like  Romeo and Juliet , Macbeth , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , and Hamlet.    Many teachers have found them valuable for comprehension, plus they’re fun!

If you’d like a free Introduction to Shakespeare activity, click the box below:

it

The author of this article is David Rickert, who leads parallel lives as a cartoonist and teacher. When not creating comics out of thin air, David teaches high school English Language Arts in Columbus, Ohio.  His witty and engaging cartoons turn abstract and complicated concepts into concrete and concise images to embed content into our long term memories. Let’s face it: he makes boring topics entertaining. Check out his Grammar Comics and more resources to bring life to your ELA instruction at his store .

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Star-crossed lovers: Romeo and Juliet in art

Posted 09 Apr 2021, by Lucy Ellis

'Romeo and Juliet', Act II, Scene 4, Romeo and Juliet with Friar Lawrence

'Romeo and Juliet', Act II, Scene 4, Romeo and Juliet with Friar Lawrence c.1805

Mather Brown (1761–1831)

Dame Ellen Terry (1847–1928), as Juliet in the Balcony Scene, William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'

Dame Ellen Terry (1847–1928), as Juliet in the Balcony Scene, William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' c.1886

Laura Wilson Barker (1819–1905)

Mrs Stirling (1815–1895) (Lady Hutton Gregory) as the Nurse

Mrs Stirling (1815–1895) (Lady Hutton Gregory) as the Nurse 1884

Anna Lea Merritt (1844–1930)

A Lady Contemplating Suicide

A Lady Contemplating Suicide c.1852

Charles Robert Leslie (1794–1859) (attributed to)

Romeo and Juliet - Act II Scene 5 ('Juliet and her Nurse')

Romeo and Juliet - Act II Scene 5 ('Juliet and her Nurse') exhibited 1827

Henry Perronet Briggs (1791/1793–1844)

As we are unsure of the date of William Shakespeare 's birthday, it is traditionally celebrated around 23rd April, ironically the date of his death. This falls in springtime when, according to the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson 'a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.'

This year, in particular, the lovelorn have endured long periods of separation while they wait to be reunited. By contrast, in Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet , the headstrong young lovers refuse to accept the separation caused by their warring families, and are impelled along a path which ultimately leads to their deaths.

The play has inspired art in all forms, from the musical West Side Story to Dire Straits' classic hit Romeo and Juliet , and Malorie Blackman's novel Noughts and Crosses . As the success of the recent film of Romeo and Juliet from the National Theatre in London demonstrates, the story of the 'star-cross'd lovers' retains its powerful influence today.

Here we look at what artists on Art UK have made of this timeless tale.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet 1867

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

While some artists have been drawn to the tragedy of the story, in the nineteenth century artists were swept away by the romance. Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) shared the aims of the Pre-Raphaelite painters who rejected the rapid industrialisation of their world and revered the early Renaissance ideal of beauty.

Spurning the conventions of academy art teaching they used brilliant colour to celebrate the historic past, glorifying nature and placing an emphasis on emotion and subjectivity which reflected the concurrent Romantic movement in literature and art. The Pre-Raphaelites created a list of 'Immortals' and placed Shakespeare among them.

In this painting of the scene following the night that the young newlyweds have just spent together in secret, Romeo, burying a last kiss in Juliet's neck, gestures urgently with his left hand to show her that he must leave before they are discovered by her mother Lady Capulet. Madox Brown conveys the passion and distress of the moment in the lovers' intertwined bodies. The billowing rich silks of Romeo's red costume suggest the fire of his love, while Juliet glows like an icon in gold. The artist meticulously details the apple blossom growing just below, alluding to Romeo's earlier remark that 'this bud of love, by summer's ripening / May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet'.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet 1884

Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853–1928)

Voted as Britain's most romantic artwork in a recent poll, Frank Bernard Dicksee 's painting of the same scene reflects a growing trend for sentimentality in Victorian painting. This work is based on an illustration he created in the 1880s for a luxury edition of Romeo and Juliet and embodies Romeo's line 'Farewell, farewell, one kiss and I'll descend'.

His detailed depiction shows the balcony from within, with the golden light of dawn, the sign that Romeo must leave, illuminating the outer arch which frames the city of Verona in the distance. The couple are framed symbolically on one side by a passionfruit climber, its flowers in full bloom, and on the other by a bunch of white lilies that seems to foretell their deaths. Dicksee drew heavily on history and legend in his work and was influenced by the chivalric subject matter and intense colours used by the Pre-Raphaelites.

Romeo and Juliet

Alfred Elmore (1815–1881) (attributed to)

Whilst the Romeo and Juliet of Victorian paintings are portrayed as real people whose tragic circumstances are designed to evoke our sympathies, there is a long tradition of art that captures the theatrical productions. No one did more to revive Shakespearean theatre in the eighteenth century than the influential playwright, producer and actor David Garrick . Garrick revolutionised theatre by doing away with the previously formulaic declamatory style of acting and introducing a much more naturalistic style of performance. He played numerous Shakespearean roles and managed the Drury Lane Theatre for 29 years, bringing Shakespeare to mass audiences and reviving many Restoration dramas.

David Garrick (1717–1779), as Romeo, George Anne Bellamy (c.1731–1788), as Juliet, and Charles Blakes, as Tybalt, in 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare, Adapted by David Garrick

David Garrick (1717–1779), as Romeo, George Anne Bellamy (c.1731–1788), as Juliet, and Charles Blakes, as Tybalt, in 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare, Adapted by David Garrick c.1753

Benjamin Wilson (1721–1788)

This 1753 painting of the tomb scene is one of three versions by Benjamin Wilson on Art UK and represents Garrick's actual staging, with the Capulet tomb set towards the back of the stage. This enormously popular work spawned many engravings and other iterations such as box lids and enamel plaques. Garrick as Romeo stands in a characteristic pose of recoil, seen in other artworks, as he witnesses Juliet come back to life just after he has taken a lethal poison.

To modern audiences, it may look odd to see the lovers both still alive when Shakespeare's text has Juliet waking only after Romeo has perished, but Garrick reworked the scene to allow the lovers the chance to say their farewells, a tradition that endured well into the nineteenth century. In a notorious theatrical battle of 1750, competing productions of the play were mounted at the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres with Garrick's Juliet, played by the actress George Anne Bellamy , gaining the best notices. It may be this production shown here.

Anne Brunton and Joseph Holman as Romeo and Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'

Anne Brunton and Joseph Holman as Romeo and Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet' exhibited 1786

Retaining the Garrick interpretation but in a distinctly different version of the tomb scene, here we see the lovers in their final moments with the overturned cup of poison lying at their feet. It was not unusual for actors in the eighteenth century to wear contemporary courtly dress in their roles, something which may look strangely anachronistic to the modern eye, but which bears comparison with a production today featuring the lovers in t-shirts and jeans.

This Juliet, Anne Brunton , came from a theatrical family – her father managed the Theatre Royal, Norwich. After she moved to Philadelphia in 1796 with her first husband Robert Merry she played Juliet again at the Chestnut Street Theatre. Joseph Holman is known to have played Romeo in 1784 at the Covent Garden Theatre, a production that may have inspired this work. He also moved to Philadelphia, where he managed the Walnut Street Theatre.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet c.1790

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797)

In Joseph Wright of Derby 's searing revelation of the tragic final scene, Juliet, weeping over her dead lover, is disturbed by an approaching guard whose shadow we see in the doorway. Wright employs his mastery of light to illuminate her as a monumental figure in the moment before she uses a dagger to join her husband in death.

This painting was among many made for the Shakespeare Gallery initiated in 1876 by engraver and publisher John Boydell . Artists such as Joshua Reynolds , Robert Smirke , James Northcote and John Francis Rigaud were commissioned to create artworks for the gallery, but when Wright discovered that he had been consigned to a secondary and less well-paid class of painters he consequently had a row with Boydell which resulted in this painting being rejected.

Sally Booth (1793–1867), as Juliet

Sally Booth (1793–1867), as Juliet (from 'Romeo and Juliet') c.1820

British (English) School

More often than not it is indeed Juliet rather than Romeo who is the focus of the artist. Sally (Sarah) Booth, seen here, opened the 1827 season at the Georgian Playhouse Wisbech (now the Angles Theatre) as Juliet. Described as 'small in stature, nervous, with hair inclining to red' she was often cast in juvenile roles. At this moment, having been betrothed against her will to Paris (and already secretly married to Romeo) Juliet stands in her bed-chamber under an ominous moon, contemplating the herbal draught that will put her into a semblance of sleep.

Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991), as Juliet, London, 1935

Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991), as Juliet, London, 1935 (from 'Romeo and Juliet') c.1935

Ethel Léontine Gabain (1883–1950)

One of the twentieth-century theatre's most renowned Juliets, Peggy Ashcroft played the part for the second time in 1935 under John Gielgud's direction, with Edith Evans as the Nurse, earning glowing reviews. The part of Romeo was taken on alternate nights by Gielgud and Laurence Olivier. Ethel Léontine Gabain was known for her oil portraits of actresses in character and was particularly drawn to depictions of women in a state of melancholy. She gained a prestigious reputation for her lithographs and was elected President of the Society of Women Artists in 1940.

Juliet and the Nurse

Juliet and the Nurse 1935–1936

Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)

The same theatre production features in Walter Richard Sickert 's moving depiction of Juliet with her nurse. A frequent theatregoer, Sickert made many friends among actors and painted Peggy Ashcroft and Edith Evans several times. His technique of flat dry-scraped paintwork, seen here, often left bare patches of canvas visible and allowed for expansive flat patches of tonal colour. The graphic style owes something to Sickert's method at this time of painting from press images and embodies the simple heartache of a young girl in the throes of love, drawing comfort from the one person she can trust.

The Death of Romeo and Juliet

The Death of Romeo and Juliet c.1848

John Everett Millais (1829–1896)

In this tiny oil painting (16.1 x 26.9 cm), possibly a study for a larger work, John Everett Millais marks the 'fearful passage' of Romeo and Juliet's 'death-mark'd love' with a tableau of the final scene where the Montague and Capulet families agree to be reconciled. The intensity of colour and use of natural light to illuminate the scene are typical of Pre-Raphaelite sensibility. By placing the bodies of the lovers in the centre he cuts the painting across the diagonal, reminding us of the division between the families that will ultimately be healed by the tragedy.

Romeo and Juliet (Romeo et Juliette)

Romeo and Juliet (Romeo et Juliette) late 19th C

French School

This story with its enduring theme of young love thwarted and doomed by prejudice and misunderstanding remains relevant for every age and will continue to be the spur to new interpretations.

Lucy Ellis, freelance writer

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10 Radical Romeo and Juliet Worksheets

February 3, 2023 //  by  Ashley Charles

When it comes to reading Shakespeare, it’s often quite an undertaking to understand and follow along. Teaching it is even more of a challenge because these two lovebirds are not as cut and dry as they sound. There are many angles to teaching and many ways to interpret this work. We have made it easy by compiling this helpful list of 10 transformative worksheets that you can use with your class before, during, and after reading this compelling tragedy.

1. Guided Notes

These simple, yet effective worksheets will help your students understand the basic storyline of Romeo and Juliet. These worksheets are a must for any first read-through! 

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

2. Cloze Summary Passages

This worksheet presents a summary that students will work to complete using a word bank that will help summarize each act of the play. This is helpful to recap at the end of the day and to prepare students for the next section, scene, or act.

3. Student Resource Packet

romeo and juliet art activities

This packet is the perfect introduction to Romeo and Juliet and helps launch discussion questions for the masterpiece that is to come. It is the perfect resource to help students study the language of the time period and other general information to help acclimate students to Shakespeare.

Learn More: Hinds County School District

4. Plot Overview

After your students have gotten through all five epic acts of Romeo and Juliet, they can use this graphic organizer to track the important events of the story or, alternatively, use it as they go! This graphic organizer is perfect for practicing literary elements.

Learn More: Your Favorite Teacher

5. Newspaper Headline Activity

romeo and juliet art activities

This one-sheet student handout is a fun way to help learners order the events of Romeo and Juliet. Each event is presented in headline form and students will put them in the order that they occurred in the play. 

Learn More: ESL Printables

6. Character Analysis

romeo and juliet art activities

Students will use character names and details about the characters to further investigate this literary element. Students will match the correct traits and events to their respective characters using this visual and compelling worksheet. 

7. Theme Analysis Worksheet

romeo and juliet art activities

When talking about the theme or the message of a story, this worksheet bundle is the perfect accompaniment. It starts with the basics and provides an overview of what the theme is, before moving on to analyze the themes found throughout the play.

Learn More: Education is Lit

8. Crossword Puzzle

What student doesn’t love a good crossword puzzle? Tie in your Romeo and Juliet theme with this crossword puzzle that will help students remember the target vocabulary and language that is prevalent in the play. 

Learn More: Quick Worksheets

9. Character Traits

romeo and juliet art activities

Discover and record the character traits of each of the characters in this tragedy. This beautifully-designed graphic organizer allows students to see the relation between the main characters and their traits to help them better understand the story.

Learn More: Template Roller

10. ESL Romeo and Juliet Worksheet

romeo and juliet art activities

This ESL worksheet is perfect for students who are learning English or students who are at a low level of reading. The pictures serve as a helpful guide for students to learn and better understand this text. They will match pictures to their respective words for better understanding.

Learn More: Scribd

romeo and juliet art activities

Romeo and Juliet Pre-Reading Activity

  • March 17, 2018

romeo and juliet art activities

Before beginning any unit, we always like to find a way to get students excited about the text we’ll be reading. In the past, we’ve done what we call “Five Words” (students are given 5 words and asked to write a sentence using those five words about what the story will be about), we’ve also done “Popcorn Predictions” (students are given various sentences from the text – one sentence per student – and they “pop” around the classroom, sharing their sentences with others to come up with predictions). For my  Romeo and Juliet  unit, however, I wanted to do something that was a little bit more controversial – to get them really excited for the themes and events that were to unfold in the play …

So, I did a post-it note activity.

A fun and FREE pre-reading activity for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet! 5 thought-provoking questions that focus on the mains themes from the play - these will be sure to get your students excited and engaged!

I hung up five posters around the room that had relatively controversial questions on them. From “Do you believe in love at first sight?” to “Can loyalty ever go too far?” to get students really thinking about themes we would soon be encountering in the play.

Each student was asked to take out 5 post-it notes (they have their own in our class, but you could easily pass out post-its to your kids), and walk around the room to respond to the questions, leaving their answer on a post-it where the question was.

After all students had written their answers, I then walked around to each question, reading off some of the responses and then opening it up to the class to share and debate their viewpoints. It was really exciting and interesting! Especially the “Do you believe in love at first sight?” question – one of my boys had an incredibly insightful response, touching on the idea of lust vs. love and what truly qualifies as love. Needless to say, I was really happy with the end result.

If you want to use these same questions in your study of Romeo and Juliet , you can grab them by adding your email address below!

We’ll be sending your Romeo and Juliet posters your way soon!

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A fun and FREE pre-reading activity for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet! 5 thought-provoking questions that focus on the mains themes from the play - these will be sure to get your students excited and engaged!

11 Comments

For some reason, when I “click here”, fill in my information and click to send it, it stays stuck on that screen FOR.EV.ER. Any chance I can have it sent to my email? [email protected] I will sign up for your mailing list–I just can’t seem to get the link to work!

Hi Jennifer!

I just went ahead and manually added you in to receive the resource. You’ll receive an email from us first to confirm your email address and then it will be on its way to you! So sorry for the issue … looks like we have some kinks to figure out.

Thank you! Caitlin

Hi. I tried to fill in my details but I get a response stating “TypeError: Failed to fetch”

I am very interested in being able to use the resource and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind emailing it at : [email protected]

Your help would be much appreciated.

Thank you, Parwez

I went ahead an automatically added you into the form, so please be on the lookout for an email to confirm your email address and then you’ll receive the link to grab the resource. So sorry about that!

I sent a request but haven’t received a code yet. Can you sign me up? [email protected] Thanks!

It looks like an email was sent to you – you just need to confirm your email address first (this is in that email). Then you’ll receive the download. I’d suggest checking your trash/spam folder!

Do you have standards aligned with this activity, by chance?? Thanks! [email protected]

Hi. I am having the same problem as some of the above posts. Any chance you could send the resource to my email? [email protected] Thanks. Sally.

I’m sorry about this issue. I’ll get this sent over to our support team.

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The Literary Maven

March 3, 2017

How to teach shakespeare's romeo and juliet: act iii.

Whether you are a teacher tackling William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet for the first time or you are a veteran looking to change how you’ve taught it in the past, it is always helpful to find out how another teacher plans it all out. Read on to find out what scenes I focus on in Act III and why, how my students read and act out those scenes, and what activities I use to extend learning and make connections.

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Romeo & Juliet: Themes KS3

In these lessons, students will engage with the themes and ideas at the heart of the text, including fate, love and violence. Tasks include: a close reading of Romeo and Juliet's sonnet in Act 1 Scene 5; exploring the idea of words as weapons and how characters like Tybalt wield them; and a card game which will help connect themes to characters and the text.

In order to benefit fully from these lesson plans, we recommend you use them in the following order:

  • Text in Performance

If students are new to the play, we suggest you start with these introductory KS3 Lesson Plans. If you would like to teach the play in greater detail, use the advanced  KS4/5 Lesson Plans .

These lesson plans are available in the Downloads section at the bottom of this page.   To download resources, you must be logged in.  Sign up   for free  to access this and other exclusive features .  Activities mentioned in these resources are available in a separate downloadable 'Student Booklet', also at the bottom of this page. The 'Teachers' Guide' download explains how best to use Teach Shakespeare and also contains a bibliography and appendices referencing the resources used throughout.

Key Questions for Student:

Can I explain what is meant by ‘theme’?

Can I list some of the key themes of Romeo and Juliet ?

Key words: beauty, concealment, conflict, death, fate, family, friendship, love, secrecy, symbolism, theme, truth

Prologue: Opening Discussion

Display the ‘Props’ PowerPoint, which shows a montage of images connected to the plot of Romeo and Juliet . This is available in the Downloads section at the bottom of this page. Students should first of all identify as many items as they can from the montage (e.g. heart, rose, dagger, vial of poison). They should then pick out as many ideas, themes and issues as they that are suggested by the images (e.g. love, violence, war). 

Enter the Players: Group Tasks

1) Theme statues

Students are given pieces of paper which represent plaques for statues. They should write down the key themes of the play on these plaques, e.g. conflict, family, love, fate, time, beauty, death, friendship, etc. Imagine that Prince Escalus wants to erect statues around Verona for citizens to look at and learn from. Students should work in pairs or threes to sculpt themselves into thematic statues. Which statues would Prince Escalus choose? You could play the role of Escalus, selecting the statues and justifying ‘his’ choices. As an extension activity, students could embellish the plaques by having an appropriate quotation from the play engraved onto each plaque. There is a page to create some theme ‘plaques’ in the Student Booklet.

2) Text detectives: beauty and love at first sight

Romeo frequently comments on Juliet’s beauty. Explore with students Romeo’s first words when he sets eyes on Juliet, which can be found in the Student Booklet:

ROMEO: [to a Servingman] What lady’s that which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight?  

SERVINGMAN:    I know not, sir.

ROMEO:    O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o’er her fellow shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.

romeo and juliet art activities

Discussion points include:

  • the immediacy and drama of Romeo’s reaction to seeing Juliet
  • imagery of riches, jewels, etc.
  • references to the sense of touch as well as the sense of sight
  • the effect of Romeo’s use of rhyming couplets
  • the idea that Juliet’s beauty is superior to all others
  • how Romeo’s ‘love’ for Rosaline is eclipsed by Juliet, as seen in the last rhyming couplet

Now ask students to look for more quotations where Juliet’s beauty is described by Romeo. You could use an online concordance to begin with and search for the word ‘beauty’. You could also focus on scenes of courtship, such as Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 2. Also look at how Juliet praises Romeo and describes her attraction to him.

3) Pick a card...

Themes are important throughout a work of literature. To be able to write well about a theme in Romeo and Juliet , students need to track its importance at different points in the play. Have students randomly select a card from each pile: a character, a theme, and a section of the play. The template for these cards can be found in the downloadable Lesson Plans at the bottom of this page. This game could be used in the following ways:

  • to support students in becoming more familiar with the play, and in moving more confidently around it and making quick connections
  • as a revision tool without the text
  • as the basis for detailed small group discussion involving close analysis of a specific passage, through the lenses of particular characters and themes
  • to prepare students for exam questions which ask them to write about one part of the play in the context of the whole text

romeo and juliet art activities

Exeunt: Closing Questions for Students

What would I say are the main themes in the Romeo and Juliet ?

What kinds of connections can I make between these themes?

How might a director draw out these themes on stage?

Suggested plenary activity…

In small groups, prepare a performance of the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet  accompanied by actions. How many of the play’s themes can students include in their performance?

Asides: Further Resources

  • Students could make Valentine’s cards or love letters for Rosaline and Juliet, in the character of Romeo. Use some of Romeo’s quotations about attraction and beauty, and make a display of them. How do Romeo’s feelings for the two women compare?
  • Students could also research the theme of beauty in other plays by Shakespeare.

Epilogue: Teacher's Note

Each of the themes mentioned in this suggested learning sequence has a dedicated lesson within these materials. In depth activities linked to ‘Conflict and violence’ and ‘Romantic Love’ follow here within the Key Stage 3 materials. Within the Key Stage 4 materials , there are activities linked to ‘Truth and secrecy, ‘Family’, ‘Age and Time’ and ‘Death, fate and tragedy’. You will also find detailed guidance on writing about themes. 

Key Questions for Students:

Can I investigate how Shakespeare establishes and develops the themes of conflict and violence in Romeo and Juliet ?

Key words: action, conflict, cue script, feud, insults, mindmap, opposites, prologue, reaction, theme, violence, war, weapons

In fan fiction, people create their own stories based on characters and locations from a well-known fictional world. Stories set at Hogwarts or in Middle Earth are popular examples! Give students a few minutes to brainstorm ideas about how they think the feud between the Capulets and Montagues might have started and share ideas. 

1) Insult generator

The Student Booklet provides students with copies of Rex Gibson’s Insult generator, from p. 199 of his book Teaching Shakespeare . Students could warm up by producing single insults and if they have time, they could prepare and rehearse a brief dialogue. Remind students that all the insults are Shakespeare’s. Can they identify which ones come from Romeo and Juliet ?

2) Words as weapons

This particular version of this activity was devised by Bill Buckhurst when he was directing Romeo and Juliet  in 2008 at the Globe. Pairs of students label themselves A and B and stand facing each other, so that all students are arranged in two lines. They pretend to send a weapon to their ‘enemy’, possibly adding a sound effect. Students take it in turns to hurl imaginary weapons - and to react to the weapons that hit or miss them - for no more than a minute. Students could then apply this technique to a piece of text and to the character who is most vocal in that conflict, e.g. Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 1. Assign a line from this character to each student, and then ask the students to identify the most hurtful or damaging word in that line. Students should now hurl that word to their opponent and vice versa. Discuss afterwards which words were the most effective weapons and why.

romeo and juliet art activities

3) The brawl: working with a cue script

Sitting in groups of nine, students should be assigned a character from Act 3 Scene 1. They should also be given a ‘cue script’ for that part. This consists of only the lines that character speaks (in the order in which they are spoken), and the three cue words spoken by another character before each of their lines. students could even construct their own cue scripts using an online version of the play text that they can cut and paste as needed. Students should work together – without a director - to develop their understanding of and confidence with this scene. Every time they read their lines they should think more about how they should speak, how they should move and why, using the clues in the text itself.

To what extent is  Romeo and Juliet  a play about conflict and its consequences? 

How would you present the conflict in the play to audiences? 

Which non-violent scenes contain conflict? 

Can all of the violence of the play be explained by the conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets, or are there other causes?

Students should create a colourful, illustrated mindmap with the word ‘conflict’ or  ‘violence’ in the middle. As they read the play, they should add ideas relating the ideas of conflict and violence to the play’s characters, their situations and problems, their relationships and their motivations.

Aside: Further Resource

  • At the time Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet ,  England was divided following Henry VIII’s split from the Catholic Church in 1533. Bitter feuding between Protestants and Catholics would have been an everyday reality for young men like Shakespeare.

Students could develop their ideas about how the feud began into a piece of creative writing.

Can I investigate how Shakespeare establishes and develops the theme of romantic love in Romeo and Juliet ?

Key words: imagery, marriage, motifs, passion, romantic love, sonnet, staging, storyboard, tragic, youth

The video to Des’ree’s ‘Kissing You’ song from Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet  could be playing as students enter the classroom for a lesson on this topic. Students could make a note of motifs and symbols that are associated with love in the video. Take feedback.

1) Text detectives: Romeo and Juliet’s sonnet

Elicit from students what they already know about the sonnet form: its length, iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme, association with love, Shakespeare’s own famous sonnet sequence. Explore closely the first words Romeo and Juliet exchange with each other in Act 1 Scene 5 lines 92-109, which can be found in the S tudent Booklet:

ROMEO:   If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET:      Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this, For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.

ROMEO:   Have not saints lips and holy palmers too?

JULIET:    Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO:   O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do – They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET:    Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.

ROMEO:   Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take. Give me my sin again.  [Kisses her.]

JULIET:     You kiss by th’ book.

               

Students could annotate these lines. Support them in their note taking, so that the following structural and language features are drawn in the discussion:

  • the 14 line structure
  • the rhyme scheme (ABABCBCBDEDEFF)
  • religious imagery such as ‘pilgrims’, ‘saints’ and ‘sin’
  • the physicality of the language (‘lips’, ‘hands’, ‘touch’)
  • repeated words such as ‘prayer’, ‘hand’/’hands’ and ‘palm’/’palmers’
  • the poem’s conclusion with a rhyming couplet and a kiss

Discuss with students the effect of Romeo and Juliet’s first words together forming a sonnet.

romeo and juliet art activities

( Students  could also watch footage of this sonnet in the link below, as performed by Jade Anouka and Will Featherstone.)

2) Staging the balcony scene

As an introduction to this task, students could watch this scene in the Zeffirelli and/or the Lurhmann version. Take some brief feedback from students about what they have noticed and what they enjoyed. Then watch the footage of this scene below from the 2013 Globe production, starring Will Featherstone and Jade Anouka. Students could make notes in the Student Booklet about different ways in which the scene has been staged, how it could be staged, and the effects of different choices.

3) Marriage

In Act 3 Scene 5 lines 1-64, Shakespeare presents Romeo and Juliet’s short-lived happiness together as a married couple. Students could then discuss their own ideas about staging this scene and the effect they want this scene to have on the audience. Students should create either a storyboard with speech bubbles for quotations, or an annotated script to indicate their ideas about directing this scene. Students can draw on interests in drawing, collage, photography, dance, etc. to develop their personal responses to this task. There is a page for students on writing a commentary linked to their storyboards in the Student Booklet.

romeo and juliet art activities

(One version of how to stage this scene can be viewed in the link below. Students could compare this with the version from the Globe DVD and/or from other film versions too).

How does Shakespeare convey the intensity and sincerity of Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other?

What are the factors that prevent Romeo and Juliet’s love story from having a happy ending? 

In Shakespeare’s comic play  A Midsummer Night’s Dream – written at around the same time as  Romeo and Juliet , and seen by many as a companion play to it – Lysander says ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’. Discuss the truth of this quotation in relation to  Romeo and Juliet  and, if students are sufficiently familiar with it, to  A Midsummer Night’s Dream  too. What do the two plays have in common?

  • Shakespeare and his contemporaries often wrote action for the upper level of the stage. The use of the upper level in this scene means that Juliet is both safe at home and at the same time visible to Romeo, allowing for an extended moment of intimacy.
  • The word ‘balcony’ might have been unknown to Shakespeare. Our first record of it in writing dates from two years after the play was written. Although Shakespeare says that Juliet appears ‘aloft’, the convention of Juliet appearing on a balcony only became commonplace after David Garrick used a balcony in his adaptation in the eighteenth century.

The storyboard/annotated script activity on Act 3 Scene 5 lines 1-64 could be accompanied by a commentary and used as an assessment piece.

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Romeo and Juliet

romeo and juliet art activities

Romeo and Juliet Shakescleare Translation

romeo and juliet art activities

  • Downloadable translations of all 37 Shakespeare plays (plus his sonnets).
  • Downloads of 1,872 LitCharts Lit Guides.
  • Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide.
  • Explanations and citation info for 41,347 quotes across 1872 books.
  • PDFs explaining 136 Literary Terms.

Romeo and Juliet Translation Table of Contents

The Shakescleare version of Romeo and Juliet contains the complete original play alongisde a line-by-line modern English translation. Now you can easily understand even the most complex and archaic words and phrases word spoken by Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Friar Laurence, the Nurse, Tybalt, and all the Capulets and Montagues, throughout the entire play, including famous quotes like "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" and "Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Act 1, Scene 1

Act 1, scene 2, act 1, scene 3, act 1, scene 4, act 1, scene 5, act 2, prologue, act 2, scene 1, act 2, scene 2, act 2, scene 3, act 2, scene 4, act 2, scene 5, act 2, scene 6, act 3, scene 1, act 3, scene 2, act 3, scene 3, act 3, scene 4, act 3, scene 5, act 4, scene 1, act 4, scene 2, act 4, scene 3, act 4, scene 4, act 4, scene 5, act 5, scene 1, act 5, scene 2, act 5, scene 3.

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ELA Common Core Lesson Plans

romeo and juliet art activities

  • Create Characters Lesson Plan
  • Creative Writing Lesson Plan: Using Details
  • How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay
  • How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay Lesson Plan
  • How to Write a Persuasive Essay
  • How to Write a Reflective Essay
  • How to Write an Article Critique and Review
  • How to Write an Introduction to an Essay
  • How to Write a Problem Solution Essay
  • Lesson Plan: Effective Sentence Structure
  • Lesson Plan: Improve Writing Style with Improved Sentence Structure
  • Logical Fallacies Lesson Plan with Summary & Examples
  • Teaching Active and Passive Voice
  • Teaching How to Revise a Rough Draft
  • Teaching Instructional Articles: How to Write Instructions
  • Teaching Word Choice: Using Strong Verbs
  • Using Imagery Lesson Plan
  • Writing for Audience and Purpose
  • Writing Transitions Lesson
  • Analyzing Humor in Literature Lesson Plan
  • Analyzing Shakespeare Strategies
  • Fun Reading Lesson Plan
  • How to Write a Literary Analysis.
  • How to Annotate and Analyze a Poem
  • Lesson Plan for Teaching Annotation
  • Literary Terms Lesson Plan
  • Literature Exemplars – Grades-9-10
  • Teaching Short Story Elements
  • Using Short Stories to Teach Elements of Literature
  • Bill of Rights Lesson Plan
  • Fun Ideas for Teaching Language
  • Comma Rules: How to Use Commas
  • Difference between Denotation and Connotation
  • Effective Word Choice Lesson Plan
  • Fun Grammar Review Game or Vocabulary & Language Arts
  • Lesson Plans for Substitute Teachers and Busy English Teachers
  • Lesson Plan: Creating the Perfect Title
  • 4.08 – Lesson Plan: Using Semicolons Correctly
  • Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Lesson Plan
  • Sentence Combining Made Easy Lesson Plan
  • Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
  • Using Tone Effectively Lesson Plan
  • 4.12 – Word Choice Lesson Plan: Eliminate and Replace “To Be” Verbs
  • Using Voice in Writing Effectively Lesson Plan
  • Speaking & Listening
  • Teacher Guide Central

Romeo and Juliet Activities: Queen Mab and her Entourage

Romeo and Juliet Lesson Plans

Click the pic and check out the 8-12 week Romeo and Juliet unit plan and teaching guide.

Mercutio gives one of the great descriptive monologues in all of Shakespeare with his ridiculing of dreams and his description of Queen Mab.

Feel free to stop reading now and download the Queen Mab Wanted Poster Assignment . Or you can download it and continue reading. Or you could read on and then download it. Or you could read on and do nothing. The choice is yours.

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Let’s take a look at the passage from Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene iv, lines 53-94 .

romeo and juliet art activities

  • RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
  • L.9-10.5   Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. L.9-10.5a  Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.

Last Updated on May 4, 2017 by Trenton Lorcher

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A line of young people in 1980s clothing and wearing masks stand onstage dancing. The stage and lighting are very colorful, like a club.

Violence, vengeance, and a moment’s glimmer of peace and love in between the mayhem. That is the ageless story amongst humans. This time it comes to Chicago in stereo: the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet plays as part of Chicago Shakespeare’s Short Shakespeare! series, and Joe Calarco’s Shakespeare’s R & J is now running at PrideArts Center. Each production showcases its own unique angle on the original.

When it comes to presenting Shakespeare in our times, it’s all about shining a new light on the nuances of the Bard. When produced in contemporary tones, it is like turning a gem around in your hands to see how the light strikes it. A pretty intense glimmer of humanity always creeps in. Take Chicago Shakespeare’s current production of Richard III , with the title character played by a woman with a disability, highlighting society’s shifting power dynamics while straddling the ambiguity of villainy versus ambition, as well as exploring tropes of ableism versus disability. 

Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet Through 3/16: Sat 11 AM; ASL interpretation and open captions Sat 3/9; Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600, chicagoshakes.com , $42 ($26 students 18 and under; recommended for age ten and up) Shakespeare’s R & J Through 3/24: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Wed 3/20 7:30 PM (industry night); PrideArts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, 773-857-0222, pridearts.org , $35 ($30 students and seniors)

Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet is created for the benefit of teenagers (the series mostly plays for student matinees, though there are limited public performances) by a diverse cast eager to illustrate how long-ranging calamities can arise from the greedy disputes of ostensibly wiser elders. Shakespeare’s R & J highlights the lives of girls at a prep school (originally written about an all-boys school, so yas to power dynamic shifts!) simply to prove they are living, breathing beings with genders and sexual preferences.

Chicago Shakespeare’s rendition of Romeo & Juliet , adapted and directed by Mikael Burke, has everything you could imagine to attract a younger crowd to an Elizabethan tale. Well-choreographed fight scenes (by Rachel Flesher) between a charismatic cast of Montagues and Capulets, a cross-generational dance number (courtesy of choreographer Frankie DiCiaccio), and just the right amount of heartthrobbing teen love. 

It even comes with a flawlessly 75-minute abridged tempo to keep young minds focused (maybe even old minds whose thoughts stray to TikTok when dialogue gets too thick). Just to be safe, the production also began with an appeal from Alex Benito Rodriguez (playing Benvolio), with a Shakespeare primer of sorts, introducing the concept of leaning into the Elizabethan language not with angst, but with the assurance that our brains can use the context of the action and body language to interpret the more arcane bits of poetry. 

And so the two hours’ traffic (abridged) of the stage begins, with Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton as Romeo and Felicia Oduh as Juliet, each playing their roles with sensitivity and embodying the mercurial nature of teenagers in love. And it works as much today as ever—teens and adults in the audience on opening night could be heard audibly swooning at certain stirring words and infatuated glances in the love scenes, as well as gasping at the lively fight scenes. Other standout performances by cast members include the Nurse, played with heart and humor by Barbara Figgins, and Mercutio, played by Rasell Holt with swashbuckling charisma. 

Alyssa Mohn’s sets and Gregory Graham’s costumes are tastefully understated and modern (in an 80s sense), with Ethan Korvne’s postpunk contemporary sound design and original music to match. If ever there was a good introduction to what Shakespeare’s words could do for a soul, Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet provides it here, bringing the sum of Chicago’s massive acting and production talent to the scene to make it so. Kudos to them that they also squeeze in a modern joust against political polarization to overlap with Shakespeare’s original cautionary tale.

Four young women dressed in Catholic school uniforms stand dancing together. One is holding a ukulele. There are chairs and tables stacked in the back and a staircase on the right.

In contrast to the massive production values of Chicago Shakespeare’s rendition,  PrideArts’s production of Shakespeare’s R & J is on a humbler storefront scale, but with an equal amount of heart and talent. What’s more, it thickens the plot by boasting an all-female cast, something that playwright Calarco never intended, having written it to be performed by a male cast. Presented for the first time in 14 years in Chicago, PrideArts wisely decided to go with the all-femme cast at the suggestion of the show director Amber Mandley and brought with it a new perspective with sapphic undertones.  

Each actor in the cast skillfully toggles between characters, with Juliet notably played by Luz Espinoza and Romeo tenderly rendered by Madelyn Strasma. Hannah Eisendrath and Isabel Roden capably don and doff the remaining Shakespearean characters with confidence, and Brett Baleskie’s set delivers a flexible space that conveys Elizabethan vibes as easily as it does a school dormitory.

Set in a Catholic prep school, the play takes on additional layers of meaning, approaching forbidden love (in a queer context) through the eyes of four teenage girls. While reenacting the play together after lights out in the dormitory, they begin to unravel their own identities and sexuality. The confines of a cloistered existence and the banalities of rote recitation in religious education are repeatedly contrasted with the heroic adventures of star-crossed young lovers. 

My show companion, actor Courtney Knight, noted the nuance, saying, “The thing that kept coming up for me was the nature of yearning and its multitudes. The childish, petulant yearning of not getting the role or lines you want. The quiet, lonely yearning for companionship when you feel like an outsider!”

The constraints of religious taboos in a Catholic upbringing versus the freedom and joy of queer love—those contrasts work nicely with Shakespeare’s themes of division between two houses and frustrated teenage longing. So well, in fact, that it is often difficult to separate the characters of the prep school (unnamed as they are) from the characters they play within the play. 

We can tell the students are not the Shakespearean actors from their small gestures; when they glance at the manuscript, and when they become boisterous or lively at scene changes. But Romeo’s heartbreak blends with Madelyn Strasma’s own as she contemplates the unrequited love she is experiencing in her prep school. Her frequent poetry writing aligns her with Shakespeare’s role himself, making her both the puppeteer and the puppet at times. 

The other girls enthusiastically welcome theatrical activities, if only to relieve boredom, as they perform the play with her. What is unclear is if they are simply swept up in recreating the tragedy of the play or if they are eager to explore some forbidden aspects of their nature through the relative safety of theater. Their ambiguity lends a genuine ambience of adolescence to the play. As a romance that defies gender constrictions, there is something sweet, hopeful, and almost utopian about their time onstage together pretending. That sweetness is bittersweet and tempered for the audience, coming with our sure knowledge that like R & J, their time of love and connection will draw to a close when the lark sings.

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  1. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Collaborative Poster, Writing

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  2. Activities and Handouts for Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

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  3. Nursing Home Activities, School Art Activities, Book Activities

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  6. Romeo and Juliet Lessons and Activities for Real Life Connections

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COMMENTS

  1. 13 easy, engaging lessons for Romeo and Juliet

    4. Learn about the characters using body biographies. These body biographies by Danielle Knight of Study All Knight are another great lesson for Romeo and Juliet. In the activity, students analyze characters from the play in an engaging way. In completing the projects, students have to: find direct quotes.

  2. Activity Toolkits

    Activity List. Below are links to simple instructions for each of the 20 individual activities on Romeo and Juliet. You can work through these in order or select the ones that feel most useful for you. 1 - The Prologue. 2 - The opening fight. 3 - The Story. 4 - The Characters. 5 - The world of the play.

  3. Romeo and Juliet Activities, Teaching Ideas, and Lessons

    Romeo and Juliet Activities Act 5 (Act V) Ahh, Act V. The act that makes English teachers question why so many people, including Taylor Swift, view this play as a love story more than a tragedy. Though the prologue literally tells us how this play is going to end, it's still a shock and will be something your students will always remember.

  4. 10 Activities for Teaching Romeo and Juliet

    Here are 10 activities for teaching Romeo and Juliet. 1. Relatable Bell Ringers. If you're going to focus on a Shakespeare play, you must go all in. Immersing students into a unit from start to finish is such a perfect way to help students understand a topic in-depth. Start off each class with these Shakespeare Bell Ringers.

  5. Romeo and Juliet Lesson Plans: Free Teaching Ideas

    Typically, teaching Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade is part of teaching freshmen. If you need Romeo and Juliet assignments, I wrote several out for you and provided a free planning sheet for you. So many ideas exist, you can organize yours with the free download. My feelings are mixed about teaching this love story.

  6. 30 Shakespeare Activities and Printables for the Classroom

    27. Shakespeare Plays Word Search. Print this simple word search to familiarize your class with Shakespeare's plays. Get it: Word Search Addict. 28. Vintage Shakespeare Quote Printables. These pretty vintage images with Shakespeare quotes will add a touch of class to your classroom. Get it: Mad in Crafts. 29.

  7. Romeo and Juliet

    Romeo and Juliet Art Activity - Celebrate William Shakespeare and make this Romeo and Juliet inspired art activity. Please like, share, enjoy and subscribe!C...

  8. Romeo and Juliet Teaching Resources » Super ELA!

    This mini-project combines elements of character analysis, creative writing, and student performance in a fun activity for the end of Act IV of Romeo and Juliet. Note: This activity is most successful when students have already covered the following concepts: • Iambic pentameter. • Elements of the Shakespearean sonnet.

  9. Romeo and Juliet

    The balcony scene has been rendered in art a number of times. Just do a search for "romeo and juliet painting" or "romeo and juliet illustrations" and you'll find some good examples (and some weird example of what I can only describe as fan art.) ... One of the activities involves finding words in Romeo's opening soliloquy that have ...

  10. Star-crossed lovers: Romeo and Juliet in art

    As the success of the recent film of Romeo and Juliet from the National Theatre in London demonstrates, the story of the 'star-cross'd lovers' retains its powerful influence today. Here we look at what artists on Art UK have made of this timeless tale. Romeo and Juliet 1867. Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)

  11. 10 Radical Romeo and Juliet Worksheets

    10. ESL Romeo and Juliet Worksheet. This ESL worksheet is perfect for students who are learning English or students who are at a low level of reading. The pictures serve as a helpful guide for students to learn and better understand this text. They will match pictures to their respective words for better understanding.

  12. Romeo and Juliet Activities for Kids

    DLTK's Theater Activities Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is a play written by the English playwright, William Shakespeare. It's a classic tale, but be aware that it contains themes of love and death. Watch the story: Coloring Pages: ... Main Search Fan Art Print Help.

  13. Romeo and Juliet Lesson Plans

    Romeo and Juliet — Alternative Endings. During this lesson, students will finish reading the play, Romeo and Juliet. Students will compare the ending to the ending in the modern movie of Romeo and Juliet (Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes). The students' creativity will be tested when they have to brainstorm alternative endings to the play.

  14. How to Teach Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Act II

    Begin as guests are being welcomed to the party and end after Juliet realizes who Romeo is. In Luhrmann's interpretation, show Clip 2, Scenes 8-12 (0:25:30-0: 33:12). Begin after Romeo submerges his face in the water and end after the Nurse tells Juliet who Romeo is. As the students watch, have them focus on the effect of the costumes ...

  15. Romeo And Juliet Activities Free Teaching Resources

    Romeo and Juliet: Silent Conversations Pre-Reading Activity (FREE) Created by. 208 LitChicks. This Silent Conversations Pre-Reading Activity uses writing and silence as a means to help students explore a topic in depth. In a silent conversation, students write out their responses to a stimulus, such as a quotation or short biography.

  16. Romeo and Juliet Pre-Reading Activity

    Romeo and Juliet Pre-Reading Activity. March 17, 2018. Before beginning any unit, we always like to find a way to get students excited about the text we'll be reading. In the past, we've done what we call "Five Words" (students are given 5 words and asked to write a sentence using those five words about what the story will be about), we ...

  17. Results for romeo and juliet activities

    Enliven your " Romeo and Juliet " lesson plans with these high-interest comics and activities.Your students will interact with the tale of the star cross'd lovers through fun and engaging comics with Shakespeare's language taken directly from the play. To add to the fun for students, there are Easter eggs hidden throughout the comics -- metaphors and other images from the play that are ...

  18. Romeo and Juliet

    60 Seconds - Romeo and Juliet (BBC drama video) Cartoon Video for kids, Romeo and Juliet. Interactive Folio - Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet Jeopardy Game. Quia "Romeo and Juliet" Timeline Activity. Quia "Romeo and Juliet" Key Terms Activities. Quia "Romeo and Juliet" Quotes Quiz. Studying Romeo and Juliet.

  19. How to Teach Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Act III

    It's also a chance for students to see how devoted Juliet is to Romeo and just one night. I provide short summaries for any scenes we skip to fill students in on the less important events. I like to spend about a week on each act of the play, so the days we don't spend reading are spent on after reading activities, writing, and a short assessment.

  20. Romeo & Juliet: Themes KS3

    Romeo & Juliet: Themes KS3. In these lessons, students will engage with the themes and ideas at the heart of the text, including fate, love and violence. Tasks include: a close reading of Romeo and Juliet's sonnet in Act 1 Scene 5; exploring the idea of words as weapons and how characters like Tybalt wield them; and a card game which will help ...

  21. PDF Romeo and Juliet Activities

    ACT ONE. Scene 1. It is Sunday, and the streets of Verona are busy. Two Capulet servants, Sampson and Gregory, are teasing each other quite rudely and as early as the seventh line mention how much they hate a rival family, the Montagues. Abraham and Balthasar of the Montagues enter, and a fight breaks out.

  22. Romeo and Juliet Translation

    The Shakescleare version of Romeo and Juliet contains the complete original play alongisde a line-by-line modern English translation. Now you can easily understand even the most complex and archaic words and phrases word spoken by Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Friar Laurence, the Nurse, Tybalt, and all the Capulets and Montagues, throughout the entire play, including famous quotes like "Wherefore ...

  23. Romeo and Juliet Activities: Queen Mab and her Entourage

    Let's take a look at the passage from Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene iv, lines 53-94. O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes. In shape no bigger than an agate stone. On the forefinger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomies. Over men's noses as they lie asleep;

  24. Short, sapphic, and stirring

    Romeo & Juliet Through 3/16: Sat 11 AM; ASL interpretation and open captions Sat 3/9; Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600, chicagoshakes.com , $42 ($26 students 18 and under ...