The Course
You can do this.
Shakespeare is a beast—the language is dense, the characters are dramatic, and half the class thinks they already know the story (thanks, Gnomeo & Juliet). Too often, teachers are handed Romeo & Juliet with zero guidance and not enough prep time, left scrambling to make it engaging without drowning in translation. If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
This course does the heavy lifting for you, with two distinct video series designed to take the stress out of teaching Romeo & Juliet.
The student-facing series walks them through the play, breaking down the language, exploring characters, and tackling major themes—all while keeping things lively with sharp analysis, a little mockery, and plenty of Shakespearean shenanigans.
The teacher-facing series gives you the insight, structure, and resources you need to actually enjoy teaching this play. It helps you pace the book, lead discussions, and keep students engaged without spending hours reinventing the wheel. With lesson plans, classroom activities, writing prompts, and a mix of culminating projects, this course ensures Romeo & Juliet isn’t just another unit to survive—it’s a story that actually comes alive.
The Unit
Accompanying both video series are ready-to-use lesson plans, adaptable activities, assessments, and writing tasks—all provided in PDF and DOC formats so teachers can implement or modify them as needed. But this isn’t just about decoding Shakespeare’s words—it’s about knowing what to focus on, how to make it resonate, and how to bring the play to life for your students. This course guides you toward the moments that will hit hardest, the themes that will spark the best discussions, and the connections that will make Romeo & Juliet feel urgent, relevant, and real.
Note: While not required, this unit is designed to work alongside the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film adaptation (Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes). The movie adds depth and color to the discussion and is highly recommended, but the course can still be taught without it. The film is widely available on streaming services.
Curriculum
- Act 1 Prologue: The Star-Crossed Setup (5:24)
- Sampson and Gregory: Word Slights and Street Fights (4:12)
- Act 1, Scene 1: The Drama King (9:44)
- Act 1, Scene 2: Party Planning with the Capulets (6:17)
- Act 1, Scene 3: Mother Knows Best (7:43)
- Act 1, Scene 4: Mercutio's Weird Bedtime Story (5:02)
- Act 1, Scene 5: Meet Cute (8:22)
- Act 2, Prologue - Act 2, Scene 2: Balcony Shenanigans (9:27)
- Act 2, Scenes 3-4: Friar Fix-It (6:55)
- Act 2, Scenes 5-6: First Comes Love, Then Comes Chaos (3:53)
- Act 3, Scene 1: Hot Tempers, Cold Steel (7:13)
- Act 3, Scene 5: The Morning After (8:41)
- Act 3, Scenes 2-4: Bad News Travels Fast (10:10)
- Act 4, Scenes 1-2: Fake It Till You Make It (8:54)
- Act 4, Scenes 3-5: The Big Sleep (9:46)
- Act 5, Scenes 1-2: Lost in the Mail (9:20)
- Act 5, Scene 3: A Tragedy Unfolds (11:09)
Download the Free Teaching Unit
From my classroom, to yours.
