Stage It Free Instructional Resources
Free classroom resources for teaching Shakespeare and drama! Explore free videos, Shakespeare scripts, and classroom resources designed to help teachers bring drama into the classroom. These resources are especially useful for students ages 9–12 and can be used whether or not you have a background in theater.
Vocabulary & Pronunciation
Shakespeare's language can seem intimidating to students—and sometimes to teachers. These short videos with one page downloadable PDFs introduce vocabulary and pronunciation from the four Shakespeare plays included in Stage It: Making Shakespeare Come Alive in Schools. Use them before reading or rehearsing a play to help students become more comfortable with Shakespeare's language. Check back soon as more resources are in development.
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Explore key vocabulary and pronunciation from the Stage It adaptation of Hamlet. This resource can be used before students begin reading or rehearsing the play.
Words starting with the letter A:
Vocabulary: Adieu, Alas, Anon, Assail, Aught, Augury, Aye
Words starting with the letters B-H:
Vocabulary: Bout, Chalice, Doth, Ducat, Hath, Hebenon, Hither
Words starting with the letters I-M:
Vocabulary: In’t, List, Matin, Methinks, Mountebank
Words starting with the letters N-P
Vocabulary: Nay, Ne’r, Perchance, Petard, Prithee
Words starting with the letters S-T:
Vocabulary: Squire, Thee, Thine, Thither, Thou, Thus, Thy, ‘Tis
Words starting with the letters U-Y:
Vocabulary: Unto, Wanton, Wherein, You
Free Shakespeare Scripts
Looking for a Shakespeare script you can use with students without purchasing a book? Explore these free adaptations of Shakespeare plays. They are designed to make Shakespeare's language, characters, and stories accessible to young performers.
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Macbeth — Free Adapted Script
This adapted version of Macbeth provides a manageable introduction to Shakespeare's story and characters for younger performers.
Download free script
This script is provided as a free classroom resource and is not one of the four plays included in Stage It: Making Shakespeare Come Alive in Schools.
Want more resources?
Stage It: Making Shakespeare Come Alive in Schools provides teachers with a step-by-step approach to using Shakespeare and drama with students ages 9–12.
The book includes four abridged, royalty-free Shakespeare plays—Hamlet, Henry V, Julius Caesar, and Othello—along with acting scripts, contemporary-English versions, vocabulary support, lesson guidance, rehearsal strategies, and other classroom resources.
If you need a resource and don’t see it anywhere on this site, please email the author with your request.