Free Teaching Resources
Explore this free selection of teaching resources, lessons that help every single student unlock a range of texts.
For even more classroom resources and professional development, become a Teacher Member today and gain exclusive access to our entire library of lesson plans, professional development, and more!
Interested in Folger Teaching but not yet ready to take the plunge? Try out the free lessons shared below.
For a $40 tax-deductible contribution to the nonprofit Folger Library, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of Teacher Membership!
Lesson Plans
Sonnet Performances: Shakespeare’s Sonnets as Scripts
Sonnet Performances: Shakespeare’s Sonnets as Scripts
Free resource
Shakespeare’s Sisters and Modern Sonnets
Shakespeare’s Sisters and Modern Sonnets
Free resource
Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Blazon
Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Blazon
Free resource
Easing into Shakespeare with Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, “What My Lips Have Kissed, And Where And Why”
Easing into Shakespeare with Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, “What My Lips Have Kissed, And Where And Why”
Free resource
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138: A Close Reading Module
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138: A Close Reading Module
Free resource
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Free resource
Petrarch, Father of the Sonnet
Petrarch, Father of the Sonnet
Free resource
Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
Free resource
3-D Shakespeare: Othello 1.1
3-D Shakespeare: Othello 1.1
Free resource
Creating a Promptbook: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.2
Creating a Promptbook: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.2
Free resource
Pre-reading: Tossing Words and Lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pre-reading: Tossing Words and Lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Free resource
Comparing Shakespeare to His Source, Holinshed: The Witches in Macbeth 3.1
Comparing Shakespeare to His Source, Holinshed: The Witches in Macbeth 3.1
Free resource
Choral Reading and Cutting a Text: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
Choral Reading and Cutting a Text: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
Free resource
“To Be” in Translation: Hamlet in World Languages
“To Be” in Translation: Hamlet in World Languages
Free resource
Cutting a Scene: Othello 1.1
Cutting a Scene: Othello 1.1
Free resource
Close Reading on Your Feet: Performing Macbeth’s Soliloquy in 5.5
Free resource
2-Line Scenes - General Shakespeare
Free resource
The Monologue Project
The Monologue Project
Free resource
Professional Development
Race and U.S. Education: Historical Perspectives
Race and U.S. Education: Historical Perspectives
Free resource
Macbeth Without Ambition with Dr. Adam Zucker
Macbeth Without Ambition with Dr. Adam Zucker
Free resource
“Race, Racism, and the Shaping of Shakespeare” with Dr. Ruben Espinosa
“Race, Racism, and the Shaping of Shakespeare” with Dr. Ruben Espinosa
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Free resource
The Folger Method Online: How to Teach ANY Play Fast and with Rigor!
The Folger Method Online: How to Teach ANY Play Fast and with Rigor!
Free resource
Shakespeare Sonnets in the Classroom
Shakespeare Sonnets in the Classroom
Free resource