Introduction

As a prereading activity, students will conduct research on William Shakespeare, his life and times, in order to create a newsletter about the play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

__Introduction__
This six weeks, we will be reading William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of his comedies. Since this is probably the first time you've ever read Shakespeare, we first need to gain some background knowledge. What better place to find information than on the Web? You will browse the sites I've provided, and use the information you learn to create a newspaper that could have appeared during Shakespeare's time.

You are a newspaper reporter assigned to review the current production of the Shakespeareean play //A Midsummer Night's Dream//. //The Smithfield Drama Weekly// has asked Mrs. Pope's class to write a newspaper article about the play. Prizes will be awarded for the best article and most creative newspaper. You will work in groups to create a two-page newspaper. You will write one feature article and one or more of the following: secondary articles, advertisements, cartoons, coupons, crossword puzzles, a review of the play, and pictures.

Good luck!