The purpose of this lesson is to compare the days of Shakespeare with our own modern culture. This will help us understand Shakespeare’s literary works more clearly because we will have a concept of what his life was like, and what it was that influenced him.

The process of this activity will go like this: You will be creating travel brochures covering the life and times of Elizabethan England. First you will need to learn some basic information about Elizabethan England. You will be provided with a list of topics to research. You will be picking three areas of interest from this list and expand on the information to make your own brochure. Each panel on the brochure will cover one of the three aspects you have chosen. Also, one of the panels (the back panel) will contain comparisons from then to now.

This will take us a few days to complete. We will be working on the brochures for entire class periods until we are done and have shared them with the class.

Assignment Guide

Picking Your Brochure:

· Open Word Publisher

· Click on “Brochures”

· Choose one of the brochures types by clicking on the brochure:

· Pick a color scheme (located at the top of the box on the left-any color scheme you want)

· Pick a font (Must be legible! No cursive, script, or Old English! If I cannot read it, I will give it back to you to fix!)

· At the bottom of the screen you will see two pages; one with the number 1, and the other with a number 2. Toggle back and forth so you know how to access the front and back portion of your brochure. If you do not see it, ask a neighbor.

Getting Your Information:

· Pull out your list of topics to research.

· Think about what three areas you want to further research about Elizabethan England. You need three of the following:

1. Food

2. Money

3. Religion

4. Occupations

5. Pastimes

6. Education

· Once you have chosen the three you will be presenting, visit the web sites from the hot list and start writing down information you will want to use in your brochure. Keep track of the sources-you will need to cite them!

· Look for pictures on the web sites you venture. You need to find a MINIMUM of five graphics to use in your brochure. You may use more, but don’t make your brochure cluttered. Also, make sure the pictures relate to what you are talking about.

Page One of Your Brochure:

Left Panel-

· You will use this panel to briefly described London.

· Create a title for this section.

· You will need a minimum of three facts concerning England and why visitors would want to come here.

1. You are trying to persuade visitors!

2. Throughout your brochure, write as if you are living in London! Place yourself there!

3. Use “you”. For example: “You will love the River Thames and its glorious beauty.”

4. Be enticing

5. Be accurate

6. Spread out your sentences so the whole panel is evenly filled

7. Perhaps you may want to center your paragraphs (optional)

Center Panel-

· This panel you will do last!

· Here, you will be comparing Shakespeare’s time to ours.

· Create a Title

· You will write three paragraphs on your own thoughts and feelings about each area of interest you have researched. Compare and contrast life in Elizabethan England to now. For example, write a paragraph on a food, pastimes, and education. What are the similarities? What are the differences? This is just what you think! It should not take you very long.

· Set up each paragraph by telling me what you will be discussing. For instance:

Food: (paragraph)

Pastimes: (paragraph)

Education: (paragraph)

· After you have written your reflective paragraphs, create a “References” section listing your sources for information and pictures.

Right Panel-

· This panel will be the front of your brochure

· Create a tour guide company name

· Create a catch-phrase to draw in readers

· Decorate the front of your brochure however you want; words, pictures, etc.

· At the bottom of this panel, print your name and class period.

Page Two of Your Brochure:

Left Panel - Center Panel - Right Panel

· Pick one of your areas of research (for each panel)

· Create a title (for each panel)

· If the box they have provided you on the brochure template won’t let you to write very much, erase their box and insert your own text box. You need to have a minimum of two good and detailed paragraphs for each section. Play around with spacing and font size so that you have enough information.

· You will need 5-8 sentences per paragraph; no fragments.

· Make up names of places or restaurants. (But do not make up information about the areas you are researching!)

· Be creative

· Use graphics

Remember-You are living in England working for a travel company! Be persuasive! Have Fun!

Pictures from: http://www.bardweb.net/england.html