A fun way to modernize Shakespeare plays is to re-imagine them as they might unfold on social media. It's also a great way to assess how well students comprehended the story, themes, and characters as they read. In this activity, students will use the social media poster templates to create profiles for key characters in the play. Students may select one character to focus on or, if you would like to further this activity, students can create profiles for all of the key characters.
The profiles and what is included on them should be drawn from the text itself, or from inferences students are able to make. They should include conversations and interactions through the form of private messaging, timeline posts, and more. To expand this activity into a group project, assign each student a character, and have them work with a small group to recreate the story.
An alternative to this assignment is to create and print out social media page worksheets for students to complete offline, or give them the choice if they'd like to create digitally or with pen and paper.
To find additional templates for this activity, please check out our social media page templates.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a social media profile for a character or characters of your choice from the play using a poster-sized storyboard!
Begin with introducing the project to the students and the objectives that should be aimed to achieve through this project. Teachers can give them some free hand to make some decisions and decide on how to proceed with the activity.
Teachers can ask the students about the character they want to work on. Students with similar character choices can be divided into one group. Teachers can encourage the students to work in groups but if any student wants to work individually then the teacher can support them.
Students can discuss their favorite social media platform and the one they think will be the most suitable for their chosen character according to their personality. After a final decision about the social media platform, students can download the template of that specific platform from Storyboard That.
After downloading the templates, students can see the required information they should put in the template. If they want to make any changes or additions, they can also do that. For things such as captions and tweets, they can analyze the personality of the character and assess what they would be like if they were born in this time period. They can also take references from the play.
Ask the groups to present their creations in front of the entire class and explain why they choose to include and omit certain characteristics.
The goal of this project is to have students think creatively and critically about the themes, language, and characters of Shakespeare. It fosters critical thinking about how they might use social media and makes it easier for kids to relate to the characters on a personal level.
Emojis, movies, and other visual content can increase the project's engagement and authenticity. Encourage your students to select images that complement the character's nature and setting. Students can also incorporate their analysis of the impact of modernism on characters.
Students form a personal connection to the literature through interacting with characters in a contemporary setting. Shakespeare's ageless ideas, language, and the complexity of human nature can all be better understood as a result.