Activity Overview
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.
Template and Class Instructions
(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!
- Click "Start Assignment" to use the template in the assignment.
- Identify important character traits and moments in the story.
- Create images, posts, & biographical information for your character of choice using appropriate scenes, items, and characters.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/1] Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/3] Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
- [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/3] Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences
- [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/6] Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
- [ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/9] Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
- [ELA-Literacy/L/9-10/3] Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Needs Improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character Representation | The social media page depicts the character accurately through pictures and words. | Some images and words on the social media page accurately depict the character. | The images and words on the social media page do not accurately depict the character. |
| Artistic Depictions | The art chosen to depict the scenes are accurate to the work of literature. Time and care is taken to ensure that the scenes are neat, eye-catching, and creative. | The art chosen to depict the scenes should be accurate, but there may be some liberties taken that distract from the assignment. Scene constructions are neat, and meet basic expectations. | The art chosen to depict the scenes is too limited or incomplete. |
| English Conventions | Ideas are organized. There are few or no grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas are mostly organized. There are some grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Storyboard text is difficult to understand. |
How To Create a Social Media Profile of a Character Using Storyboard That
Introduce the Project
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.
Divide into Groups
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.
Select a Social Media Platform
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.
Enter The Information
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.
Present
Ask the groups to present their creations in front of the entire class and explain why they choose to include and omit certain characteristics.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shakespeare Social Media Project
What Does a Shakespeare Social Media Project Aim to Achieve?
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.
What function does visual material serve in this project?
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.
In what ways does this project encourage a deeper understanding of Shakespeare?
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.
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