On February 10, 1775, writer Charles Lamb was born in London. Although best known for his essays, Tales from Shakespeare will be familiar to many homeschoolers. You can use this public domain title to create your own Shakespeare unit study.
Written with his sister Mary, Tales from Shakespeare sought to make Shakespearean tragedies and comedies accessible to children while maintaining the language of the original. The Lambs wove Shakespeare’s own words into a narrative while avoiding words more common to their own generation.
Perhaps their intentions in writing the book are made clear from this quote from the preface:
What these Tales shall have been to the YOUNG readers, that and much more it is the writers’ wish that the true Plays of Shakespeare may prove to them in older years—enrichers of the fancy, strengtheners of virtue, a withdrawing from all selfish and mercenary thoughts, a lesson of all sweet and honorable thoughts and actions, to teach courtesy, benignity, generosity, humanity: for of examples, teaching these virtues, his pages are full.
Tales from Shakespeare has become a classic in its own right.
Although written to a younger audience, you still may want to preview or read aloud, depending on your children.
Free eBook
Suggestions
Have your students do one or more of the following (resources below will help with each): In order of increasing difficulty.
- Narrate a favorite passage from one of the tales.
- Choose one of these 30 narration ideas to narrate a different passage from a different tale.
- Many idioms came from the works of Shakespeare. Use our idiom form to list a few.
- Over fifty birds are mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. Pick one to investigate further.
- Read a tale from Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Nesbit. Compare and contrast the two versions.
- Read the Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar. Create a character study for one or more characters in the play.
Further Investigation
William Shakespeare Biography
From the Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust.
Phrases Coined by William Shakespeare
And there were a lot of them!
Activities
Who Was William Shakespeare?
Interactive for kids from the BBC.
Everything Old is New Again (archived)
PBS handout where students translate lines from Shakespeare into modern English.
Interactive Globe Theatre (archived)
Learn more about the theater where Shakespeare’s plays were performed.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
Papercraft recreation.
Books
Project Gutenberg
Non-illustrated version.
Tales from Shakespeare
Illustrated by Louis Rhead, published by Harper and Brothers, London, 1918.
Librivox Audio
LibriVox audio version read by Karen Savage.
The Complete Concordance to Shakespeare by Mary Cowden Clarke
Well. “Complete” doesn’t really do it justice. 884-page tome that is helpful for finding that Shakespearean phrase you are looking for.
Printables & Notebooking Pages
Tales From Shakespeare Notebooking Pages
Simple pages for copywork, narrations, or wrapping up.
These units have been created specifically with do-it-yourself (DIY) homeschoolers in mind: those that don’t want a lot of hand-holding. If this doesn’t describe your need, you might prefer a few of these pre-planned units. For those brave souls who enjoy pulling things together themselves, there are many ways to use these resources!
Keep Reading
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Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare is number 66 on The Hundred Best Books for Children list found in The Book-lover.
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