English · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Life in Elizabethan England

Active learning brings the Elizabethan playhouse to life by letting students physically and socially experience the conditions of Shakespeare’s original audience. When students step into roles or build models, they move beyond abstract facts to grasp how space, class, and language shaped performance in real time.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS3: English - Context of Literary Texts
• KS3: English - Shakespeare

• 20–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Globe Architect

Groups are given a floor plan of the Globe and a list of scenes (e.g., a night-time ghost encounter). They must decide where to place actors and how to use the 'heavens' or 'hell' (trapdoor) to make the scene work without modern lights.

Analyze how daily life in Elizabethan England influenced the themes and characters in Shakespeare's plays.

Facilitation Tip

During The Globe Architect, circulate with a checklist that reminds you to ask each group to justify at least one feature of their design using historical evidence.

What to look for

Present students with three images: one of a modern theatre, one of an Elizabethan playhouse, and one of a medieval pageant wagon. Ask them to write one sentence for each explaining how it differs from the others in terms of audience or staging.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 20 min · Whole Class

Role Play: The Rowdy Audience

While a small group performs a short scene, the rest of the class acts as 'groundlings' who can cheer, boo, or eat (pretend) food. This helps students understand the high-energy environment actors had to contend with.

Explain the social hierarchy of the Elizabethan era and its reflection in dramatic roles.

Facilitation Tip

In The Rowdy Audience, stand at the back of the room to observe which students naturally slip into leadership roles and which need prompting to represent groundlings versus patrons.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were an Elizabethan theatre owner, what rules would you implement for your audience to ensure a successful and profitable performance, considering the social classes present?' Facilitate a class discussion where students justify their rules based on historical context.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Theater Controversy

Display 'primary sources' (quotes from Puritans, city officials, and theater-goers). Students walk around and categorize the arguments for and against the theater, then discuss why it was seen as a 'dangerous' place.

Compare the entertainment options available in Shakespeare's time to those of today.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, place controversial quotes or images at eye level to ensure students pause and annotate before moving on.

What to look for

Ask students to write down two ways the social hierarchy of Elizabethan England might have affected the types of characters or stories presented in plays, and one way the lack of modern technology influenced Shakespeare's writing style.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers find success by treating the Globe not as a museum piece but as a living space that demands participation. Avoid over-relying on slides or lectures about the Globe’s history; instead, anchor every explanation in a concrete task. Research shows that when students embody historical constraints, they remember the consequences of those constraints long after facts fade.

Successful learning shows when students can explain how the Globe’s design and audience mix influenced staging choices and playwriting. They should connect historical constraints to Shakespeare’s creative solutions without romanticizing or oversimplifying the era.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Rowdy Audience, watch for students who assume only wealthy patrons attended or enjoyed the plays.

  After assigning roles and distributing props (penny coins for groundlings, fans or gloves for patrons), have students share how their character’s experience of the same scene would differ, using dialogue snippets from the script.

• During The Globe Architect, watch for students who place artificial lighting or microphones in their models.

  Prompt groups to present one design choice and explain why it matches the historical record, then ask peers to identify the linguistic or staging solution Shakespeare used instead, such as describing moonlight in verse.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Role Play
• Gallery Walk