Resources
Explore the myriad of resources and programming we have created and curated for you and your students.
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
Performing a novel just might be the best way to read it.
Hamlet
Let’s challenge all those assumptions about this “biggie” of a play!
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Myth, mirth, and magic? Enter the Dream world!
American Moor
What happens at “the corner of Me Street and Shakespeare”?
Lesson Plans
Explore lesson plans that get students grappling on their own with a wide range of complex texts.
Become an expert on teaching anything the Folger way: Hamlet, Lucille Clifton’s poems, In the Time of the Butterflies, primary sources from the Folger vault, A Modest Proposal, Their Eyes Were Watching God, American Moor, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Twelfth Night, The Declaration of Independence, and lots more.
Professional Development
Teacher Members of the Folger enjoy exclusive access to live-streamed workshops and a video library of on-demand professional development.
Watch master classes on teaching Shakespeare plays and webinars on engaging all learners in attentive, thoughtful reading. Meet Folger experts and fellow teachers from across the country and around the world. Join a community working to help all students fall in love with literature and the power of their own minds.
Most popular resources
What to Do–and What Not to Do–in Week One of a Successful Shakespeare Unit
What to Do–and What Not to Do–in Week One of a Successful Shakespeare Unit
2-Line Scenes - General Shakespeare
Free resource
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Pre-reading: A Snapshot of Othello
Pre-reading: A Snapshot of Othello
Essential Everyday Bravery
Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech
Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech
Browse all resources
Exploring Race & Whiteness in Shakespeare
Exploring Race & Whiteness in Shakespeare
Exploring Gender: Shakespeare’s Take on Chaste, Silent, and Obedient
Exploring Gender: Shakespeare’s Take on Chaste, Silent, and Obedient
Shakespeare and the Immigrant Experience
Shakespeare and the Immigrant Experience
Two Juicy, Interactive Lessons for Your Next Class!
Two Juicy, Interactive Lessons for Your Next Class!
Sonnets & Social Justice
Sonnets & Social Justice
Sonnet Performances: Shakespeare’s Sonnets as Scripts
Sonnet Performances: Shakespeare’s Sonnets as Scripts
Free resource
Shakespeare’s Sisters and Modern Sonnets
Shakespeare’s Sisters and Modern Sonnets
Free resource
Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Blazon
Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Blazon
Free resource
Easing into Shakespeare with Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, “What My Lips Have Kissed, And Where And Why”
Easing into Shakespeare with Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, “What My Lips Have Kissed, And Where And Why”
Free resource
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138: A Close Reading Module
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138: A Close Reading Module
Free resource
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Free resource
Petrarch, Father of the Sonnet
Petrarch, Father of the Sonnet
Free resource
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 3 Ways: Through Scholarship, On Stage, and In Your Classroom
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 3 Ways: Through Scholarship, On Stage, and In Your Classroom
THE FOLGER METHOD IN ONE FELL SWOOP: Teach Shakespeare and Any Complex Text Using These Principles and Practices Effective for All Students
THE FOLGER METHOD IN ONE FELL SWOOP: Teach Shakespeare and Any Complex Text Using These Principles and Practices Effective for All Students
Navigating Race and Difference: In Shakespeare, In Class, and Elsewhere
Navigating Race and Difference: In Shakespeare, In Class, and Elsewhere
William Shakespeare and Gwendolyn Brooks: Processing Death
William Shakespeare and Gwendolyn Brooks: Processing Death
March Lesson of the Month: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
March Lesson of the Month: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
“Officers and Torches: Race and the Editing of Othello” with Patricia Akhimie
“Officers and Torches: Race and the Editing of Othello” with Patricia Akhimie
Race and U.S. Education: Historical Perspectives
Race and U.S. Education: Historical Perspectives
Free resource
The Two New Paths: Censorship, Reclamation–What is Our Argument? with Jocelyn Chadwick
The Two New Paths: Censorship, Reclamation–What is Our Argument? with Jocelyn Chadwick
Sneak Peek! Lessons from the Forthcoming Folger Guide to Teaching Hamlet.
Sneak Peek! Lessons from the Forthcoming Folger Guide to Teaching Hamlet.
“Jamestown: A Shakesperien Tragedy” with Mark Summers
“Jamestown: A Shakesperien Tragedy” with Mark Summers
Reading Fred Wilson’s Art Alongside Shakespeare’s Words: Folger + Smithsonian American Art Museum
Reading Fred Wilson’s Art Alongside Shakespeare’s Words: Folger + Smithsonian American Art Museum
Unapologetically Black Shakespeare: Core Lessons from Folger & Reconstruction.us
Unapologetically Black Shakespeare: Core Lessons from Folger & Reconstruction.us
This Illness is No Metaphor: Romeo and Juliet and the Plague
This Illness is No Metaphor: Romeo and Juliet and the Plague
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race 2021: A Virtual Folger Workshop for Teachers – The Online Archive of Program Videos, Slides, and Materials
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race 2021: A Virtual Folger Workshop for Teachers – The Online Archive of Program Videos, Slides, and Materials
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race. It is?
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race. It is?
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race
Teaching Shakespeare Is Teaching Race
Teaching Shakespeare Institute 2021: Shakespeare and the Making of America
Teaching Shakespeare Institute 2021: Shakespeare and the Making of America
ALL Students Deserve the Real Thing: Teaching Shakespeare to English-Language Learners
ALL Students Deserve the Real Thing: Teaching Shakespeare to English-Language Learners
Text Set: AMERICAN MOOR Talks Back to OTHELLO
Text Set: AMERICAN MOOR Talks Back to OTHELLO
Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
Free resource
Macbeth Without Ambition with Dr. Adam Zucker
Macbeth Without Ambition with Dr. Adam Zucker
Free resource
Speaking and Writing with Shakespeare at the Heart, a Smithsonian American Art Museum + Folger Library Workshop
Speaking and Writing with Shakespeare at the Heart, a Smithsonian American Art Museum + Folger Library Workshop
Shakespeare to Malcolm X: Helping ALL Students Grapple with Race and Complex Texts
Shakespeare to Malcolm X: Helping ALL Students Grapple with Race and Complex Texts
The Tempest, Colonialism, and Early America
The Tempest, Colonialism, and Early America
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Here’s to Black Women Poets, Part II. May We Know Them. May We Read Them. May We Teach Them.
Here’s to Black Women Poets, Part II. May We Know Them. May We Read Them. May We Teach Them.
“Race, Racism, and the Shaping of Shakespeare” with Dr. Ruben Espinosa
“Race, Racism, and the Shaping of Shakespeare” with Dr. Ruben Espinosa
Free resource
What Says She? Listening to Women’s Voices in Shakespeare with Dr. Kathryn Vomero Santos
What Says She? Listening to Women’s Voices in Shakespeare with Dr. Kathryn Vomero Santos
Here’s to Black Women Poets. May We Know Them. May We Read Them. May We Teach Them.
Here’s to Black Women Poets. May We Know Them. May We Read Them. May We Teach Them.
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Words as Images with Twelfth Night
Juicy Lesson! Words as Images with Twelfth Night
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
Free resource
Film Expert Groups: The Closet Scene
Film Expert Groups: The Closet Scene
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Free resource
The Folger Method Online: How to Teach ANY Play Fast and with Rigor!
The Folger Method Online: How to Teach ANY Play Fast and with Rigor!
Free resource
Taking the Folger Method Online to Teach ANY Text and Get Students to Turn On Their Cameras!
Taking the Folger Method Online to Teach ANY Text and Get Students to Turn On Their Cameras!
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Folger Community Conversation: Teaching Literature During COVID-19
Folger Community Conversation: Teaching Literature During COVID-19
Introducing Twelfth Night with 2-Line Scenes
Introducing Twelfth Night with 2-Line Scenes
Cutting a Scene: Twelfth Night 2.4
Cutting a Scene: Twelfth Night 2.4
Choral Reading: Sonnet 18
Choral Reading: Sonnet 18
Choral Reading: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1
Choral Reading: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1
Cutting a Scene: King Lear 4.6
Cutting a Scene: King Lear 4.6
3-D Shakespeare: Twelfth Night 1.2
3-D Shakespeare: Twelfth Night 1.2
3-D Literature with Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun 1.1
3-D Literature with Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun 1.1
Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from To Kill a Mockingbird
Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from To Kill a Mockingbird
Choral Reading with Images from A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.1
Choral Reading with Images from A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.1
Cutting a Scene: Julius Caesar 3.1
Cutting a Scene: Julius Caesar 3.1
Reading Macbeth 1.3 with Art
Reading Macbeth 1.3 with Art
Creating a Promptbook: Julius Caesar 3.1
Creating a Promptbook: Julius Caesar 3.1
Creating a Promptbook: Twelfth Night 2.5
Creating a Promptbook: Twelfth Night 2.5
Writing a Group Sonnet: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Writing a Group Sonnet: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Choral Reading: Much Ado About Nothing 1.1
Choral Reading: Much Ado About Nothing 1.1
Cutting a Scene: The Merchant of Venice 3.1
Cutting a Scene: The Merchant of Venice 3.1
Cutting a Scene: A Tale of Two Cities, Chapter Two
Cutting a Scene: A Tale of Two Cities, Chapter Two
Promptbook: Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Promptbook: Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
3-D Shakespeare: Julius Caesar 3.3
3-D Shakespeare: Julius Caesar 3.3
Creating a Promptbook: Hamlet 1.1
Creating a Promptbook: Hamlet 1.1
Creating a Promptbook: “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
Creating a Promptbook: “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
Creating a Promptbook: Chapter Five of 1984
Creating a Promptbook: Chapter Five of 1984
Historical Characterization of Othello
Historical Characterization of Othello
Tossing Lines: Fences by August Wilson
Tossing Lines: Fences by August Wilson
Cutting A Scene: Toni Morrison’s Beloved Part I
Cutting A Scene: Toni Morrison’s Beloved Part I
Paired Texts: Ma Rainey from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing
Paired Texts: Ma Rainey from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing
Paired Texts: Boy Willie from The Piano Lesson and Othello 1.3
Paired Texts: Boy Willie from The Piano Lesson and Othello 1.3
3-D Shakespeare: Othello 1.1
3-D Shakespeare: Othello 1.1
Free resource
Introducing Much Ado About Nothing with 2-Line Scenes
Introducing Much Ado About Nothing with 2-Line Scenes
Promptbook: The Wedding Scene of Much Ado About Nothing 4.1
Promptbook: The Wedding Scene of Much Ado About Nothing 4.1
Historical Characterization of Shylock from The Merchant of Venice
Historical Characterization of Shylock from The Merchant of Venice
Introducing The Bluest Eye with 2-Line Scenes
Introducing The Bluest Eye with 2-Line Scenes
Choral Reading: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Choral Reading: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Choral Reading: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Choral Reading: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Paired Texts: Portia from The Merchant of Venice and Nessa from District Merchants
Paired Texts: Portia from The Merchant of Venice and Nessa from District Merchants
Introducing Julius Caesar with 2-Line Scenes
Introducing Julius Caesar with 2-Line Scenes
Choral Reading: Juliet’s Soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet 4.3
Choral Reading: Juliet’s Soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet 4.3
Choral Reading: Othello 3.4 Handkerchief Scene
Choral Reading: Othello 3.4 Handkerchief Scene
Cutting a Scene: Hamlet 2.2
Cutting a Scene: Hamlet 2.2
Cutting a Scene: Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet 1.4
Cutting a Scene: Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet 1.4
Choral Reading: Twelfth Night 1.1
Choral Reading: Twelfth Night 1.1
Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from Romeo and Juliet
Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from Romeo and Juliet
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from The Color Purple
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from The Color Purple
Introducing The Great Gatsby with 2-Line Scenes
Introducing The Great Gatsby with 2-Line Scenes
Choral Reading: Shylock’s Revenge Speech in The Merchant of Venice 3.1
Choral Reading: Shylock’s Revenge Speech in The Merchant of Venice 3.1
Choral Reading: Portia’s “Quality of Mercy” Speech in 4.1
Choral Reading: Portia’s “Quality of Mercy” Speech in 4.1
Choral Reading: Romeo and Juliet 1.4 Queen Mab Speech
Choral Reading: Romeo and Juliet 1.4 Queen Mab Speech
Cutting a Scene: The Merchant of Venice 4.1
Cutting a Scene: The Merchant of Venice 4.1
Cutting a Scene: Richard III 1.1
Cutting a Scene: Richard III 1.1
Creating a Promptbook: The Tempest 5.1
Creating a Promptbook: The Tempest 5.1
Creating a Promptbook: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.2
Creating a Promptbook: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.2
Free resource
Cutting a Scene: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Cutting a Scene: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
The Ultimate Resource: The Folger Shakespeare
The Ultimate Resource: The Folger Shakespeare
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43
Group Scenes: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Group Scenes: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Richard III: Introducing Language with 2-Line Scenes
Richard III: Introducing Language with 2-Line Scenes
Two-Line Scenes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Two-Line Scenes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pre-reading: Tossing Words and Lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pre-reading: Tossing Words and Lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Free resource
Cutting the Opening Scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Cutting the Opening Scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Comparing Shakespeare to His Source, Holinshed: The Witches in Macbeth 3.1
Comparing Shakespeare to His Source, Holinshed: The Witches in Macbeth 3.1
Free resource
Choral Reading: King Lear 1.2
Choral Reading: King Lear 1.2
Choral Reading: Rena from August Wilson’s Jitney and Lady Macbeth from Macbeth
Choral Reading: Rena from August Wilson’s Jitney and Lady Macbeth from Macbeth
Choral Reading and Cutting a Text: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
Choral Reading and Cutting a Text: Pairing Clint Smith’s “My Hopes, Dreams, Fears for My Future Son” with Hamlet
Free resource
Cutting a Scene: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Cutting a Scene: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Choral Reading: Fences and King Lear
Choral Reading: Fences and King Lear
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: Introducing Language with 2-Line Scenes
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: Introducing Language with 2-Line Scenes
Choral Reading: “Seven Ages of Man” from As You Like It
Choral Reading: “Seven Ages of Man” from As You Like It
Choral Reading with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43 and Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick”
Choral Reading with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43 and Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick”
Choral Reading: Hamlet and August Wilson’s King Hedley II
Choral Reading: Hamlet and August Wilson’s King Hedley II
Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech
Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech
Words as Images: Twelfth Night 1.5
Words as Images: Twelfth Night 1.5
3-D Literature: Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club
3-D Literature: Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club
Julius Caesar Promptbooks: Marking Up Antony’s Speeches for Performance
Julius Caesar Promptbooks: Marking Up Antony’s Speeches for Performance
Pre-reading Othello: Tossing Words and Lines
Pre-reading Othello: Tossing Words and Lines
Equitable, Engaging and Subversive Teaching with the Folger Method
Equitable, Engaging and Subversive Teaching with the Folger Method
Understanding Race and Religion through Othello
Understanding Race and Religion through Othello
Free resource
Cutting a Text: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Cutting a Text: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Cutting a Scene: Twelfth Night 2.3
Cutting a Scene: Twelfth Night 2.3
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Romeo and Juliet
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Romeo and Juliet
Pre-reading: A Snapshot of Othello
Pre-reading: A Snapshot of Othello
Macbeth in the First Folio: Sisters or Witches?
Macbeth in the First Folio: Sisters or Witches?
“To Be” in Translation: Hamlet in World Languages
“To Be” in Translation: Hamlet in World Languages
Free resource
Editing Macbeth: Issues an Editor Faces
Editing Macbeth: Issues an Editor Faces
Free resource
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Their Eyes Were Watching God
Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Their Eyes Were Watching God
3-D Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet 1.1
3-D Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet 1.1
Is Othello Shakespeare’s American Play?
Is Othello Shakespeare’s American Play?
Free resource
Editing Shakespeare: Word Choice in Othello
Editing Shakespeare: Word Choice in Othello
Free resource
3-D Literature: The Opening Scene of Their Eyes Were Watching God
3-D Literature: The Opening Scene of Their Eyes Were Watching God
Choral Reading: The Declaration of Independence
Choral Reading: The Declaration of Independence
Pre-reading: 20-minute Romeo and Juliet
Pre-reading: 20-minute Romeo and Juliet
Cutting a Scene: Othello 1.1
Cutting a Scene: Othello 1.1
Free resource
Close Reading on Your Feet: Performing Macbeth’s Soliloquy in 5.5
Free resource
Pre-reading: 20-minute Hamlet
Pre-reading: 20-minute Hamlet
2-Line Scenes - General Shakespeare
Free resource
Who is the Moor? Choral Reading American Moor and Othello
Who is the Moor? Choral Reading American Moor and Othello
Essential Everyday Bravery
LUNA: The Folger Digital Image Collection
LUNA: The Folger Digital Image Collection
Free resource
Yorick 2 Ways: Comparing Quarto and Folio Versions of Hamlet
Yorick 2 Ways: Comparing Quarto and Folio Versions of Hamlet
3-D Shakespeare: Hamlet 1.1
3-D Shakespeare: Hamlet 1.1
Choral Reading: Macbeth’s Soliloquy in Macbeth 1.7
Choral Reading: Macbeth’s Soliloquy in Macbeth 1.7
The First Week of School: Literature Line Toss
The First Week of School: Literature Line Toss
The Folger Shakespeare API Tools
The Folger Shakespeare API Tools
Free resource
Why Study Shakespeare Today? Dr. Kim Hall, Barnard College
Why Study Shakespeare Today? Dr. Kim Hall, Barnard College
Free resource
The Wonder of Will: 400th Anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Death
The Wonder of Will: 400th Anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Death
Free resource
Invitation from a Black Shakespearean
Invitation from a Black Shakespearean
Free resource
Shakespeare Sonnets in the Classroom
Shakespeare Sonnets in the Classroom
Free resource
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Building Empathy in the Literature Classroom
Building Empathy in the Literature Classroom
Dr. Kim Hall’s lecture “Othello Was My Grandfather: Shakespeare in the African Diaspora”
Dr. Kim Hall’s lecture “Othello Was My Grandfather: Shakespeare in the African Diaspora”
Free resource
Whiteness: A Primer for Understanding Shakespeare, with Dr. Ian Smith
Whiteness: A Primer for Understanding Shakespeare, with Dr. Ian Smith
Free resource
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Abraham Lincoln, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar, 1865
Abraham Lincoln, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar, 1865
Master Class: Teaching Hamlet
Master Class: Teaching Hamlet
Folger Revealed
Folger Revealed
Cutting a Scene: Hamlet 1.3
Cutting a Scene: Hamlet 1.3
The Monologue Project
The Monologue Project
Free resource
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Master Class: Teaching Julius Caesar
Master Class: Teaching Julius Caesar
What to Do–and What Not to Do–in Week One of a Successful Shakespeare Unit
What to Do–and What Not to Do–in Week One of a Successful Shakespeare Unit
Richard II stage footage | Act IV, scene 1 – the deposition scene