Learning Resources
The Tempest
William Shakespeare
Discover teaching ideas and lesson planning inspiration through our range of resources, activities and other supporting materials on Shakespeare's The Tempest.
About the play
- Past productions
The Tempest on the Shakespeare Learning Zone
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Live Lesson (2023)
You can watch our Live Lesson on The Tempest on demand, featuring cast and creatives from our 2023 production including Director Elizabeth Freestone and actors Alex Kingston (Prospero), Heledd Gwynn (Ariel) and Tommy Sim’aan (Caliban).
INSET Days on The Tempest
"Fantastic workshop with so many useful activities, thank you for a great session that will enhance the children’s learning." - Primary Teacher in Nottingham
Book an INSET day with the RSC on teaching The Tempest for Primary, Key Stage 3, GCSE or A-level. Our INSET Days explore techniques used in our rehearsal rooms and and look at how you can use these in the classroom to bring Shakespeare to life.
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Resources and activities
The Tempest opens with a storm, after which survivors of the shipwreck are marooned on an island inhabited by the powerful Magician Prospero, his daughter Miranda and his servants Ariel and Caliban.
For young people of all ages, this play is a fantastic way to explore the concepts of freedom and power as well as looking at a rnage of themes including:
- Forgiveness
Download free resources
- Themes Resource
- The Tempest School Synopsis
- The Tempest Teacher Pack 2023
- The Tempest Teacher Pack 2016
- Watch key scenes and Text Detective films on our Learning Youtube channel
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Shakespeare Learning Zone
Students will find many resources in our Shakespeare Learning Zone , including scene by scene analysis, activities on character relationships, in depth scene studies and PEE grids. These resources are also perfect to be used by teachers in the classroom.
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Shakespeare’s story of the betrayal of Prospero; the bookish Duke of Milan who uses magic to try to reclaim what's his from his brother Antonio
Studying The Tempest? Visit the SHAKESPEARE LEARNING ZONE to discover loads of facts, videos and info about the play
More Information for Teachers
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Shakespeare unbard: a creative writing activity.
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The Tempest (a play by William Shakespeare)
Prospero is Duke of Milan and lives alone with his daughter Miranda. He spends his time reading his books instead of ruling Milan so his brother (Sebastian) decides to overthrow him and become the Duke.
Prospero and Miranda are taken to sea in the middle of the night and left in a leaky boat. Gonzalo (who lives in Milan) gives them food, water, clothes and Prospero’s books to help them. Prospero has magical powers.
They arrive on a desert island where they find a young boy called Caliban. He and Miranda are friends as children but when he gets older, Prospero treats him as a servant. There is also a magical sprite on the island (Ariel) who Prospero rescued and now he keeps him as a servant.
When Miranda is a teenager, Prospero creates a tempest and brings to shore a ship containing Sebastian and several others including the King of Naples and his son Ferdinand. Ariel and Prospero use their magic to place these people in different places around the island. Ferdinand thinks his father, the King, must have drowned.
Caliban meets two drunkards from the ship and they plot to kill Prospero so that they can rule the island – but their plot fails as they are drunk. Ferdinand is the first man Miranda has seen except Prospero and Caliban and they fall in love. Prospero pretends to disap prove but secretly he is pleased.
Prospero brings all of the shipwrecked people back together and the King is delighted to see Ferdinand alive and well. Sebastian is ashamed of what he did and Prospero says he will go back to Milan with everyone. Ferdinand and Miranda are to marry.
- While they are in the boat at the start of the story, Prospero writes a letter to Sebastian. What does he say? Dear Sebastian…
- When Ferdinand and Miranda first meet what do you think the conversation is between them? Write out the conversation, with four speeches for each character.
- Imagine the story is featured in the news in Milan – what will the report look like? Write the report so that it looks like a page in a newspaper, including a picture.
- Which emojis does each of the characters (Ariel, Caliban, Miranda, Prospero and Sebastian) feel at points throughout the story and which do they feel towards each of the other characters? Think about why they feel this way.
- Thanks to Rowan Mackenzie, founder of ‘Shakespeare
UnBard’, for creating and sharing this resource.
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"The Tempest" Overview of Themes & 5 Classroom Activities for High School
- Peter Boysen
- Categories : High school english lesson plans grades 9 12
- Tags : High school lesson plans & tips
Guiding Themes
The language in William Shakespeare’s plays is difficult for modern readers to understand, particularly struggling high school students, and so a popular way to help these readers has been to develop classroom activities on Shakespeare’s plays. The Tempest expresses the following themes, or major ideas, and one or more of these is the basis for all of the activities in the following sections:
1. If you admit your wrongdoing, you will find redemption. Every one of the wrongdoers in the play admits their misdeeds, and gain redemption at the end.
2. It’s best to forgive and move on. Prospero finally decides to let go of his anger regarding the past.
3. Your best friends are there when they need to be. Thanks to Gonzalo, Prospero and his daughter make it through their trails in the sea.
4. When people explore new lands, they often abuse the indigenous populations. This might seem to be an oddly modern theme for Shakespeare, but he often dealt with themes past his time, like the racism that faced Othello. Also, remember that colonization started more than 200 years before Shakespeare was born, so these concerns were contemporary for him. Some scholars have suggested that Caliban is a symbol for native groups of people that the Europeans mistreated.
Critical Activities
Classroom activities on Shakespeare’s plays, The Tempest among them, can take on a number of forms. These activities are the most analytical and may work best with AP-level classes, or with senior-level English.
1. What separates the theater from reality? This article is a public-domain lecture about ways to interpret the play, and one of the primary arguments suggests that Prospero’s altering of reality expresses the differences between the theater and the real world. What do audiences leave behind when they enter the theater? What assumptions change? Have your students read the lecture, either in small groups or as a homework assignment, and lead a group discussion on the nature of the stage.
2. What is the proper relationship between ruler and subjects? Have your students locate passages describing Caliban’s relationship with Prospero, and compare them with passages showing Prospero’s way of dealing with his subjects in Milan. In what ways is his leadership style the same? What errors does he make in both places?
Creative Activities
In situations where you are dealing with struggling readers who are having a difficult time accessing the text on an analytical level, it can be useful to bring in more creative activities that give them access to the themes involved. Once they have an idea of what is going on and what the author is trying to say, then it becomes easier for them to follow the text. This is the goal for all of these classroom activities on Shakespeare’s plays. The Tempest offers quite a few different opportunities to make these activities meaningful and entertaining.
1. Have students bring five objects that relate to each of the themes listed above. These objects can be pictures, drawings, maps, cutouts from magazines, or small three-dimensional objects. Then, split your class into groups of three, and provide each group with a piece of posterboard. Have the groups use their objects to make collages expressive of The Tempest . You can also have students do this individually.
2. Have your students set up Facebook pages for one or more of the following characters from The Tempest : Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Ferdinand, Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian and Gonzalo. As you read the play, this can turn into a multi-week project as students go in and update the “status” and events for their characters. Evaluate this based on how accurately the pages represent the personalities of the characters, and the events of the plot.
3. Forbidden Planet came out in 1956 and is a sci-fi adaptation of The Tempest . Instead of Caliban, the ruler has built Robby the Robot. Show portions of this movie, either in parallel with portions of a more literal film adaptation or with readings from specific passages from the novel, and ask students how the movie writers have adapted Shakespeare’s ideas. Then, after you have finished the play, have your students write an adapted script of one of the major scenes of the play, but also in a modern genre.
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The Tempest - Points Challenge
Subject: English
Age range: 11-14
Resource type: Lesson (complete)
Last updated
23 January 2020
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A set of creative writing tasks based around The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Each task is worth ‘points’ and students must gain a certain amount of ‘points’ in the lesson.
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The Tempest: 4 Creative Writing Prompts, High School ELA
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EFL Snappy Shakespeare Script: The Tempest
This reduced script tells a story using lines from The Tempest to get students familiar with the material. Perfect for a 20-minute classroom production.
Related resources
Efl creative writing: casting a spell.
This creative writing activity lets students cast their own spell to summon up a tempest.
EFL Creative Writing: Prospero's Island
A creative writing activity in which students write and share their own description of the island in The Tempest.
EFL The Tempest Plot Summary
Plot summary of The Tempest, ideal for for familiarising your students with the what and whereabouts.
EFL A Quiz About The Tempest
Take this quiz to review basic plot points and facts about The Tempest.
EFL The Tempest Soundscape
Have your students create the soundscape of Prospero's island.
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Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Worksheet/Activity. File previews. pdf, 86.81 KB. doc, 36.5 KB. ppt, 1.9 MB. Handouts and PowerPoint: Explore characterisation using The Tempest by Shakespeare, and creative writing activities. Characters: Caliban and Ariel. Includes handouts with the dialogue of Caliban and Ariel.
This creative writing activity lets students cast their own spell to summon up a tempest. Come and learn from us in person! Our Shakespeare experts deliver educational sessions to people of all ages from around the world. A creative writing activity in which students write and share their own description of the island in William Shakespeare's ...
'The Tempest': Traditional Homework tasks Here are some options for homework tasks for each of the lessons in this unit of work. ... Creative writing: Imagine you were an explorer in Elizabethan England. Write about the difficulties you would have faced when out at sea. 3
Creative Writing: Prospero's Island Creating the Island Exploring the Island Example I step out of the boat and my feet tOUCh the warm, soft sand that gets between my toes as I walk. As I look around I see trees taller than houses. The tree trunks are as smooth as their large, green leaves. The leaves spread out like fans.
The Tempest is all about duality and duplicity, both in its plot and its form--plays require actors, and you have to be two-faced to act. In fact, acting is where the word hypocrite came from. To soak up this idea of two-facedness on several levels, we made half-Caliban, half-Ariel masks.
Designed for students studying The Tempest this resource has a selection of creative writing tasks for students to complete over a six week period.By completing all the tasks students will have designed their own island including creating a tribe of people who live on the island, writing their own folk story and drawing a map of the island.
The activities provided in this pack are specifically designed to support KS1-3 pupils in their writing and offers a number of writing opportunities centred around The Tempest, exploring the story, characters and vocabulary. In the 'notes from the classroom' boxes you will find helpful hints and suggestions for how activities might be ...
The Tempest Follow-up written task: Watch the opening 30 seconds of the trailer for the film version of The Tempest on YouTube starring Helen Mirren as Prospero. It contains many jump cut scenes of the storm. Ask children to discuss the atmo-sphere evoked, especially with Elliot Goldenthal's industrial, clanging
Resources and activities. The Tempest opens with a storm, after which survivors of the shipwreck are marooned on an island inhabited by the powerful Magician Prospero, his daughter Miranda and his servants Ariel and Caliban. For young people of all ages, this play is a fantastic way to explore the concepts of freedom and power as well as ...
Differentiation: Add challenge, structure or variety to the task by setting parameters such as: a single word title. a quotation as a title. Victorian style (gifted and talented students, particularly, may enjoy investigating and using this style of writing) Suggested additional creative activities.
The Tempest (a play by William Shakespeare) Prospero is Duke of Milan and lives alone with his daughter Miranda. He spends his time reading his books instead of ruling Milan so his brother (Sebastian) decides to overthrow him and become the Duke. Prospero and Miranda are taken to sea in the middle of the night and left in a leaky boat.
Year 7 Home Learning Booklet 5 Weeks 11 tasks This booklet contains eleven tasks to complete. They should be completed in order and, when finished, emailed to your teacher ... 'The Tempest' was a play written by William Shakespeare between 1610 -1611. During this time, people were leaving England to move to America in the hope of a
The Tempest offers quite a few different opportunities to make these activities meaningful and entertaining. 1. Have students bring five objects that relate to each of the themes listed above. These objects can be pictures, drawings, maps, cutouts from magazines, or small three-dimensional objects. Then, split your class into groups of three ...
The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's most experimental plays. It's set on an isolated island where an old magician called Prospero lives with his lonely daughter Miranda. Get ready to write your own story using characters from Shakespeare's play The Tempest. ... Resources to print - The Tempest (sci-fi) Creative Writing Club - members ...
The Tempest - Points Challenge. Subject: English. Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Lesson (complete) File previews. pptx, 103.32 KB. A set of creative writing tasks based around The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Each task is worth 'points' and students must gain a certain amount of 'points' in the lesson. Creative Commons "Sharealike".
For a comprehensive resource pack, including teaching resources, worksheets, PowerPoints, sequencing tasks and lesson plans, try our The Tempest teaching pack, designed specifically for key stage 3 students with a mix of analytical, creative and drama activities. You can also find a range of resources on Shakespeare's life and context.
Description. Here you'll find four creative writing prompts for The Tempest, as well as some themed paper for students to write on. You can either pass the prompt handout out once and let students choose an option and write, or do a series of creative writing exercises, letting them choose a different option each time and photocopying the ...
Form. The Tempest is a Shakespearean comedy.It is important that the examiner knows from your essay that you understand the conventions of comedy and aspects of it which inform your analysis of the play.It is also worth exploring the elements of this play as a romantic comedy.This produces a more conceptualised answer which takes into account the methods and purpose of Shakespeare as a playwright.
Creative writing Children could create their own magic spells to conjure up a storm, just as Prospero does at the start of the play. This could be done as an acrostic poem spelling out TEMPEST.
This reduced script tells a story using lines from The Tempest to get students familiar with the material. Perfect for a 20-minute classroom production. Download resource (2.1 MB) Come and learn from us in person! Our Shakespeare experts deliver educational sessions to people of all ages from around the world. Explore workshops & courses.
Task: Make a list of ideas to answer the following question. What were the features of a comedy found in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'? When Shakespeare was writing, these were the main features of a comedy: 1. It has a happy ending, usually including a marriage. 2. There are no deaths in the play. 3. There is at least one romantic plot. 4.
William Shakespeare. Authors. William Shakespeare. Title. The Tempest. Four tasks to consolidate students' understanding of the scene, including comprehension questions and a creative response. 31 KB. 97.38 KB. Add to favourites.
Words to use in your haunted house creative writing task. Learn with flashcards, games, and more — for free. ... tempest. a violent storm. clattered. made a rattling sound. whipped. moved, pushed, or pulled quickly and suddenly. crackled. made sharp, snapping sounds. groaned. made a deep moaning sound. murmured.