The Hamlet Examiner
a WebQuest for English 30-1
by M. Howson
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The Hamlet Examiner |
"To be or not to be!" Well, that is a very deep question. You have read Shakespeare’s "Hamlet," but did you really understand Hamlet or what was going on in his life? Hamlet’s world was much more challenging than we envisioned. You’re going to use the Web to delve more deeply into the world of Hamlet and get a better understanding of the world he lived in, outside the Court and inside.
Using " Hamlet" and Internet links, you will work in a cooperative group of three and research, write and edit a newspaper that contains information from the play and researched material from the 1600’s. You will then create a playbill that will prepare viewers for the play.
Part A-Group Project
Create a newspaper reporting the major events of the play. You should include a minimum of five feature stories. Those stories could include the following topics: Hamlet (his madness and his relationship with Ophelia), Claudius (as new king), Polonius (his murder), Ophelia (her madness and death), etc. Your paper must also include other newspaper elements: advertisements, horoscopes, an advice column, and any other extras you wish. Your paper can be serious or follow a tabloid format. Since the play takes place over a few months, you may want to give you paper a “Year in Review” format. Your newspaper must include a banner and follow a newspaper format (headlines, features, use columns, etc.)
Part B-Individual Project
Design a program (a “Playbill” as its known in the theatre community) for the upcoming theatre production of Hamlet. The program must provide all the information the audience needs to prepare them for the play. There should be a brief synopsis of the plot so first time theatre goers will know what’s going on as well as brief biographies of the leading actors and the parts they will be playing. The program must be visually interesting -- it should make use of graphic design and, possibly, illustrations. Furthermore, the program should emphasize the unique features of this particular production.
| 1. |
You are part of a newspaper TEAM.
You will all take on the roles of reporter. You may want to further
break your team into the following roles: Chief Editor, Assistant
Editor, and Publisher. |
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Chief Editor: Your job will entail making sure the final copy of the newspaper has been refined and proofread and is ready to go to press. This means that all the articles are appropriate and follow the guidelines of the rubric. Assistant Editor: You will be responsible for helping to edit and proofread the articles and you will also help with the layout of the paper. Publisher: Your job is to help find a format for your paper and help with the typing and layout of the articles. Reporters: Each of you will be using your news
writing skills to submit an article on one of the topics outlined in the
rubric. |
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| 2. |
Since you will
be writing a newspaper as a group, check out these 1700’s
newspapers.
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| 3. |
To aid you in your research of the happenings of the
1600’s, look at the following Web sites:
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| 4. | Use Microsoft Publisher to create the newspaper in the style of the time. A template has been provided as a starting point. Newspaper Template | ||||||||||
| 5. | Extra pages may be added to enhance your paper such as crossword puzzles (http://puzzlemaker.com/), cartoons, and editorials. | ||||||||||
| 6. | Students striving for excellence are encouraged to explore beyond suggested sites and utilize supplementary information in the creation of their newspaper. | ||||||||||
Your newspaper will be
evaluated using a newspaper rubric.
The playbill will be evaluated using
the handbill rubric.
This webquest has been adapted from another webquest called "Hamlet Tabloid" created by Mrs. Koivu at Huntley High School in Missoula, Montana.
Now that you have a better understanding of what Hamlet’s world was about, I hope you enjoyed producing your newspaper. It was great to see all those wonderful writing skills you have accumulated put to such a creative use. I know that I will enjoy reading your newspapers. So, to answer the question put forth by Hamlet, I find “To Be” is a wonderful experience.
