
I will never forget the first time I read Romeo and Juliet. Fear is a memory maker. I was a freshman who didn’t attend middle school with the rest of my classmates, so I was new, shy, and worried that I wasn’t as smart as everyone else. My 9th-grade English teacher was almost as intimidating as the language, but she had a knack for teaching Shakespeare. Once she helped me gain comprehension confidence, I remember thinking that if I can read this, I can read anything. What a gift Mrs. Babcock gave me– a gift I would love to pass along to you and your students too! Though it can be challenging, with some engaging Romeo and Juliet activities, lessons, and teaching ideas, you’ll be able to help your students fall in love with the play and boost their reading confidence in the process.
Overview of Romeo and Juliet
Considered Shakespeare’s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story set in the city of Verona, Italy. The main characters are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who fall deeply in love despite their families being bitter enemies.
One night, at a masquerade party hosted by the Capulets, Romeo and Juliet meet and instantly fall in love. However, once unmasked, they soon discover they belong to families of sworn enemies who will forbid their relationship.
Despite the danger and opposition from their families, Romeo and Juliet decide to marry secretly with the help of Friar Laurence. However, their happiness is short-lived when a series of misunderstandings and tragic events unfold.

What are the Themes of Romeo and Juliet?
The main themes of Romeo and Juliet are the power of love, hate, and fate. A fun way to introduce these themes and other topics is with a Romeo and Juliet BINGO board. As you can see, students can use the board to see how well they relate to topics, try to guess how they might all be connected, and get a visual general overview of the play. Would you like a copy of this Romeo and Juliet BINGO board? You can grab FREE resources by signing up for my Building Book Love Letter here:
Romeo and Juliet Synopsis
My favorite way to provide an overview of the play without plot spoilers is to hand out a playbill with a synopsis and preview of the characters. Not only does this spark interest and give them a general overview of Romeo and Juliet, but it also helps keep student readers organized.
Romeo and Juliet Timeline of Events
Students need to keep Romeo and Juliet events in order so that they don’t get confused. One way to do this is to create a timeline of events on your board and add to it each day. This will serve as a visual review reference point for key events and classroom discussions. For a fun twist, you can have students choose which emojis best summarize the events. You can either draw or print these images to add to your timeline.
Romeo and Juliet Events in Order:
- Act I: The Montagues and Capulets’ age-old feud erupts into violence, setting the stage for the star-crossed lovers’ meeting.
- Act II: Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love, and Friar Laurence agrees to marry them in secret.
- Act III: A violent and unexpected turn leaves the couple desperate and Friar Laurence devises a plan to reunite them.
- Act IV: Juliet seeks refuge with Friar Lawrence, and a dangerous plan is hatched to reunite her with Romeo.
- Act V: Tragedy strikes as a series of miscommunications leads to the couple’s untimely deaths.

Introducing Romeo and Juliet
Like with every unit, it’s important to hook students from the start with engaging pre reading activities! Here are some Romeo and Juliet intro ideas that will spark their curiosity and help set the tone of the play:
- Explore the setting – When you are thinking about how to introduce Romeo and Juliet, pull out your passport and take a virtual trip to Europe. First stop, Italy. From Verona walking tours to Italian ambience, there are plenty of online options for immersing students in the setting of Romeo and Juliet.
- Tour The Globe- Did you know The Globe offers a free virtual tour along with other free resources? I had the opportunity to visit The Globe in person in 2018, but I can assure you that this interactive 360 tour is the next best thing!
- Spark curiosity- The third stop includes six different stops in the form of Romeo and Juliet introduction stations. For example, station two piques their interest by helping students discover relatable Romeo and Juliet themes. Station three provides some necessary context, and station five walks them through a set of Romeo and Juliet anticipation questions.
How to Make Romeo and Juliet Fun
Once high schoolers get over the challenging Shakespearean language, Romeo and Juliet can be a lot of fun because it lends itself well to performance and imagination.
Teaching Romeo and Juliet allows students to gain a deeper understanding of universal themes such as love, hate, and fate while helping them tap into their creativity through set design, reenactments, and group activities.
With some engaging Romeo and Juliet activities, you’ll be able to help students appreciate the beauty and richness of Shakespearean language while developing their critical thinking skills.
Romeo and Juliet Unit Plan
The unifying elements of this Romeo and Juliet unit plan are the Interactive Notes and Acting Troupe Drama Activities. They’re incorporated through the entire unit plan for Romeo and Juliet, ensuring that your students not only understand Shakespeare’s language but also bring it to life. The interactive notes help students decipher the text and encourage critical thinking, while the drama activities add an element of fun and gamification. Together, they create an engaging learning experience for your students.

Romeo and Juliet Prologue Activities
Teaching the prologue of Romeo and Juliet only takes a few minutes, but the confidence (or lack thereof) you instill in students will last the entirety of the play. Therefore, I think it’s well worth slowing down during the prologue and the first few scenes to make sure students understand the premise before moving on. One way to do this is to have students read and analyze the first pages of the graphic novel version of Romeo and Juliet.
- Q: What symbolism do you notice on the prologue pages? (summer, cemetery, vantage point)
- Q: How does the illustrator distinguish the Capulets and Montagues? (clothing colors)
- Q: Why do you think the author gives an overview of the plot in the beginning?

Romeo and Juliet Activities Act 1 (Act I)
Just like when Romeo meets Juliet, first impressions are everything. Make sure your Romeo and Juliet lessons for Act I lure students in, keep them interested, and most importantly set them up for Shakespeare success. As I mentioned above with the prologue, I think it’s worth taking your time with Act I. It’s much easier to make up time later than to rush through the groundwork. That said, you’ll need some fun Romeo and Juliet activities to break up the challenging reading and engage students with the text such as:
- Use interactive notes to break up the text and chunk close reading
- Help students explore drama techniques through warm-up games
- Get crafty by having students use evidence to design masks for characters
- Host a masquerade mingle where students rotate and discuss Act I

Romeo and Juliet Activities Act 2 (Act II)
If you ever get the chance to visit Verona, I hope you take it! I feel like it’s often an overlooked Italian destination, but it was honestly one of my favorite stops. We were staying in Venice (which is magical too) and took a day trip to Verona so that I could see the famous Juliet balcony. I don’t care if it’s not real. It was real in my heart haha! I wish I could bottle up that experience and share it with every English teacher. But since you are likely reading this from your classroom rather than an idyllic café in Italy, we’ll need to get creative. Here are some ways to bring Act II to life with fun Romeo and Juliet activities:
- Use interactive notes to keep track of the plot and practice close reading skills
- Incorporate set design by having students create a finger puppet play for an important scene
- Transform your classroom into a wedding reception
- Have students “gossip” about the young couple’s marriage during a group discussion

Romeo and Juliet Activities Act 3 (Act III)
Now that the stage is set, it’s time to dig deeper into the conflicts of the play to better understand the stark choices that the star-crossed lovers are facing. This is also an act where you can speed up the pace a bit by summarizing or showing scenes rather than closely reading the entire act. To do this, here are some Romeo and Juliet teaching ideas:
- Incorporate drama techniques by having groups act out an important scene
- Use interactive notes to summarize important information and analyze key scenes
- Show a film adaptation to review and sum up the play thus far (see below for film options)

Romeo and Juliet Activities Act 4 (Act IV)
The biggest plot-driving elements of the play are miscommunication and dramatic irony. Act IV is a great place to incorporate Romeo and Juliet lessons on irony and the juxtaposition of love and hate. Here are some Romeo and Juliet activities:
- Show a mini-lesson on irony
- Use interactive notes to practice irony and paraphrase key scenes
- Play Irony Improv with acting troupe groups to really make the lesson stick

Romeo and Juliet lessons Act 5 (Act V)
Ahh, Act V. The act that makes English teachers question why so many people, including Taylor Swift, view this play as a love story more than a tragedy. Though the prologue literally tells us how this play is going to end, it’s still a shock and will be something your students will always remember. Here are some Romeo and Juliet lessons that will end the play on a reflective note:
- Use interactive notes to process the ending and analyze the themes
- Inform students about the real-life letters to Juliet Club
- Have students write a reflective letter to Juliet
- Incorporate drama techniques by creating Theme Tableaus

After Reading Romeo and Juliet Teaching Ideas
Just because the curtain has fallen doesn’t mean the learning ends. Post-Romeo and Juliet activities are an excellent way to solidify understanding and extend the conversation, ensuring Romeo and Juliet’s lessons and legacy live on. Here are some Romeo and Juliet activities for after you finish reading the play:
- Connect the themes in Romeo and Juliet to music. You can find a musical match choice board and literary analysis in this Romeo and Juliet unit plan.
- Listen to a love-themed podcast. One of the best podcast pairings I’ve found for Romeo and Juliet is Reservation Math: Navigating Love in Native America by Smithsonian Sidedoor.
- Research real-life cases of lovers fighting against outside forces like Loving v Virginia.
- Assign interesting essay topics (I include three literary analysis options in this Romeo and Juliet unit plan)
- Assess knowledge with a Romeo and Juliet unit test (I include one in this Romeo and Juliet unit plan)

Romeo and Juliet Movie by William Shakespeare
Plays are meant to be watched! One of the best ways to review Romeo and Juliet and ensure comprehension is to watch a production of the play. Here are some choices for a Romeo and Juliet Movie by William Shakespeare.
Romeo and Juliet Movie Adaptations:
Please note that just like the play itself, all Romeo and Juliet movie adaptations contain violence, nudity, and sexual content. They may also glorify suicide. I highly recommend listening to this podcast episode about themes of youth and how it plays into the film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
- Romeo & Juliet (2013) PG-13- Written by the creator of Downton Abbey and starring Hailee Steinfeld, this teen-friendly take on the Bard’s classic is a beautiful (and tame) choice according to Common Sense Media who rates this one for ages 13+.
- Romeo & Juliet (1968) PG- If you are looking for a classic, PG-rated option, then this classic version will be a safe option according to Common Sense Media who rates this one for ages 14+ though in another review, a teacher points out this version has more nudity than the 1996 version below.
- Romeo & Juliet (1996) PG-13- Though rated PG-13, the Leonardo DiCaprio version is the edgiest choice according to Common Sense Media who rates this one for ages 16+ mostly due to excessive violence.
Romeo and Juliet Theatre Productions:
- You can find several theater productions online for free, but one thing I love about the free resources in the Shakespeare at Play website is how they organize the videos by scene. So, even if you don’t want to show a full movie or production of Romeo and Juliet, you can show a few key scenes.
Romeo and Juliet Cartoons and Animations
As we know, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, so if you are looking for something that will make the content a little lighter, here are some Romeo and Juliet cartoons and animations.
- Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) G – When I asked my community about their favorite movie pairings for Romeo and Juliet, Gnomeo and Juliet was their favorite by far. It’s a creative and much less tragic take on the classic love story which reflects its G rating.
- Cartoon Romeo and Juliet (2013) Not rated- Another animated Romeo and Juliet option is this free movie. While the language is not comparable to Shakespeare, it could serve as a fantastic example of how to paraphrase his archaic vocabulary into modern lines.

Romeo and Juliet Adaptation Ideas
Diverse classrooms require diverse teaching strategies, and when approaching a complex text like Romeo and Juliet, adaptability is key. If you are looking for Romeo and Juliet ESL activities or ways to make sure every student has an opportunity to engage with the play, here are some adaptation ideas:
- Visualize with a Romeo and Juliet graphic novel- For students who are visual learners and striving readers, a graphic novel adaptation can be a game changer. Graphic novels not only break down the language into digestible chunks but also make the narrative come alive with visuals. If you don’t have the funding for a classroom set, you can get creative by allowing students to digitally flip through the preview to start the play and then use a single copy for read-alouds as the play progresses.
- Translate with helpful resources- How about turning the Bard’s words into a language they better understand? Sites like My Shakespeare translate key scenes using simpler language. This not only helps students understand the content but also bolsters their confidence by showing that they can indeed “speak Shakespeare.”
- Watch movie recaps- Watching a film adaptation, particularly one that’s modern and relatable, can help students understand the plot and characters and review acts before moving on.
- Chunk scenes for understanding- Consider ‘chunking’ the play into more manageable segments. Rather than analyzing entire scenes or acts at once, break the text down into smaller, digestible parts. This approach respects the depth of the material while accommodating students who may need more support. The interactive notes in this Romeo and Juliet unit are designed to help you easily chunk and check for understanding.
Remember, while you guide your students through the pages of Romeo and Juliet, you are not just teaching them about literature; you are teaching them about love, tragedy, and the human condition. With some engaging Romeo and Juliet activities, lessons, and teaching ideas, you’ll be well on your way to making memories with Shakespeare’s plays!