UKS2 Literacy - William Shakespeare's Hamlet - Play Script & Reading Comprehension Bundle

Two resources perfect for students learning about Hamlet by William Shakespeare; a play script written for young performers and a reading comprehension activity.

The play script has been rewritten to be suitable for ages 9 to 14. Hamlet tells the story of a Prince whose father, the King, has just died. His father’s ghost visits him and tells him that the new King, Claudius – who has married his mother – was the killer. Hamlet wants revenge and the story follows a bloody path in which he takes revenge but loses his own life, and the life of the woman he loves – Ophelia.

The play script is a mix of modern English with some of the famous lines from the real play mixed in as well. There are 15 speaking roles, and extra characters for up to 25-30 people. Ideal for theater performances or plays, reading activities or guided reading sessions.

The second activity is an Informational text activity with comprehension and grammar questions about William Shakespeare’s most popular play, Hamlet. The reading comprehension activity focuses on the main storyline of the play and it’s history, and concludes with comprehension and grammar questions. It also contains an extension activity for fast-finishing students. It is aimed at students between the ages of 9-13.

The activities require NO PREP and have a body of text that students need to read through thoroughly; then they can use the text to find the comprehension and grammar answers. All texts then have an extension activity for those fast finishers.

Answers, for teacher use, are on the final page of the document.

Time allowance for each activity (one hour - four hours in total)
5 minutes - read through the text individually.
40 minutes - answer questions using the text as guidance (including extension activity)
15 minutes - Teacher and students go through the text and answers