Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What was life like for the average person in England during the late 1500s?

Teaching Suggestion: The Shakespeare Stealer is set at the end of the 1500s, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch. Students do not need in-depth historical knowledge to appreciate the text, but some insight into how the average person’s lifestyle differed from modern lifestyles will increase their empathy for the book’s protagonist, Widge, and their understanding of the book’s plot and themes. If students struggle to give preliminary answers to this prompt without additional background knowledge, you might offer the resources below before they answer the question and then use their answers to gauge their understanding.

• This page from DK findout! offers interactive information about life in Tudor England that is easily accessible to younger readers.
• This 9-minute video offers a glimpse into the daily lives of people within various socioeconomic classes during the 1500s.

2. Who is William Shakespeare, and why are his works still read today?