These are the notes you wish that the previous teacher had left behind-the basics that you need to get on with your job: scene summaries, homework questions, backgrounds to the play and Shakespeare's time, themes and essay topics. Your teaching time is limited, but you want your students to get as much out of the text as possible in the short time in which you have to teach it. In your wildest dreams, you want them all to love it. At the least, (which isn't a small thing at all) you want them to feel like competent readers with the ability to take on a new text and find the keys to understanding it. To help you find what you need, this book is organized into 7 sections: 1. Context 2. Key Themes and Images 3. Format/Genre 4. Scene-by-Scene - plus handy homework questions 5. Topics for Journal Writing 6. The 5-Paragraph Essay - plus an essay-writing template, a sample essay, and links to evaluation rubrics. 7. Online Resources