Hamlet characters – barrier game

This is an information gap activity designed for beginner EAL learners as an introduction to, or revision of, the main characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Learners work in pairs to identify their partners’ characters after listening carefully to a description.

Learners choose six characters each and they place them on a grid. A barrier is placed between each pair and each person has to identify the character in Hamlet that their partner is describing. They describe the character according to their relationship with another character, e.g. She is Hamlet’s mother.

There is a substitution table to help scaffold the descriptions of the characters. This activity also gives an opportunity to practise prepositions of place, e.g. the top square on the left.

Resource downloads

On the right hand side of this page are a number of documents that you can download for free. Please note that the Teaching Notes and Resources can be found in the pdf document (the first item on the list), whilst the PowerPoint document(s) include(s) presentation(s) which you can display on your interactive board in your classroom.

© The Bell Educational Trust Limited. This resource is free to use for educational purposes.

This resource was originally developed by EAL Nexus and has been adapted for The Bell Foundation’s teaching materials and resources. The resource was formally referenced as EAL Nexus.