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I’m creating a collection of journal prompts for the Shakespeare plays that are most commonly taught in high/middle school. So far, I’ve worked on prompts for King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. Below is a sample of the prompts I created for Romeo and Juliet.
Here are links to PDFs of journal prompts for all 5 plays:
KING LEAR, ROMEO AND JULIET, MACBETH, HAMLET, TWELFTH NIGHT
Love to hear your feedback and suggestions for any other plays that you think I should cover. Please drop me a note in the comments below to let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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ROMEO AND JULIET
1. What is your opinion of “love at first sight”?
2. Have you ever found yourself between two friends who are angry at each other? What happened?
3. How hard is it to keep a secret? Are there circumstances when you think you should break a promise about keeping a secret?
4. Who in the play shows the most courage? Give reasons for your choice?
5. Why or why not should parents have any control over the personal lives of their children?
6. Is suicide ever a justified option? Explain your answer.
7. Who is the truest friend in the play? Explain your answer.
8. Is lying ever justified? Explain your answer.
9. Write Juliet’s or Romeo’s diary entry after the balcony scene.
10. Write a letter that Juliet might have written to her parents to be read if she died from the potion that Friar Lawrence gave her.
11. Write a letter that Juliet might have written to Romeo to be read if she died from the potion that Friar Lawrence gave her.
I’ve always thought that a few soliloqueys were missing from Shakespeare’s plays. Perhaps these suggestions will encourage your students to fill in the blanks:
- Nurse while she keeps guard during Romeo’s and Juliet’s wedding night
- Paris before he visits Juliet’s grave
- Romeo as he passes through Verona’s gates into exile
- Juliet after the balcony scene
- Priest after he ‘buries’ Juliet for the first time
Heather E. Wright 
Very cool stuff!
Thanks, Amy. I hope you find the info and links on the site useful.
Good selection of prompts:
My middle schoolers enjoyed “translating” monologues and dialogues from Shakespeare plays into “contemporary English” and performing/reading them for their peers in class.
Thanks for dropping by my website! I’m glad you liked the prompts. I always think that students respond to Shakespeare more positively when they can put the plays ‘on their feet.’ My grade 9s loved acting out scenes from Twelfth Night.
Whatever “moderation” means — being moderated or approved? Okay!
Explored your website. What great templates for students and teachers to use! I liked the one of the dragon/monster with the different types of description.