Annotated+List+of+Additional+Online+Media

The following sites provide various media resources for students, either for school research, further study, or enjoyment. By exploring the histories of authors and their respective times, students will gain the background information necessary to delve deeply into their literary texts with full engagement. These sites are also helpful because they provide multiple ways for diverse learners to work with the material of class on different levels; students with special needs can utilize the visuals of the sites to gain a better grasp of nuances in the texts, and gifted and talented students can use the various research opportunities for creatively branching off the core of the curriculum. Struggling readers can make great use of the clips from the Royal Shakespeare Company or entire BBC productions to supplement their understanding of texts by having visuals and live performances. English language learners can also benefit from these auditory opportunities, hearing the texts, rather than just having to read them. Both struggling readers and English language learners can also make use of the many summaries provided on The Republic of Pemberley and Folger Shakespeare Library sites to help map out the plots of difficult novels. Gifted and talented students often want to go further and learn more than class time provides, but don’t know where to start; these sites are all excellent and reputable launching points. The Folger Library and Official Site of the British Monarchy are superb places to simply get lost in, stumbling across new topics and complexities that will spur new interests and subjects for independent reading. [|**http://www.bbc.co.uk/**] The BBC is the primary British news site, but the BBC also produce a large amount of content, and can often be searched for docudramas of famous literary works, which are made for television. Whether one wants to search for clips of famous literary works on screen, or reviews of Shakespearean performances, the BBC can be a good starting point, not to mention a place to order merchandise related to many famous British authors. Students who go above and beyond, like reading additional works by authors studied in class, might find the DVD’s and companion books sold on the site helpful for independent study and pleasure. They can also use it as an informational tool, finding out which films to search for on YouTube.
 * Annotated List of Additional Online Media **  **// For British Literature //**
 * BBC Website **

[|**http://www.folger.edu/**] Located in Washington, D.C. behind the Capitol, The Folger Shakespeare Library is the place for doing research on Shakespeare in person. Their website provides online access into their extensive collections. One might not be able to actually handle documents from afar, but the site provides extensive information on Shakespeare, as well as digital access into some of their collections. This is a great place for students to explore the history of Shakespearean performances, as well as primary documents and photographs they might add to projects or use to supplement their readings.
 * Folger Shakespeare Library **

[|**http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/**] The Norton Anthology is the primary text for many college English classes, and though the actual Norton books would be too complex for most high school students, their background information on the various literary periods is detailed and incredibly clear. This site is a great resource for research into time periods, authors, or their works. Aside from having them use it for projects, I would start units off with students browsing the site for interesting facts pertaining to whatever we are about to study.
 * The Norton Anthology of English Literature **

[|**http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/HistoryoftheMonarchy.aspx**] This official website of the British monarchy is the most extensive resource on kings and queens of yore, as well as recent history. Students can play with timelines and explore in countless ways, including locations, documents, periods, or the monarchs themselves. Since so much of British literature is set against the backdrop of a particular monarch’s rule, this would be a great place for students to expand their knowledge of works studied in class in a broader context. Throughout the year, I would assign students different subjects covered on the site, on which to do presentations to the class. We could even use what we learn from this site to have “history days” in which we dress up or eat something as if we are in that era of British history.
 * The Official Website of the British Monarchy **

[|**http://www.pemberley.com/**]
 * The Republic of Pemberley **

[|**http://twitter.com/#!/pemberleydotcom**] The Republic of Pemberley is a very extensive fan site for Austen readers, especially fanatics. It goes in depth into all her novels, provides a vast number of links to Austen areas of interest, features various people’s fanfiction, and even has a discussion board for people to talk about the books. This site would be a good place for students to begin researching Austen’s life, as well as the various locations in her writing, and it also would provide them with an opportunity to see just how extensive Austen’s fan base is.
 * Twitter- The Republic of Pemberley **

[|**http://www.rsc.org.uk/**]
 * The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Website **

[|**http://twitter.com/#!/TheRSC**] The Royal Shakespeare Company is the premiere theater organization in England. For any student looking for performances to watch, this is where they should go to find the best of the best doing Shakespeare. Clips and links can lead to knowledge of what has been done and who has done it, which can be a great launching point for YouTube searching. Shakespeare is an immense part of British literature, and Shakespeare was meant to be performed, so this is definitely a place for students to browse. RSC also has a Twitter site that talks about current shows and sends shouts out to major British actors and RSC veterans. It can be interesting for students to see just how alive Shakespearean theater is, and this is its truest evidence.
 * Twitter- The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) **