Weblinks

1)Lego Hamlet - Anthony Taylor

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_sVVOY3J4g

You have seen the Lego movie.. now watch the Lego Hamlet.

This is an imaginative and clever use of stop animation to depict the story of Hamlet. Whilst the acting is not to the standard of the Royal Shakespeare Company, it does show you what can be achieved with digital photography, some lego and lots of imagination. This would be an excellent activity for the library to run in conjunction with the local high school - students can film a scene of Hamlet using stop motion animation (whether it uses lego or clay, or any item). By creating mini films the students are engaging with the play and all its nuances. The entries can be posted on to the library website for all to share.

2) http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/

Shmoop is a digital publishing company that provides educational support to students on a series of topics. This is a comprehensive website that has web pages on themes, analysis, quizzes, links to other websites as well as many other Hamlet related topics. It is presented in a quirky humourous way which will engage a teen audience. This is a valuable resource which can be used as a starting point for students who are grappling with Hamlet for the first time. 

3)http://www.sporcle.com/games/tags/hamlet

This website is a conglomeration of online quizzes for students to go through and test their knowledge. They are of varying levels of quality and sophistication, but can provide a bit of light relief (and mental stimulation) after studying.

4)Lion King and Hamlet - common themes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBC4IyX3gIc

This video has been created to highlight the parallels between the Disney film, The Lion King and Hamlet. Students can then think about other well known films\books\songs which may have been influenced by Hamlet. Are the themes in Hamlet found in other famous works. Again this could be an activity that students do as a collaborative project between the library and the school. A display of the linked works could be set up in the library to share their findings with the broader public (who could also learn something new). It has the benefit of bring teens into the library, but also showing the broader library community what they have been doing. This could help break down some of the barriers that exist between the teen community and the rest of the library community who may view them as disruptive and noisy.

5 )http://www.reddit.com/r/shakespeare/search?q=hamlet&sort=relevance&restrict_sr=on&t=all

Reddit is a website where the content is generated by users. This is a great forum for students to use to ask questions, or to follow topics of discussions. eg, 

11

Is the Ghost truly Hamlet's father's spirit? Or is it a demonic entity tempting young Hamlet to hell?

This  query resulted in a discussion of 48 comments in a relatively short space of time. Admittedly because it is user generated content, students need to put their information literacy filters on, but the discussions could spark a new way of looking at things, or a resource worth following up on.

It gives users the ability to tap into a broader knowledge base of the many global Reddit users who share a common interest.