A2CEFRReading12 min

Reading: The Story of Shakespeare's Globe

Dance, theatre and live shows

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🎭 Reading & History A2 Level • 12 Mins

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

A simple look at London's famous playhouse and its journey through time.

📋 How to use this lesson

👩‍🏫 For the teacher:

Spend 12 minutes on this activity, and guide students through the eight questions.

Check answers by reading the three-part notes below each question with the class.

🧑‍🎓 For the learner:

First, read the short passage once and review the new words in the word bank.

Next, solve the questions and find the exact sentence in the text that proves each answer.

Website Article: London Theatre News Reading Text

A circular Elizabethan wooden theatre in London open to the blue sky with daylight shining into the yard, warm timber ar

The Story of Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare's Globe is a theatre in London. The first Globe opened in 1599, and Shakespeare's acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, built it. In 1613, a fire burned the theatre down. The company built a second Globe in a year, with a tile roof instead of a thatch roof. A thatch roof is a roof made of dry plants. In 1642, Parliament closed the second Globe. An American actor, Sam Wanamaker, started a group called the Shakespeare Globe Trust to build the Globe again. The new Globe opened in 1997. Today, it is an open-air wooden theatre.

📖 Words to know

acting company

A group of actors who perform together in plays.

thatch roof

A roof cover made from dry straw, reeds, or plants.

tile roof

A hard roof made of baked pieces that do not burn easily.

Parliament

The group of leaders who make government laws.

open-air

Outside in nature, with no roof over the center space.

wooden

Made from the hard material of trees.

💡 Helpful sentence pattern

Look at how we connect two past actions in one sentence with and:

"The theatre put on a new show, and the tickets sold out in one day."

In our reading: "The first Globe opened in 1599, and Shakespeare's acting company built it." Both events happened in the past, so we use past verbs connected with and.

✏️ Practice Questions (From Easy to Hard)

Answer each question, then review the evidence note from the article.

Question 1 • True / False Level: Easy

Shakespeare's Globe is a theatre in London.

____ True ____ False

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: True.

Evidence: "Shakespeare's Globe is a theatre in London."

Why: The opening sentence directly states where the theatre is located.

Question 2 • True / False Level: Easy

Shakespeare's acting company opened the first Globe in 1642.

____ True ____ False

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: False.

Evidence: "The first Globe opened in 1599, and Shakespeare's acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, built it."

Why: The first Globe opened in 1599, not in 1642.

Question 3 • Multiple Choice Level: Easy

What happened to the first theatre in 1613?

____ a. Parliament closed it down. ____ b. A fire burned it down. ____ c. Sam Wanamaker bought it. ____ d. The company sold it to an actor.

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: b.

Evidence: "In 1613, a fire burned the theatre down."

Why: The passage says directly that fire destroyed the building in 1613.

Question 4 • Multiple Choice Level: Medium

How was the roof of the second Globe different from the first?

____ a. It had a thatch roof made of dry plants. ____ b. It had a glass roof to let in more daylight. ____ c. It had a tile roof instead of a thatch roof. ____ d. It had no roof because it was completely open.

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: c.

Evidence: "The company built a second Globe in a year, with a tile roof instead of a thatch roof."

Why: The builders changed the roof from dry plants to tiles.

Question 5 • Matching Level: Medium

Match each historical year to what happened:

Historical Event

1613

1642

Parliament closed the second Globe

____ 1613 ____ 1642

A fire burned the theatre down

____ 1613 ____ 1642

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: Parliament closed the theatre = 1642; Fire burned the theatre = 1613.

Evidence: "In 1613, a fire burned the theatre down." / "In 1642, Parliament closed the second Globe."

Why: The article pairs each year with its specific event.

Question 6 • Matching Level: Medium-Hard

Match each person or group to their action:

Person or Group

Built First Globe

Started Trust Group

Sam Wanamaker

____ Built First Globe ____ Started Trust Group

Lord Chamberlain's Men

____ Built First Globe ____ Started Trust Group

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: Sam Wanamaker = Started Trust Group; Lord Chamberlain's Men = Built First Globe.

Evidence: "Shakespeare's acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, built it." / "Sam Wanamaker, started a group called the Shakespeare Globe Trust..."

Why: The passage connects each group or person to their specific work.

Question 7 • Short Answer Level: Hard

In what year did the new Globe theatre open?

The new Globe opened in ____ .

Show answer and evidence (teacher)

Answer: 1997.

Evidence: "The new Globe opened in 1997."

Why: The text gives this exact year for the reopening of the new building.

Question 8 • Short Answer Level: Hard

What kind of theatre is Shakespeare's Globe today?

Today, it is an ____ wooden theatre.

Show answer and evidence (teacher)