Shakespeare’s history plays come to life on Fridays at 9pm, beginning September 20, with an ambitious four-part miniseries, The Hollow Crown. The series  assembles four of Shakespeare’s history plays — Richard II, Henry IV, Parts I & II, and Henry V — into a single, chronological narrative. The original “Game of Thrones” has inspired bold film adaptations with a cast of leading British and Hollywood talent such as  Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Ben Whishaw, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, and Julie Walters.

At the Great Performances’ website, you’ll find an Education link where you can search by title, genre, andgrade level as well as a synopsis and video of each play and a downloadable Educator’s Guide.  Among the vast number of PBS LearningMedia resources for Shakespeare, there’s Infographics:  Shakespeare’s Game of the Hollow Crown,  based on three of Shakespeare’s history plays — Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.  Using the plays as a map, you and students can follow the history of rebellion in 15th century England and the successive stories of three kings: Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V.  Teachers can also print and hang them up in the classroom to enhance learning.