Provide students with contextual information about "Romeo and Juliet." Include biographical information about Shakespeare, as well as cultural information about 16th- and 17th-century England. Also, show students an image of Shakespeare. Many students will find his appearance humorous, and this will lighten the classroom mood. Once students have been taught the context on Shakespeare and his work, assign some of Shakespeare's sonnets as reading material. The short length of the sonnets makes them a good introduction to Shakespearean language.
Show film adaptations of "Romeo and Juliet" in class. Encourage students to read the play along with the actors on the screen. Students will read the play in an entirely different perspective when they hear the words acted out. This makes the play more real and meaningful to students. If appropriate for your students, consider showing Baz Luhrmann's 1996 adaptation "Romeo + Juliet." This version features a modern-day setting that students are likely to find more relatable and entertaining.
Have students act out key scenes from "Romeo and Juliet." Modernize their performances by retelling the scenes in a contemporary, possibly amusing context. For example, rewrite the famous balcony scene between Romeo and Juliet with modern dialogue taking place over the phone. Make the dialogue purposely exaggerated and amusing. Then, have students volunteer to act out your revised scene in front of the class. Your students will better relate to the play when they are genuinely entertained by their classmates' performance.
Divide students into groups and have them choose their own scenes to retell from "Romeo and Juliet." Encourage them to be creative and contemporary while staying as true to the original meaning as possible. This will get students to consider the underlying meaning of the text and apply it in a conceptual way to their own writing.
Have students act out their own retellings in front of the classroom. Encourage them to act as dramatic as possible. This will motivate students to truly get into the spirit of the play and have fun. Once you have made "Romeo and Juliet" fun for the classroom, your students will genuinely appreciate the play rather than simply learning the necessary information.