Go to the library and borrow an audio book of Shakespeare, Chaucer or another famous Renaissance author. Choose a few passages that contain a number of archaic words or idioms and play these audio book passages for your class. Ask them to translate the passages into modern vernacular. Pass out photocopies of these passages made from the actual texts if your students are having difficulty hammering out the meaning of the passages. Look up unknown words online or in an encyclopedia. This interactive class activity will highlight the different speech patterns of the Renaissance Era.
Give each student a list of words that were commonly used in Renaissance literature. Ask them to silently write their own short stories in 20 minutes; the stories should incorporate each of the Renaissance Era words on the handout. When the 20 minutes are up, have each student come to the front of the class and read his or her story aloud.
As homework, have your students research the common dress styles of the Renaissance Era. Ask them to come to class dressed up in Renaissance attire on a particular day. Pass out copies of a scene from a play by Shakespeare, and break your classroom up into groups. Have them pick roles and practice the scene within their groups, then ask each group to perform a "dress rehearsal" of their scene in front of the class.
Print and pass out a copy of the Renaissance literature word search puzzle to each member of your class. Give them 10 minutes to find and circle as many of the Renaissance relevant terms as possible. Reward the top three scorers with extra credit on an upcoming exam. You can also make this activity more interactive by splitting your class into three equal groups and letting them work together to find as many words as possible. If you choose this option, the entire winning group should earn extra credit.