I'm going to have to try and teach a Shakespeare text to a group of 10 or so 7th - 8th graders (12-14 years old). We're in Puerto Rico.
Any ideas on how I might make this a good class would be appreciated. Thanks.
David J.
to be or not to be
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First of all, it is important that you pick the right play. A midsummer nights dream or The tempest are good for this age group. (Hamlet is very heavy for one's first introduction to Shakespeare.)
Find a good film version of the play for the students to watch as you read each scene. These plays were meant to be seen, not read. Also, because the language is so antiquated, students will have a hard time following the plot without some kind of guide.
I also like to have students do plot timelines for complicated works. I find that plot timelines are best done as a whole class project. I like to use roll paper and do it as a line around the room.
Some other nice projects include: making costumes or masks for one of the characters in the play, building a replica of the globe theatre, staging a scene or soliloquy from the play(for parent night), trying to write in iambic pentameter- (I try to keep this light by getting the students to try to make funny sentences or jokes in iambic pentameter), writing a character analysis about their favourite character in the play, modernizing the language of the play and performing their own adaptations of scenes, researching trivia about the Elizabethan era in England and playing a 'jeopardy' type game with the facts they have learned.
Find a good film version of the play for the students to watch as you read each scene. These plays were meant to be seen, not read. Also, because the language is so antiquated, students will have a hard time following the plot without some kind of guide.
I also like to have students do plot timelines for complicated works. I find that plot timelines are best done as a whole class project. I like to use roll paper and do it as a line around the room.
Some other nice projects include: making costumes or masks for one of the characters in the play, building a replica of the globe theatre, staging a scene or soliloquy from the play(for parent night), trying to write in iambic pentameter- (I try to keep this light by getting the students to try to make funny sentences or jokes in iambic pentameter), writing a character analysis about their favourite character in the play, modernizing the language of the play and performing their own adaptations of scenes, researching trivia about the Elizabethan era in England and playing a 'jeopardy' type game with the facts they have learned.