Shakespeare Made Easy.

Every year my students gripe and whine when they are told they need to do Shakespeare, mostly because several of them had bad past experiences. I've met teachers too who shy away or dread teaching the work of the bard. Yet, I relish it, my students by the end of the unit admit they enjoy it too. Why? Because of the approach. I make students bring in props, act, and yes I've made props myself out of whatever I could find. I've made a paper tree in my room and had student post love notes on it when we covered "As You Like It", some would wear witch hats for "Macbeth", and we even made a prop of fake poison (it was really Gatorade) for Romeo and Juliet. Of course not all the students can act and waiting till the end of each act to answer questions can be difficult, so I have students answer using an interactive study guide while we read through each act ( these can be found at my store: Educate and Create).

Before I get into any play I cover background information and elements of tragedy or Elements of Comedy depending on the play. In addition I incorporate music and poetic elements in iambic pentameter, introducing students to the concept with a variety of videos. If you've never heard of or introduced students to Sonnet Man or Akala I suggest it. Check out the videos below to help students understand the link between Shakespeare and music.