From the article: Teaching Shakespeare
Do you teach Shakespeare? If so, we want you to share your experiences and tried-and-tested techniques here on About.com.
The question is simple: what is your top tip for fellow Shakespeare teachers?
Share Your Top Tips
Give Shakespeare a chance!
- I have been teaching Shakespeare's plays to junior high kids. I always get a positive response. They are very intrigued by the characters. The language may seem an obstacle, but after listening, reading, and watching a video...the students are not daunted by the language. At the end of the year, we have a presentation for the whole school the play they learned in class. Parents are happy to see their children on stage and learn Shakespseare. In fact, the following year they always ask, which Shakespeare playing are we learning?
- —Guest annie ang
An absolute must!
- See the play ... live or films with famous actors. This is an absolute must when teaching Shakespeare.
- —Guest Trudy J. Sundberg
Teaching Shakespeare
- Shakespeare should only sometimes be taught! The students should be given maximum opportunity to "know" and "sense" Shakespeare for themselves - the teacher should only help them achieve this goal. Shakespeare can never really be taught!
- —Guest mansoor alam
35 years of teaching Shakespeare
- I taught Shakespeare in High School for 35 years in New Jersey and became known as the "Shakespeare teacher". I started by teaching Shakespeare, the man. I made him a living breathing person using slides and videos of trips with students to Stratford and London. I tried to show how he lived and how his life was reflected in his writing. They saw video tours of the Henley Street home, Anne's cottage, the Arden farm, Holy Trinity and the inside The Globe Theatre in London. I interviewed students on camera in England, and it helped my desk-bound students to see the excitement of actually walking in Shakespeare’s footsteps. I would read selected parts of our studied plays and discuss the meaning of the lines, but I avoided letting students recite out loud. Butchered dialog certainly didn't help them appreciate the Bard's poetry! Round robin class discussions of themes and character traits were also a great teaching tool!
- —Guest leethebard
