On April 23 in 1564, William Shakespeare was born. It鈥檚 been said that Shakespeare鈥檚 complete works consist of 884,647 words and 118,406 lines. Let鈥檚 look at some of the texts written about the works of Shakespeare.
In , Sheridan Lynn Steelman shows how early modern primary sources can be incorporated partially or fully into any pedagogical approach to Shakespeare. She focuses on the four most commonly taught plays鈥�Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream鈥攑lus the sonnets and Shakespeare Book Clubs.
Through differentiated instruction, in Lyn Fairchild Hawks offers myriad ways to engage students with different readiness levels and interests in this timeless tale of fear and courage, order and chaos, guilt and remorselessness.
In Kevin Long and Mary T. Christel offer active drama approaches that position students to engage with a rich text through low-risk speaking and improvisation activities as a part of any ELA classroom.
In , Mary Ellen Dakin asserts that we need to read Shakespeare in triplicate鈥攁s the stuff of transformative literature, theater, and film. See also the author鈥檚 , where she extends and updates the ideas and materials in this book.
explores different methods for getting students engaged鈥攁nd excited鈥攁bout Shakespeare鈥檚 plays as they learn to construct meaning from the texts鈥� sixteenth-century language and connect it to their twenty-first-century lives.
How can high school and college teachers help their students get the most out of studying Shakespeare? In , Edward L. Rocklin offers teachers a wide array of concepts and practices to explore specific performances as well as the performance potentials of a Shakespeare text.
contains a wealth of ideas and practical activities for studying Shakespeare鈥檚 play. The first section provides background material to help prepare your students to read Hamlet. Section Two, “Reading the Play,鈥� features notes on each scene of the play, accompanied by activities and suggestions for further study.
offers solutions for bringing the play to life for all students 鈥� those with various interests, readiness levels, and learning styles. The author offers practical, engaging, and rigorous lessons for teaching reading, writing, speaking, performance, and research that can be used as-is or can be adapted to suit the needs of your students and classroom environment.聽
In聽the authors offer a differentiated approach to teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, including lesson plans focused on key scenes, close reader handouts geared toward different levels of readiness, and scaffolded reading activities. This differentiated approach helps students develop a deep understanding of Romeo and Juliet through activities such as cinematic interpretation, creative writing, dramatic interpretation, and Socratic discussion.
What will you be doing to celebrate Shakespeare鈥檚 birthday?
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