Category Archives: Shakespeare teaching ideas

Shakespeare for Special Needs

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Shakespeare for Kids

I have worked and talked with many teachers that have used my books to help kids with special needs.  As well, I have done many plays with kids with special needs, and the change and awareness that is created during the process is amazing!  Knowing this, I wanted to share an idea that I just received from a teacher.  Here is what she wrote:

I used your Midsummer Night’s Dream for Kids as reading material. I couldn’t get my high school special ed students to reread anything. Their thinking was I have already read that … Continue reading →

Shakespeare Tattoos – Kids LOVE them!

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kids shakespeare tattoos

Ok, I just got these REALLY cool Shakespeare tattoos, and the kids are LOVING them! Several people have asked where they can get some, so I’ve put them on my website for you to buy if you want for your kids!  Enjoy!  OR I’ll send them free with any books you purchase!!!

kids shakespeare tattoos Continue reading →

Death Auditions – Give me your best Death!

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I recently coached a parent who was running an after-school program, and she asked me how I do the “death auditions” for my plays.  It made me realize that I haven’t done a simple quick layout of my first day for a while, so, here it is:

Caesar Continue reading →

Why Shakespeare Tragedies are funnier than Comedies

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Tragedies simplified

Ok, this is a short little post about a great little document that I found. Full credit to Cam Magee, and he summarizes this best: Everybody dies.  And THAT is why tragedies are funnier than comedies, when performed by kids melodramatically!  From the data I have collected (watching kids perform) ALL kids LOVE to die on stage! Especially, if it’s melodramatic… if they can get a laugh from the audience, the kids are all into it.  That’s part of the secret of my books, they’re fun to perform! Nothing like the end of Hamlet where there are several dead bodies … Continue reading →

Classroom Insult-a-thon

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shakespeare insult video

Classroom Insult-a-thon

(Don’t forget, April 23rd is National Insult Like Shakespeare Day!)

It’s simple and fun and works like this:

  • Everyone writes up 3-4 different insults using the Shakespeare Insult Generator
  • They spend about 5-10 minutes practicing their insults, working on generating the appropriate delivery with angst!
  • Split the class into 2 groups that line up against each other
  • FIRST ROUND of insults: one student from each group steps forward and they insult each other with one of their insults.
  • The teacher, or some voting panel, votes for the best insult.  Loser … Continue reading →

    • Shakespeare’s Top 10 Dirty Jokes

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    dirty bard

    I work hard to make sure kids find him funny with my Shakespeare for Kids books.  But what’s equally clear to me, teens generally consider Shakespeare boring or “Why is my teacher wasting my life reading this #$%@”  As I have seen on Twitter many times.  But hey, if it’s not presented right, it comes across that there are a lot of big words, most of the language we don’t really understand, and don’t even mention iambic pentameter, what the heck is that?

    That being said they don’t realize how funny and ironic he really is. And … Continue reading →

    Shakespeare and the show Friends – great English Class Video

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    Although Shakespeare used a lot of words we may not understand, and a lot of words people and kids will think are “big”, what’s clear is he was an artist with language.  Now, not many of us are ever going to be 1/8th as good with language as he was, but we will at least be articulate with a decent sized vocabulary.   Shakespeare’s language is a way of showing the world what artistic language can truly be like and what we can aspire to.  That being said, if we go the opposite way, and don’t embrace language at all, well, you can … Continue reading →

    Shakespeare in Ender’s Game

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    shakespeare in enders game

    So I love to read, and I love a good sci-fi, and one of the best sci-fi series that I’ve read is the Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card. Recently, I reread Ender in Exile, which is the next book after Ender’s Game. The relevant piece about this, and why I am bringing it up to you, is that there is a Shakespeare activity build right  into this one. In this book, the actual colony that Ender goes out to, … Continue reading →