Tag Archives: homeschool

Yorick the Break Dancer (Yo-Rick!)

By | |
Leave a comment

In my most recent direction of my Hamlet for Kids there came the moment when the young actor comes on stage and says the line, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him. When I was a kid, he was the jester, the funniest guy I knew.” And the play moves on… but, this one kid, as he was going through rehearsing in many different ways, stumbled on saying it as “Yo, Rick” and his first improv was around, “Who is this Rick guy?”  But, he settled for going with the break dancer avenue, as he put it, “the best breakdancer I ever knew…” Well, see … Continue reading →

Hamming up Romeo and Juliet

By | |
Leave a comment
juliet

So, I just performed Romeo and Juliet with a bunch of kids yesterday, and there were some fun anecdotal events that occurred that I just have to share! Maybe you can integrate these into your performance someday.

romeoromeoFirst of all, Star Wars … Continue reading →

Hamming it up with Hamlet for Kids

By | |
Leave a comment

I just finished a five-week afterschool program doing Hamlet for Kids the melodramatic version. So, I thought I would list a few pointers to make this particular class more fun and melodramatic for you and your kids.

Hamlet for KidsHamlet for KidsFirst of all, the funniest part … Continue reading →

Classroom Insult-a-thon

By | | ,
1 Comment
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 and the show Friends – great English Class Video

    By | |
    1 Comment

    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 and Music

    By | | ,
    1 Comment
    Shakespeare music and food

    Shakespeare music bandShakespeare music bandHave some kids in class that are musically inclined?  Give them a great challenge, have them create a Shakespeare song.  Perhaps this is to one of their favorite characters (ohh, what would a Puck song sound like… I’m thinking Nirvana…) or their … Continue reading →

    Shakespeare Word Challenge

    By | | ,
    1 Comment
    Shakespeare word challenge

    Thanks to mentalfloss.com, for helping us see another list of 20 words we wouldn’t be able to iterate today without the help of The Bard. Words such as assassination, bedazzled, cold–blooded, fashionable, scuffle, swagger, and more… It’s amazing what this guy brought to the table.

    So, because of this, I thought of the Shakespeare Word Challenge for your kids: In your classroom, challenge your kids to come up with 10 words or phrases that Shakespeare created or first penned and then have them use them in a sentence. What this will do is help them realize that his “language” is not … Continue reading →

    #ShakesTag the Online Game of Shakespeare

    By | | ,
    1 Comment
    #ShakesTag

    Well today is the day of the week that most people practice religion of one type or another. For some people it’s the church, others football, and to others, reading is religion. Stepping into a slightly tighter niche than that, Shakespeare. And some of these people who love the Bard, get together on Sunday for a friendly game of #ShakesTag.#ShakesTag Continue reading →

    STAGEiT! Shakespeare – Grades 5-8 – Book Review

    By | | ,
    Leave a comment
    STAGEiT Shakespeare

    This is a book review of STAGEiT! Shakespeare.  The author of STAGEiT! Shakespeare is Floyd Rumohr, and he was gracious enough to send me a few copies so I could review them and give some away to my followers.  I have 3 copies of STAGEiT! Shakespeare Grades 5-8 to give away, read on to learn how to be entered for this giveaway!

    First of all, I’m all about making Shakespeare much more accessible to the kids, as you all know from the Shakespeare for Kids books that I write.

    So, when I got a chance to … Continue reading →

    Bringing Shakespeare to life

    By | | ,
    Leave a comment

    Whether you’re a teacher trying to inspire a love of Shakespeare in your students, or a parent who wants to get your child excited about literature and history, it can be both enjoyable and educational to take Shakespeare from the stage to the home. It’s one thing to memorize lines, practice dying a valiant death, or fall in love after two seconds (gross!), but making the past relevant to your kids will get them to better understand what they’re reading and performing (and they’ll have fun doing it). Here are some ideas for bringing Shakespeare to life:

    Enjoy a night … Continue reading →