Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On Linkedin
  • Homeschool
    • Book Lists
    • How Do We Do That?
    • Notebooking
    • Subjects and Styles
    • Unit Studies
  • Travel
    • Europe
      • Benelux
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • London
      • Porto
      • Prague
    • USA
      • Chicago
      • Georgia
      • Hawaii
      • Ohio
      • Utah
      • Yellowstone and Teton
  • Family
    • Celebrations
    • Frugal
  • Military Life
    • Deployment
    • PCS
  • Health
    • Recipes
    • Essential Oils
    • Fitness
    • Mental Health
    • Natural Living
    • Natural Beauty
  • Faith
  • About Me
    • Favorite Resources
    • Advertising and Sponsorship
    • Policies
  • Reviews

© 2023Jennifer Lambert · Copyright · Disclosure · Privacy · Ad

You are here: Home / Homeschool / How I Teach Shakespeare

How I Teach Shakespeare

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

October 18, 2016 By Jennifer Lambert 18 Comments

Reading and teaching Shakespeare doesn’t have to be daunting.

How I Teach Shakespeare

I loved reading and learning Shakespeare in high school. It’s one of the few things I remember enjoying about my time in public school. We read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade and Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream in 10th grade.

One of my favorite university courses was Shakespeare. We read lots of tragedies and history plays and sonnets in just a few short weeks. My teacher was passionate about Shakespeare and it was contagious.

When I taught public school, I loved teaching Shakespeare! I taught all levels of students the plays: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and Macbeth. We didn’t use kids’ versions or easier modern language texts. We read the real Shakespeare. I taught to middle school and high school students. We read aloud and performed scenes in class. Our school had a Shakespeare society and one year I sponsored the team, we won for the county with a scene from The Taming of the Shrew!

Many teachers and parents treat the language of Shakespeare like something foreign and many students are intimidated by that and it shows in their approach to learning something new and a bit unusual.

As a homeschool mom, I teach Shakespeare all the time to my kids of all ages.

How I take the fear out of Shakespeare:

I expose my very young kids to Shakespeare very early on, so they’re familiar with the stories. As they get older, they can read Shakespeare plays and poetry on their own.

We learn about William Shakespeare along with history. We read biographies about Shakespeare and how important he was to developing our English language and his place in history.

I begin with the KJV Bible when my kids reach the level of independent reading, at about age 6 or so. We love reading this version of the Bible. The language is so beautiful and poetic. Being familiar with the spelling and writing of Shakespeare’s time period makes reading the literature easier.

We’re familiar with mythology. The stories are fun and important to literature. Shakespeare makes a lot of references to the Bible and mythology. It helps to understand what he’s referring to in his writing. Shakespeare was very educated in the Greek and Latin plays and refers to them often in his plays.

We read the plays aloud because they make more sense when we can hear it. I don’t kill the lesson with busy work like vocabulary lists, comprehension questions, or analytical essays. We read for fun. We discuss characters, plot, setting, scenes, how they would have been performed. My kids have been taught to think critically and narrate since they were in preschool, so this is natural for us.

We watch the plays performed on film and live on stage whenever we can. I love how the plays are timeless and can be updated with modern twists.

We took a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London!

I bought a Shakespeare’s Globe tour online with Viator.

It was easier than booking directly at the Globe website, especially since they showed no availability.

I chose the day I wanted the tour and we showed up early. We were ushered right on in to join the first tour of the day.

shakespeares-globe-theatre

The theatre is a replica of the original Globe.

globe-theatre-stage

Our guide was delightful. They’re all actors at the Globe and he was funny. The kids loved him.

We toured the whole theatre and he told us history and stories about the opening performance of the new Globe in 1997.

There’s a lovely exhibition – a not to miss museum that’s fun and educational for the whole family.

Tori even got to experience traditional clothing. It was so heavy with all the layers, and the farm girl costume was more lightweight than the costume of a noblewoman!

traditional-renaissance-farm-girl-costume

The kids even said this was the highlight of our London trip. They love Shakespeare.

My job is done here.

Shakespeare can be fun for all ages!

Resources:

  • We LOVE Notebooking Pages in our homeschool!
  • Homeschool Share Shakespeare Unit
  • A Gentle Approach to Shakespeare from Homegrown Learners
  • We Are Teachers Shakespeare Activities
  • Shakespeare from Activity Village
  • Shakespeare Notebooking Pages from Mama Jenn
  • Words and Expressions from Shakespeare Pages by Notebooking Fairy
  • Shakespeare Lapbook by Homeschool Helper Online
  • Star Wars and Geek Shakespeare by Ian Doescher
  • Shakespeare Words from Notebooking Fairy
  • Currclick Shakespeare list – Some FREE and some $
Share
Pin35
Share
35 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: homeschool, Shakespeare

Recent Posts

  • How Preventive Dental Care Supports Your Long-Term Wellness
  • Creating a Cohesive Home Aesthetic: Shopping Tips for Every Room
  • Going Home for the Last Time
  • Best Books of 2024
  • How to Plan Burial and Funeral Services While Grieving

Comments

  1. shelley says

    October 24, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    Love the way you have tied disciplines together to create relevancy and make it interesting!

    Reply
  2. Anna of stuffedveggies says

    October 25, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    Great article! I LOVE your point about reading the KJV Bible – I grew up with it, and it made reading Shakespeare MUCH easier in high school.

    A couple of summers ago, we took our homeschool co-op to a free summer production of Shakespeare in the Park. I expected the kids to get bored and have to leave mid-performance, as many of them were quite young. I read my daughter a short summary (that I had found on the internet) of the play we were going to see before she went – she was 6 at the time. ALL of our Co-op kids – ages 6 MONTHS to 14 years – were glued to the performance the entire show and didn’t take their eyes from the actors and actresses. It was quite the thing to see!

    I think that Shakespeare was written to be *watched* (performed) not read- and going to a well-done performance makes all the difference! : )

    (I dropped by from “Teaching What is Good” btw : )

    Reply
  3. Jessi's Design says

    October 27, 2016 at 2:20 am

    Way to go!!

    Reply
  4. Debbie says

    October 27, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    I’d like to join your class! Sounds so fun and interesting. I’m afraid I’m one who saw the language as foreign. I went to a play and had difficulty understanding it. As an adult I’ve listened to audio books and enjoyed them.

    Reply
  5. ~ linda says

    October 27, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    WOW! I am a retired teacher of young children but was raised by a mother who loved Shakespeare and all other plays. So when we moved to San Diego, CA, she took us to the Old Globe Theatre for our Shakespeare plays. We were not homeschooled back then, but the theatre was of prime importance to Mama. So we had the Balboa Park version of London’s theatre and went often….could see the exterior of the theatre often when we went to Balboa Park for many other things. I love the detail you have displayed here for others to be able to introduce and teach Shakespeare. The involvement with your children is fine too. Great teacher and great mom!

    Reply
  6. Lori says

    October 28, 2016 at 2:47 am

    I wish I had an English teacher who was passionate about literature like my History teacher was about History. Funny, that History teacher is now a playwright and teaches college level preforming arts. You have a great list of resources, Jennifer. Thanks for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.

    Reply
  7. Brandi Raae says

    October 28, 2016 at 3:45 am

    Thanks for linking up with Literacy Musing Mondays! As a homeschool mom, I’ve probably dropped the ball with Shakespeare. This is a super great resource, though. Need to check into some of these books. :) Would love to pin, but I’m not seeing a pin button?

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      October 28, 2016 at 7:47 am

      I’m not sure why you can’t see a pin button. Try hovering over an image. I also list them above and below my text in the share buttons. Thanks!

      Reply
  8. Hazel Moon says

    October 28, 2016 at 7:11 am

    I grew up with my mother reading the King James Version each morning to me and my brother and sister. I can see how the Bible would help those studying Shakespeare for the first time. Your tour sounds lovely and the children are the right ages to appreciate the adventure. Thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story.

    Reply
  9. Gayl says

    October 29, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    You made me excited just reading your post! I doubt there is a trip to London in our future, but it would be fun. Our family also read Shakespeare plays aloud. My kids had fun trying to use different voices for the characters. Sounds like you have a fun, integrated way to homeschool. I’m sure your kids enjoy it! Blessings to you! I’m your neighbor at #FreshMarketFriday.

    Reply
  10. Erin Vincent says

    October 29, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    This is so awesome!! I was thinking of introducing Shakespeare to my kids this year. Thanks for the great resources!

    Reply
  11. Mari says

    October 29, 2016 at 11:10 pm

    Thanks for sharing with us at Traffic Jam. My daughter loves Shakespeare since early on as well I just can’t get past the language and give up every time I give it another try. Congrats on giving your kiddes such a great head start.

    Reply
  12. Jamie says

    October 30, 2016 at 1:26 am

    I sure wish I could have learned it your way in school – that would have been so much more fun! :) Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
  13. Eugene Uttley says

    October 31, 2016 at 1:06 am

    I love Shakespeare too. Have since high school like you.
    Have you seen the Shakespearean Insult Generator?
    Try googling it if you’re game – it’s good fun.
    Cheers!

    Reply
  14. Crystal says

    November 1, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    I still remember when I recieved my very own Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It remains a favorite of mine.

    Reply
  15. Jennifer Bly says

    November 2, 2016 at 2:32 pm

    Ooooh, you have shared some great ideas and tips here! Makes me kind of excited to dig into Shakespeare myself!

    Thanks so much for sharing (and for linking up to the last SHINE Blog Hop).

    Wishing you a lovely day.
    xoxo

    Reply
  16. Jeannie says

    November 7, 2016 at 4:28 am

    I totally agree about reading the KJV. It does help Shakespeare make more sense. I’ve never been big on Shakespeare, but your enthusiasm makes me what to give it another try. ;) ~Jeannie The Mom Fairy

    Reply
  17. Karren Haller says

    October 14, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    An experience that your kids will be talking about for a long time!

    Reply
Please see my suggested resources.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Suggested Resources

Archives

Popular Posts

10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils
Natural Remedies for HeadacheNatural Remedies for Headache
10 Natural Remedies to Keep on Hand10 Natural Remedies to Keep on Hand
Homemade SunscreenHomemade Sunscreen
Henna Hands CraftHenna Hands Craft
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT