Instructional Strategies for Teaching Shakespeare- Exploring Absolute Shakespeare
As an English/Language Arts/Theatre teacher, I would use a wide range of comprehension and instructional strategies to present William Shakespeare and his works using the Absolute Shakespeare website. Firstly, before reading Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets, or poems, I would involve students in pre-reading activities to trigger their prior knowledge and create enthusiasm. This could entail discussing the students’ familiarity with Shakespeare, generating ideas of what they are already aware of about his works, or presenting fundamental concepts and vocabulary pertinent to Shakespearean literature.
As the Absolute Shakespeare site contains engravings of paintings depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, I would include visual aids in my lessons. Such visuals could create a better mental picture of the characters and scenes, thus enhancing students’ understanding and making the text more accessible. I would encourage students to analyze the images and relate them to the specific scenes and stanzas of the plays and poems. In addition, the site contains summaries of Shakespeare’s plays that can serve as a good teaching tool to improve understanding. I would assist students in understanding the summaries and ask them to practice summarizing and paraphrasing the main ideas in their own words (Chirico & Younger, 2020). This strategy enables students to locate significant plots, themes, and character development.
To further the comprehension of Shakespeare’s language and style, I will incorporate the method of close reading. This entails choosing particular extracts from the plays or sonnets and teaching students how to read the text closely, giving attention to the choice of words, figurative language, and literary devices (Richardson et al., 2012). Closely reading practices could involve finding metaphors or studying the use of iambic pentameter in sonnets. Furthermore, I would initiate class discussions to have students immerse themselves and interact with the material. When asked open-ended questions, for example, those that evaluate character motives or interpret the themes of a play, students can collaborate and share their views, appreciate their peers’ opinions, and learn from each other (Chirico & Younger, 2020). Students practice critical thinking through this strategy and are taught to form or reinforce their ideas.
As Shakespeare’s plays were designed to be acted, I’d make sure to incorporate performance-based activities into the lesson. Such could involve students taking turns to read and enact scenes from the plays, organizing small-scale performances, or even performing abridged versions of the plays (Chirico & Younger, 2020). These activities lead students to probe the texts, examine the characters’ motives, and appreciate the theatricality of the Bard’s plays. For the final exercise of comprehension and analytical skills, I would assign tasks in writing that students need to respond to the texts. It could be a character analysis, an essay arguing for or against the works’ themes or authorship, or an original sonnet or poem reflecting the style of Shakespeare. Writing assignments provide the chance for learners to show their knowledge, communicate their ideas, and grow in their writing abilities.
References
Chirico, M., & Younger, K. (Eds.). (2020). How to teach a play: Essential exercises for popular plays. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. E. (2012). Reading to learn in the content areas. (No Title).
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Question 
Discussion 13
Class Lecture: https://youtu.be/zlvsT9x8AE4 YouTube Video
Please post your thoughts to the prompts below and respond to at least 2 peers.
Instructional Strategies for Teaching Shakespeare- Exploring Absolute Shakespeare
Access the listed website related to your preferred content area. While exploring the website, describe any comprehension or instructional strategies that you could use when teaching this topic.
English/Language Arts/Theatre: Absolute Shakespeare Link (Links to an external site.)
Social Studies: Famous Biographies and TV Shows Link (Links to an external site.)
Mathematics: Math Goodies-Your Destination for Math Education Link (Links to an external site.)
Science: Discovery Education LinkLinks to an external site.
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