In the past six years, I have taught all varieties of high school English — including AP, Dual Enrollment, creative writing, and journalism. While some may find the college-prep classes prestigious and appealing, I enjoy the standard grade-level Englishes because they allow me to move slowly and deliberately through plays and novels. In upcoming posts in The Learning Curve, I’m going to share some of my practical classroom approaches — methods that are fun, low-tech, and effective for engaging students.
Most of us encountered Shakespeare in our high school English classes. But I met the bard through a PBS series called Wishbone, which featured an adorable talking Jack Russell Terrier who bounced around the literary classics. I can vividly recall the episode where Wishbone played Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest: the actress dressed as Miranda had striking dark hair, bold red lipstick, and a sumptuous, puffy-sleeved gown. But Wishbone also took lead roles. He played Romeo in the show’s version of Romeo and Juliet. Thanks to Wishbone, I was ready for Shakespeare when I entered high school and auditioned to play Juliet in her glorious death scene.
Asserting the Value: Why Teach Shakespeare?
Isn’t Shakespeare just one of those old dead white guys? Why are we still studying his work? Yes, the bard may seem at a far remove from our current classrooms as his works are 500+ years old and delivered in Early Modern English (not Old English…that’s a whole separate post). But Shakespeare’s stories involve a wide range of social, political, and personal circumstances as well as a cast of varied characters. He gave a voice to strong women like Portia and Juliet. Even today he helps us laugh at ourselves, examine our priorities, and learn to thrive in adverse situations. These are the human reasons to read and enjoy his work.
To justify Shakespeare’s presence in our classrooms, we can point to the obvious advantages he gives students on their state assessments. Shakespeare is often (I won’t say always) on the yearly standardized assessments designed to “prove” that students are learning — and thus justify this whole enterprise of education.
Shakespeare’s language can be extremely intimidating to students who did not grow up with Wishbone. I do not want students’ first experience of Early Modern English to be on a hostile screen in a stuffy testing room. I want them to see Hamlet’s soliloquy or Olivia’s banter with her fool and think, “Yeah, no big deal, I’ve got this!”
Building the Routine: Giving Students a Voice
I stage Shakespeare studies once a year, usually in Quarter 2 or Quarter 3 (never in Quarter 1). Here is an overview of the routine I use when embarking on a Shakespeare study.
Providing Context: I introduce students to Shakespeare’s English, culture, and historical circumstances. Students each choose a historical or cultural topic to research independently and deliver mini lessons throughout our reading of the play.
Staging the Play: I assign students their characters and publish a cast list including a student director (or directors), stage manager, and understudy. We review expectations for dramatic reading and classroom behavior, and I explain that our Readers’ Theater will occur on the same days each week. If the classroom set up allows, I arrange desks so that we have a large “theater in the round” space to call a stage.
For reading days, I tell students which scenes we’ll be covering. Students have 10-15 minutes to rehearse at the start of class. They use this time to practice their lines, confer with peers, and assist peers who are struggling with pronunciation or delivery. The student director also informs me if we need to find readers for any absent students. I move through the class offering assistance and guidance to students who are rehearsing.
Rounding out the Experience: With our in-class reading, we complete worksheets, Socratic seminars, social media posts, trivia contests, and prop design contests. These help students demonstrate their understanding of the play, analyze its language, and empathize with the characters.
Scoring Their Efforts: How to Assess Students
I developed the rubric below to assess students’ dramatic reading. This is a holistic rubric, which gives students an overall score rather than isolating individual traits. Students earn a score each day they read, even if they are subbing for someone. Because we read 2-3 days per week for 9 weeks, students can accumulate a solid data set and see their improvement.
Level | Description |
Skillful Reader (20/20) | The student demonstrates a high level of skill and preparation by
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Competent Reade (17/20 | The student demonstrates a moderate level of skill and preparation by
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Developing Reader (12/20) | The student demonstrates a developing level of skill and preparation by
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Unacceptable Participant (0/20) | The student shows a lack of skill, preparation, or consideration by
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Insights & Recommendations
Students continue to impress me with their efforts and engagement with our Shakespeare studies. Often students come to own their characters and take pride in their reading. Classmates will also call out to their peers, summoning them to the “stage” or commenting on the character’s behavior. I note exceptional readers on the board with stars, and students will brag about achieving their star status. Some of the most reluctant readers will ask for additional roles or offer to fill in for classmates.
I measure the success of this enterprise with their increasing rubric scores. But what affects me most is when students enter class, see the board, and exclaim, “We’re reading today!”
On the Blink 