Courtney & Erika
The Importance of Shakespeare
Students often have trouble understanding the language of Shakespeare, the jokes, the innuendos. Many students dislike Shakespeare for the very fact that they can not understand it. However, Shakespeare is important for students to understand how flexible language can be as well as understanding a classic piece of literature which has withstood the test of time. In order to make it possible for students to understand Shakespeare, it is necessary to provide students with lesson plans that will lead them to a better understanding of Shakespeare.
Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet may be one of the easier plays to teach because students have most likely seen or heard a version of the story before. Another great way to get students into the reading is to include something that makes sense to them: technology.
- After a brief reading of Romeo and Juliet, arrange students into pairs and get them talking about technology they use everyday. After students have talked in their pairs, have them share some of the technologies they use.
- Next, ask students to imagine what the play would be like if modern technology was present in the play.
- After the students have discussed technology and the play, assign each group a character from the play. Next, students will create a technology profile for their characters.
- Model a minor character for the students with the question profile and let them work in their groups creating the profiles. Students should have access to the text to get specific examples.
- After students have created their profiles, have them present to the class.
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Open in new tab This lesson can be continued and students can use specific acts or scenes in the play and create text message responses or even a chat room for a bunch of characters. Bridging the language with technology can help relate what characters are saying in a way they students can understand. Furthermore, letting students change the language into modern text will give them a better understanding of not only the plot, but the language and hopefully give them a better appreciation for shakespeare.
Lesson Plan adopted from:
“Star-Crossed Lovers Online: Romeo and Juliet for a Digital Age – ReadWriteThink.” Readwritethink.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
I think including technology in Shakespeare is a fun and creative way to get students interested in Shakespeare. And making online profiles for the characters is awesome! I’ve seen examples before where students makes Facebook pages for the characters and then act out the play through posts to each other. It always looks so fun!
I love how your activity allows students to translate Shakespearean English into modern English by incorporating modern technology. I feel like a lot of the stigma attached to Shakespeare comes from students thinking that his works are outdated and irrelevant today, but that is not the case because his works have stood the test of time because of their universal themes about human nature. Perhaps seeing the plays in a modern light will help students to see that, although the language is old and difficult to understand, the content of the plays is actually still humorous and relatable today.
Danielle,
I loved the activity that you discussed in your blog. It is SO important to connect the classics to modern texts because there are similarities and differences. Shakespeare has such a negative preconceived notion that must be addressed and I feel like you did such a great job doing that.