With all my resources I try to find a balance between clarity and creativity, aiming to stretch and challenge as well as train. Most of all, I want to 'knock on the doors of the mind', introducing students to a wider range of texts, ideas, activities and experiences. Although English is my speciality, I've also got a keen interest in Biology and Geography, which occasionally manifests in resources. Let me know if there is a text not catered for anywhere and I'll see what I can do.
With all my resources I try to find a balance between clarity and creativity, aiming to stretch and challenge as well as train. Most of all, I want to 'knock on the doors of the mind', introducing students to a wider range of texts, ideas, activities and experiences. Although English is my speciality, I've also got a keen interest in Biology and Geography, which occasionally manifests in resources. Let me know if there is a text not catered for anywhere and I'll see what I can do.
Shakespeare Day this year has the added thrill of marking 400 years since the Bard’s death [or 452 since his birth!]. To help you mark the anniversary, here’s a ‘Where’s Will?’ competition with quotes, student fill in sheets and an answer sheet. Set up the competition school wide, departmentally or as a class activity to get students reading quotes and finding where the action is set. The competition is really easy – its merit is exposure – participants have to find the posters, read a quote and be alert to where the action is set. At the very least they’ll have heard of a few more plays. This activity is easy enough for upper primary pupils.
That’s just one activity. On the quotes PP you have a template you can send to students and colleagues on which they can write their favourite Shakespeare quotes [even if it is from the play they are currently studying] to display around the school. Primary pupils could display insults they've generated. Each subsequent slide can be printed [on coloured A3?] to make a display for the classroom or to boost the display around the school.
Longer term, there is the set of starter quotes that could introduce students to Shakespeare’s language, as a Shakespeare ‘quote of the half-term’, or for 6 lessons in April… the idea is to get students to think about both the literal and figurative meaning of memorable lines, as well as expose them to a wider range of plays. The ‘fill-in’ version allows you to set the whole task as a one off lesson activity or a self-mark homework. For anyone who has missed the lesson, quotes and answers are available as a paper version too.
The Teachers' Guide also provides useful links and ideas. Enjoy a super Shakespeare Day!
