Shakespeare

Ahh, it is that time of year again. Time to dive in headlong into one of my favorite things:

Billy

I tell the students, when you know him as well as I do, you call him "Billy." This is one of those subject as a teacher that I simply love and immerse myself in. When I teach it, I hope I give off some of that passion for this subject.

William Shakespeare. I am looking forward to teaching Romeo and Juliet again to the Freshmen and Macbeth to the seniors. Today in Freshmen English, we hurled Shakespearean insults at each other, to great effect. I know that I am winning the Shakespeare battle when I heard a student saying it down the hall, then another student saying it as they were in another room before second hour started. Wonderful.

I use a lot of Shakespeare Set Free. I find this to be an invaluable resource of ideas and ways to show the kids Shakespeare, not just read it. I've used it for several years now and it gets better and better as I get even more familiar with it.

The kids even have to memorize a passage from Shakespeare--I have a packet of different speeches, monologues, and sonnets from them to choose from. They have a month, and we go about it together every day, rooting each other on. I'm expecting great things this year.

Time for more Billy.