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Performing Shakespeare for kids

Yorick the Break Dancer (Yo-Rick!)

In my most recent direction of my Hamlet for Kids there came the moment when the young actor comes on stage and says the line, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him. When I was a kid, he was the jester, the funniest guy I knew.” And the play moves on… but, this one kid, as he…

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Performing Shakespeare for kids

Hamming up Romeo and Juliet

So, I just performed Romeo and Juliet with a bunch of kids yesterday, and there were some fun anecdotal events that occurred that I just have to share! Maybe you can integrate these into your performance someday. First of all, Star Wars is all the rage, so Tybalt decided to walk out on the stage with a light…

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Performing Shakespeare for kids

Hamming it up with Hamlet for Kids

I just finished a five-week afterschool program doing Hamlet for Kids the melodramatic version. So, I thought I would list a few pointers to make this particular class more fun and melodramatic for you and your kids. First of all, the funniest part of the entire play is the last scene, everybody dies onstage, every…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas Shakespeare Lesson Plans

Classroom Insult-a-thon

Classroom Insult-a-thon (Don’t forget, April 23rd is National Insult Like Shakespeare Day!) It’s simple and fun and works like this: Everyone writes up 3-4 different insults using the Shakespeare Insult Generator They spend about 5-10 minutes practicing their insults, working on generating the appropriate delivery with angst! Split the class into 2 groups that line…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas

Shakespeare and the show Friends – great English Class Video

Although Shakespeare used a lot of words we may not understand, and a lot of words people and kids will think are “big”, what’s clear is he was an artist with language.  Now, not many of us are ever going to be 1/8th as good with language as he was, but we will at least be…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas Shakespeare Lesson Plans

Shakespeare and Music

Have some kids in class that are musically inclined?  Give them a great challenge, have them create a Shakespeare song.  Perhaps this is to one of their favorite characters (ohh, what would a Puck song sound like… I’m thinking Nirvana…) or their favorite play (I can hear a nice Halloween melody running for Titus…) or…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas Shakespeare in the world

Shakespeare Word Challenge

Thanks to mentalfloss.com, for helping us see another list of 20 words we wouldn’t be able to iterate today without the help of The Bard. Words such as assassination, bedazzled, cold–blooded, fashionable, scuffle, swagger, and more… It’s amazing what this guy brought to the table. So, because of this, I thought of the Shakespeare Word…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas Shakespeare in the world

#ShakesTag the Online Game of Shakespeare

Well today is the day of the week that most people practice religion of one type or another. For some people it’s the church, others football, and to others, reading is religion. Stepping into a slightly tighter niche than that, Shakespeare. And some of these people who love the Bard, get together on Sunday for…

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Shakespeare teaching ideas Performing Shakespeare for kids

Bringing Shakespeare to life

Whether you’re a teacher trying to inspire a love of Shakespeare in your students, or a parent who wants to get your child excited about literature and history, it can be both enjoyable and educational to take Shakespeare from the stage to the home. It’s one thing to memorize lines, practice dying a valiant death,…

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Shakespeare Lesson Plans

Shakespeare Insult Generator

Well hello my fellow Shakespearean insulters, or, dare I say, you bawdy, ill-breeding, maggot pies!  Just to let you know the most requested page that I get on this website is for the Shakespeare Insult Generator.  I love this for several reasons; the main one is because the Shakespeare Insult Generator is the best and…

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