Shakespeare's plays are widely regarded as the greatest inheritance in English literature and recent years have seen a growing interest in introducing them to children in their primary schools. In this book, the authors bring a blend of clear thinking, playful and inventive practice and straightforward practical advice to bear on teaching…

While it may be true that different interpretations of Shakespeare's words elicit varied responses, Shakespeare's popularity in Renaissance England was due in large part to his ability to appeal to a socially and educationally diverse audience. Shakespeare knew what it took to fill the seats. To encourage appreciation of Shakespeare's universal…

One way of understanding the impact of the (re)emergence of a performance approach to teaching Shakespeare's plays that was, in part, initiated by the "Shakespeare Set Free" program and the books its creators composed is to say that for many teachers their work initiated the process of making performance activities central in English classrooms.…

Performance-based activities and creative projects with technology that focus on Shakespeare's language are powerful developmental tools for students to express and extend thoughts and feelings from their lives. Shakespeare becomes a toy chest and a toolset that allows students to live in situations they never could and to express language they…

The author does not really like "Hamlet." He loves the play, the language, and the characters, but always finds it difficult to teach. Part of this is because he prefers to assign students scenes to perform as they read a Shakespeare text, but Hamlet does not divide nicely into manageable scenes, and he usually does not have enough teenage Ken…

Charles Dickens is arguably the greatest storyteller in English Literature and his novels have been loved and respected for nearly two hundred years. As accurate reflections of Victorian society they are unparalleled. Vivid characters and realistic settings are created in the mind of the reader, all laced with Dickens inimitable humour, wit and…

In the author's memories of high school, no unit was more frustrating for him as a student than the yearly Shakespearean text. From his own experience on the students' side of the desk, the author knows that no unit is as strenuous or exhausting as one involving Shakespeare's works. Despite his own negative experiences with Shakespeare's works,…

This teacher's guide for William Shakespeare's play "Henry V" is designed to accompany the Kenneth Branagh Masterpiece Theater film production of the play, and to help teachers use the film in a variety of ways. The guide includes pre-viewing background information, five teaching units, and a pullout poster for classroom display. The…

Author Victor Moeller contends that authentic learning begins only when teachers challenge students with real questions that demand solutions. Here, he aims to help teachers of the next generation develop skills of independent, reflective, and critical thinking with this book. It explains how to use film to bring Shakespeare to life through…

The discussion questions and essay prompts in this collection were compiled from contributions made by participants in the 1991 Arizona Shakespeare-Milton Institute. After an introduction which presents some general guidelines for teachers and students, the collection addresses the following works: "As You Like It"; "The…

Making connections for teachers between Shakespeare and his historical context on the one hand and secondary students on the other, this book presents background information, commentary, resources, and classroom ideas to enliven students' encounters with Shakespeare. The book concentrates on "Romeo and Juliet,""Julius…

Examines some considerations that Shakespeare's plays raise for students and teachers of political science. Using the plays "Richard II and III" and "Henry IV, V, and VI," Gleicher discusses the genre of the history play, describes the historical and political position from which Shakespeare wrote, and identifies themes in…

Shakespeare's plays are the apex of western achievement in the humanities and as such afford a highly fertile mechanism for teaching gifted elementary and secondary students. Studying Shakespeare facilitates the understanding of an earlier form of the English language and illustrates the evolutionary nature of language. Aside from a sense of…

Describes the use of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" in an undergraduate course in monetary economics, focusing on the usury theme origins of usury laws, scholastic arguments on paying interest for using money, civil usury laws, and modern theories of interest. It is argued that the play provides an interesting vehicle for an…

In this paper, I argue for a response to the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students that is both high challenge and high support. In elaborating this argument I draw on an English literature programme that was designed for a year 7 boys' class (the first year of high school) in an Australian public school. The students in the…