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What Shakespeare play would you introduce first?


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I want to start a Shakespeare study with my daughter this year (5th grade). Beyond reading a bit about him in history she has no previous experience. And my experience is distant high school memories and a few not-so-distant screen adaptations.

 

So, I'm thinking of studying 1 or perhaps 2 plays each year, taking a little time one day each week to set aside as "Shakespeare" time.

 

But, without sitting down and reading each play, I don't know where I should begin. I think it would be best to begin with some comedies. But we will be studying ancients this year so perhaps I could sort of tie it in with that instead? Not sure where to begin... so what 2 plays would you recommend as a good starting place?

 

Here's a rough outline of what I'd like to do with each play, spending a bit of time once a week - 

 

- read through an abridged version together - Lamb's or Nesbit (pretty sure I have Lamb's on a shelf somewhere)

- Listen to an audio reading or dramatized audio

- Read an original play aloud (probably with an annotated version for me, something like No Fear Shakespeare)

- Watch a screen version

- See a live production, if possible

 

So, thoughts please? Would you add anything? What 2 plays would you choose to begin a Shakespeare study? Is 2 plays too much to take on in one year?

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I highly recommend the book "How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare" by Ken Ludwig.

 

We started with Julius Caesar this past year because it went along with our history study and I wish that I hadn't. DS used Edcon Classic Worktexts Julius Caesar and liked that. DD used Parallel Text Shakespeare Julius Caesar and while she made it through, she hated the play.

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Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar are generally preferred as the first plays for young people, but my kids just see whatever is running at our local Shakespeare in the park. One year they saw A Midsummer Night's Dream, Coriolanus and Macbeth. They both loved Midsummer, and my DS10 became a little obsessed with Macbeth. (I think we didn't take my younger ones to see that one. Seemed a bit much for the sensitive kids.) He read through the No Fear Shakespeare on his own and memorized some of the witches' lines, for his own pleasure. I think having a fun introduction to Shakespeare for the past several years will help immensely when I introduce it as a more serious study.  

 

Midsummer Night's Dream is funny even to very young kids - I mean, there's a character named Bottom, of all things. So that one would get my vote as a first comedy, I think. 

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I think I would go with whichever play or plays you think your daughter will enjoy the most, and wouldn't worry about tying it in to history. 

 

This year in 5th, on the recommendation of my older boys, Ds11 and I read Julius Caesar. He absolutely loved it, but I don't think I would choose it in your daughter's case. It's a very male-dominated play, with only two female characters and no romance. It would also be a boring one to read/watch multiple times, and there isn't a great film version. 

 

In 6th, we're going to read A Midsummer Night's Dream and one tragedy. I haven't yet decided between Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. 

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We read several of Coville's Shakespeare retellings this year (4th grade). My dd has requested A Midsummer Night's Dream so we will read that next year. We also plan to memorize some Shakespeare using Ludwig's How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare. You could also poke around this PBS site. It has some fun looking stuff. I think my kids will love the "insulting conversation." :tongue_smilie:

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Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar are generally preferred as the first plays for young people,

 

I don't think that's true.  I mean, those are often used, but I see Tempest, Midsummer's, Macbeth, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night used as first Shakespeares at least as much.  When my group performed at the Folger Children's Festival, there was a great abundance of Macbeths and As You Like Its.  Tempest was the assigned first high school one when I was in school.

 

Totally agreed about using what's available and choosing to study whatever will be playing near you when you'd like to do your study.  Most theaters have announced their season already.  And there's a lot of free Shakespeare in the park type stuff in the summer.

 

I think it would be a bit of overkill to listen to a full audio, read the full play aloud, watch a movie version, AND see it performed live.  I think that's just a lot.  It's a lot of repetition.  Of course, versions can be radically different and that's part of the fun of Shakespeare.  But to do that all at once feels like too much to me.

 

My suggestion would be if possible, perform a scene with a group.  Or, if that's not an option, memorize a soliloquy from the play.

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I highly recommend the book "How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare" by Ken Ludwig.

 

We started with Julius Caesar this past year because it went along with our history study and I wish that I hadn't. DS used Edcon Classic Worktexts Julius Caesar and liked that. DD used Parallel Text Shakespeare Julius Caesar and while she made it through, she hated the play.

 

This book is awesome!!!!!  And you could introduce the plays in the order he goes through them.  I know he does Midsummer Nights Dream first, then Twelfth Night.  As You Like It is also amazing and a good starting place.  You could do those three plays in your first year and have an amazing beginning.  Look for the Shakespeare's Globe productions  that are actually staged at the Globe theater in London - their staged productions are just stellar, and as close to the authentic Shakespearean experience as you can get.

 

I think I might do Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet next, and maybe The Tempest.

 

 I also really love The Merchant of Venice but would wait for a some solid maturity on that one, and with Othello as well.

 

I'd wait on the history plays,(I'm thinking of Richard II and the Henrys) and I firmly believe that nobody really gets King Lear until they are in the sandwich generation themselves!  Unless you approach it as a fairy tale with a tragic ending, i guess.  Anyway, I think it is a play for grownups, 

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I think we read adaptations our first time through (Lamb, loved Coville's picture books). When we were ready for the real thing, I went by what productions we would be able to see. Ashland, OR is a bit of a drive for us but they have an amazing Shakespeare/theater set-up. They were doing Romeo and Juliet and Henry V that year, so that's what we read. Henry V was a touch on the boring side for the girls, but we met up with my dad at Ashland and it was very meaningful for him. He remembered the Olivier movie that came out around WWII, and was able to help us see why Henry V was so meaningful at that time to the British. Anyway, the live theater experience could probably make any play a favorite, so I would go off what we would be able to see within the same year as the reading.

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Thanks so much for all the great responses!

 

Looking at it all written down, it does look like overkill. So I'll definitely pare down what we do. How does this sound - read an abridged version aloud then tackle an original text reading aloud together before seeing a production or movie.

 

I was just Googleing for our area and found As You Like It playing in July so we'll be going to see that.

 

I highly recommend the book "How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare" by Ken Ludwig.

 

We started with Julius Caesar this past year because it went along with our history study and I wish that I hadn't. DS used Edcon Classic Worktexts Julius Caesar and liked that. DD used Parallel Text Shakespeare Julius Caesar and while she made it through, she hated the play.

 

The book looks fabulous - I just ordered it! Thanks for the recommendation. I love the idea of adding in a little memory work. We already have a daily recitation time so adding some Shakespeare would be great.

 

This book is awesome!!!!!  And you could introduce the plays in the order he goes through them.  I know he does Midsummer Nights Dream first, then Twelfth Night.  As You Like It is also amazing and a good starting place.  You could do those three plays in your first year and have an amazing beginning.  

 

 

I like the idea of starting at the beginning of the book and working through it. After a bit of reading last night I had decided to start with Midsummer and will probably do As You Like It since we're going to see that in July.

 

Thanks so much for the help, everyone!

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... Nothing to add except SYNC Audio usually gives away at least one Shakespeare audio recording each summer. They already did Julius Caesar & last year's was Hamlet. It is worth it to get onto their email list so you don't miss the one (or all) you want. They are offered for free only for that one week.

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For anyone reading this thread in the uk, RSC do afree live streaming each year. This year it's Henry IV and part two show next Monday. The website says it's for schools, but they've confirmed home educators are also welcome to register.

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I myself don't stress reading plays in their entirety, even as they get older. When we started, we did a lot of the 'fun' stuff from a variety of plays, with an overview of plot, characters, and famous speeches. One great advantage of this method is that you really have something to go on when you decide to read one in entirety, or see a production.

 

And of course they are meant to be seen and heard, rather than read, and it really is a great deal easier to understand when you watch a production. This also means the bawdy bits are a great deal easier to understand, lol, so be prepared for that. I never require reading the play before seeing a production (although a solid overview makes it much easier to enjoy and understand). 

 

I liked the Scholastic guides - they are like tri-fold laminated guides, each one covering a different play, with summaries and various exercises (looking for examples of different literary tecniques, etc). 

 

Most kids enjoy memorizing parts of the really dramatic speeches, especially the easily recognizable ones, it makes them feel super smart  :laugh:

 

Every kid I know loves reading the many insults in the plays, and then making up their own. Yeah, they really love that. I remember one of the Scholastic guides had it as an exercise, and there is also a set of playing cards with each one featuring a different insult. 

 

 

 

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I'd start with A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet (or Macbeth). We are the the midst of a Shakespeare unit study right now. My kids have been familiar with Shakespeare since they were preschoolers. Bruce Coville has some good picture book adaptations. There is also a book I got from the library called Shakespeare for Beginners that is helpful. It has a historical background and synopsis, a critic's corner, lines to listen for, and 5 facts for each play. We have also really enjoyed Shakespeare: The Animated Tales. Each is about 20-25 minutes long and animated by famous Russian animators.

 

The pattern we have followed for our unit study:

 

Memorize a sonnet (we chose Sonnet 18, and the best part of it was that we got to watch a video of Tom Hiddleston/Loki reciting it) and learn about if via Shmoop

 

Read Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater (a Landmark book)

 

Watch Michael Wood's In Search of Shakespeare

 

Begin working our way through Animated Tales, first reading about the selected play in Shakespeare for Beginners and reading a picture book adaptation

 

Choose a passage from a play to memorize and learn about via Schmoop (we chose a passage from Richard III, which is my son's favorite of the plays we have studied)

 

Watch a documentary on the discovery of Richard III's bones in a carpark in 2012 (an unscheduled bunny trail because of the kids' interest in Richard III)

 

Watch all the Horrible Histories episodes that relate to Shakespeare, his time period, or the characters in his plays

 

Select several plays to watch in movie form (so far we have Orson Welles' Macbeth, David Tennant/Patrick Stewart's Hamlet, and two versions of Romeo and Juliet: the Franco Zeffirelli version from 1968 and Romeo + Juliet from 1996 with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio [i want the kids to see how interpretation makes all the difference])

 

We will cap off our unit study by watching a teenage friend of ours play Falstaff in The Tempest later this summer (at an outdoor theater, no less!).

 

We have specifically NOT read any of the original plays, as I am a diehard believer that reading them is the surest way to kill a love of Shakespeare. The plays were never meant to be read. They were meant to be performed. If my kids make it all the way through high school without ever actually reading a play, I will be thrilled.

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I started with Henry V. I am 99% sure that SWB recommends it in TWTM....and it was a great start.

 

MFS had a wonderful post on how she taught Shakespeare....but that was probably at least 12 years ago. I guess that kind of thing is lost...sigh. I wonder if I have a copy somewhere?

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I started with Henry V. I am 99% sure that SWB recommends it in TWTM....and it was a great start.

 

MFS had a wonderful post on how she taught Shakespeare....but that was probably at least 12 years ago. I guess that kind of thing is lost...sigh. I wonder if I have a copy somewhere?

 

I love those old posts from the old board - I have so many of them copied and saved. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest Oakmoss

 Comedies can have some issues like being drunken, or some sexual hints / jokes.

 

We follow the AO order, and started last year with 12th night, R&J (instead of Macbeth}, and As you like it.

 

We do

 

- Lambs retelling (in Dutch}

- Animated Shakespeare (Youtube}

- BBC production (DVD}

 

Nothing more.

Dd thinks Shakespeare is fun :001_smile:

 

I like the idea of starting with As You Like It. It is one of my favorite plays, is covered in Lamb's book, is very quotable, and there is an excellent performance available at amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Alfred-Molina-Dallas-Howard/dp/B00CDV4JNS/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1406230259&sr=1-2&keywords=as+you+like+it. (The hyperlink didn't come up readily. You may have to copy and paste in a browser window.) This version is done by Kenneth Branagh. I have seen several of his Shakespeare productions, including this one, and they are consistently good quality. I also like his performance of Henry V.

 

On sexual jokes: viewpoints on human sexuality have definitely changed since Shakespeare's time. Not surprising, because the culture has changed a lot. This does make several of his plays unsuitable for younger kids. However, it could become a discussion matter for older kids. I would particularly avoid Hamlet because of the incest theme. Just make sure you know what is in the play--read it and perhaps a Cliff's Notes or other study guide--before you launch into it.

 

I am not very familiar with AO's order. Could you post more about it? I'd really love to know more.

 

For us, I intend on including a Shakespeare play every year. DD already loves Shakespeare and has since she first saw Romeo and Juliet at age 2. (I know, but the tickets were free and she was sitting through movies quite well. (: ) We will read the play from Lamb's book, discuss it, memorize a short passage, and then see the play on DVD or live, should we get so lucky. We're returning to home schooling this year after 4 years of public school (finally, the extended family gets it--no more pressure!) and will be doing either A Midwinter's Tale or As You Like It, depending on what performances I can line up.

 

We will not be reading the play in the original because the plays were meant to be performed, not read. They can get boring very quickly for children if you try to read them that way. I used to teach K-12 all subjects, first at the smallest public school then open in Tennessee (which was fun at that time), then as a homebound teacher working with the kids who could not be in a classroom. Trying to read the plays was mind-numbing for these kids and they neither understood nor retained the information. But show them a performance and they got it immediately and loved it.

 

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We just used goanimate.com to create a few Shakespeare videos. It's free as long as each video is 30 seconds or less. So what we had to do was create a few of these 30-second videos for one small scene in R&J. I had DD summarize rather than use the original language unless it was particularly important (and there were a few), and she voiced her own script. This was so much fun for her that now she wants to make short videos of a scene from all his other major plays.

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We did Much Ado About Nothing.

 

Watched Brannaugh and Thompson version.

Read it aloud with a group of friends. Took about three sessions to read our way through it

 

Then we watched a different version. We did the David Tennant and Catherine Tate version. I'm looking forward to the recent Joss Whedon version too.

 

This same group is doing Macbeth in a few weeks. I have a stack of paperback copies of the play that I've been gathering from Goodwill and library sales.

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Well, all I can say is, beware of starting with a tragedy if you have littles!  After having read an abridged version and watched several different stage and/or movie versions of Midsummer, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night, and loved them, my 8 year old did *not* love Romeo & Juliet.  Well, that's not true - she loved it, except for the ending.  ;) She has now informed me that she does not do tragedies - she will let me know if that changes in the future!

 

Of course my 11 year old and I loved it, but it definitely was a good reminder that not all younger kids are ready to deal with tragedy, or sad endings, or bad things happening to loved characters, and that it's ok to wait till they are ready.

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From your signature, it looks like you have a 5th grader, so I'm speaking directly about how I would tackle introducing Shakespeare to that age.

 

I'd definitely wait on reading a full play until high school. A good start would be either watching one of the Animated Shakespeare abridged versions, or reading a nice adaptation. A nice optional next step would be to then do a "reader's theather" or enact a single scene as a family or as a small homeschool group. Definitely go see a live production, once you're all familiar with the storyline and characters from the adaptation.

 

JMO: the histories are a DRY place to start because you really have to know and understand the context, and unless your student is a history-lover, that can make Shakespeare seem dull and irrelevant. So JMO, I would NOT start with the Henry V, Julius Caesar, etc. Not a lot of action for the most part. Again, JMO, and it varies from student to student, but… drama, strong emotions, and humor are much more engaging and more likely to give "newbies" more of a foothold when starting off with Shakespeare.

 

What does your student LIKE in a story? That would be a good starting point for *your* family's intro to Shakespeare. Does you student enjoy...

Humor? Then maybe Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer Night's Dream or Taming of the Shrew.

Adventure/disguise? Twelfth Night or Midsummer Night's Dream.

Fairytales? Midsummer Night's Dream or The Tempest.

Blood & guts? Macbeth.

Romance? (playful) As You Like It (doomed/tragic)? Romeo and Juliet.

 

More complex plays (and probably harder to connect with as your first outing with Shakespeare) include: Othello, Merchant of Venice, and definitely King Lear. Measure for Measure is problematic and revolves around a rather lurid adult premise.

 

Ideas for resources for introducing Shakespeare:

 

Tales from Shakespeare, or, Bravo Mr. William Shakespeare (Williams) -- very fun comicbook adaptations of plays, and includes comments from rowdy spectators, which is exactly what the original experience of Shakespeare at the Globe Theater would have been like; perfect for 5th grade. You might start with these 2 volumes, and see which play your student likes the best, and then go deeper with that play.

 

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales -- see a sample of Hamlet here -- are 30 minute abridged versions.

 

Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb) and Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (Nesbit) are prose retellings, written in Victorian style language. They are solid, fine options, but they do not use Shakespeare's language, nor are they "current" in language, nor are they very dramatic in narrative. I liked the above poster's suggestions of graphic novels and other more current retellings.

 

In the late elementary grades, our DSs really enjoyed watching the 1960s musical film of West Side Story as their intro to the storyline of Romeo and Juliet. And the 1950s sci-fi film Forbidden Planet is very fun to watch after becoming familiar with the story of The Tempest.

 

In middle school, DSs walked in from an evening outing and found DH and I watching the Kenneth Branaugh version of Much Ado About Nothing, were instantly laughing and hooked, and made us rewind to watch the whole play. I think that says a lot for the accessibility and enjoyability of that particular play, and for the power of *watching* a performance over reading a play as your first exposure to the "real deal". :)

 

Just my ramblings and personal opinions. ;) BEST of luck, whatever you decide to do and go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

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