Ted Tibbetts

7 Tips for Memorization

Posted on February 24, 2019March 4, 2019 by Ted Tibbetts

-Ted Tibbetts

Memorization has become a lost art. Proof? Recite four phone numbers from memory. If you can do it, you’re better than me! With immediate hand-held access to information, we seldom need to learn anything by heart. However, situations occasionally arrive when we wish we had the brain power to commit things to memory. These seven strategies will help!

1. Read and Repeat

In this method, you read the words, then repeat them to yourself over and over. This traditional method has stood the test of time for a reason: it works. Kind of. The big challenge comes with maintaining engagement. Often we think we are repeating the words in our head but, rather, we think about what’s for dinner thereby negating the process of lodging these words into long-term memory. Instead, we’ve just wasted 20 minutes. This approach can be effective, however.

Consider adding the following steps. Write cue lines on one side of an index card, then write your lines that come after on the other side. Maintain line integrity: in other words, begin a new line on the card as it shows on the script. This will help to parse the text appropriately. In addition, write the act and scene in the top left of the card, and number the lines in order in the top right. This will help reorganize them when you inevitably drop them on the floor.

Carry a few cards around with you over the course of the day. Set goals for yourself like, “I’m going to learn these two cards by the end of the day.” Then, whenever you have a quick moment, pull them out and rehearse the lines. Spending 30 seconds ten times a day will be far more effective than spending five minutes all at once. Moreover, you can capitalize on those “dead” times like when you are waiting in line or walking from one place to another.

2. Record and Listen

With the ubiquity of earbuds these days and the proliferation of podcasts, auditory channels can be a highly effective way to transfer information. Record your lines with a voice recorder app, then play them back on your phone. You’ve just created your own line podcast!

3. One Word at a Time

This approach can be tedious but highly effective for those slippery lines that just don’t seem to stick. Part of its effectiveness comes from the repetitions you get from the recall. It’s like those times where you say, “I know it, it’s on the tip of my tongue” but you have to mentally grope for the thought. It’s lodged in your brain somewhere, but you’ve only created one neural pathway to retrieve that bit of information and your brain says, “Now where did I put that file?” In this technique, you exponentially increase the number of recall repetitions. For example, say you want to memorize Hamlet’s line “I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth.” You would say, “I…I have…I have of…I have of late…I have of late but” and so on, until you have committed that line to memory. Be sure to deliberately look away from the page so you know you aren’t merely reading the line. As I said, it takes time and is tedious. Thus, I save its use for those awkward lines with which I struggle.

4. Backward Line Recall

Like the One Word at a Time technique, this strategy can also be tedious and also incredibly challenging. But, it is an outstanding way to firmly anchor text in memory and smooth out lines plagued by a slow recall. Review the line on which you want to focus, then try to say it backward. For example, Macbeth’s line would be, “nothing signifying fury and sound of full idiot an by told tale a is it.” Forcing the brain to grasp the relationships between the words strengthen and deepen the neural connections and make recall much smoother and faster.

5. Pictographs

This method may be the most powerful because it works on several levels. Draw a quick picture or symbol that represents most of the words of the line. (I usually skip articles and prepositions) This is not fine art and does not have to be a direct representation of the word, just something that you associate with the word. For example, for Romeo’s line, “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks, it is the East and Juliet is the sun,” I would draw, well, a butt, then a pillow, (because it’s soft), then a lamp, then a straight arrow to represent “through” then an arc arrow to represent “yonder,” then a window, then a crack in the window for “breaks.” A compass for “East,” a face with long hair for “Juliet,” and then a sun. You should do this quickly for time’s sake and not agonize over getting the perfect image. You just want to connect an image with a word. By doing so, you are creating additional neural connections since the brain processes images differently than words. In addition, unlike the Read and Repeat, there is no way to mentally check out of this exercise…you have to stay engaged.

6. Objects

Like pictograms, using objects highly engages different parts of the brain and also the body for those kinesthetic learners. Assemble a pile of about a dozen different random objects: keys, a cell phone, a pencil, chapstick, a coin, some scissors, a roll of tape, a hat, a shoe, some glasses, a tack, and a book for example. Then assign the object to a word in the line that you want to memorize and “animate” it as you say the word. Say, for example, you want to learn Marc Antony’s line: “I come to bury Caesar not to praise him.” I would say something like, “Okay, ‘I’…well, glasses go over the eyes, so the glasses are “I.” And, “come”…well, I need keys to drive to come home. Then “‘to bury.’ Well, I’ve been buried with reading lately so the book will be that. Then ‘Caesar.’ He was stabbed…so scissors will be Caesar. And so on, until each significant word has an object attached to it. Then, say the line while picking up the associated object. Once you have the line down, begin picking up the objects in random order and saying the word until the line becomes smooth.

7. Weird Places

Once you have the lines mostly memorized, try changing your location. If you only memorize in one place, when you get into a different environment you are more likely to forget what you learned. (Don’t ask me how I know that.) This strategy also enhances engagement. By this time the brain feels like it’s at a faculty meeting so it tends to check out. By putting yourself in a weird place, however, suddenly memorization seems fresh again. Lie under the kitchen table, stand on top of the dryer, sit in the back of the closet, yell lines at the ocean. Not only will it feel quirky and new but your brain will also acclimate to multiple locales. When you get to the performance, your brain will think, “This isn’t as weird as dangling upside down from the monkey bars.”

A few last bits of advice: set a schedule and adhere to it. I usually have to memorize something three times before it truly sticks. I think I have it, then the next day it’s gone. I learn it again, then it’s gone. By the third time, though, it becomes much more firmly entrenched in long-term memory. Knowing that I budget “forget time.” And, to reiterate, I have found that multiple blocks of short time work much better than fewer blocks of longer time. So have at it and let me know how it goes!

Check out video post here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijapTY5-nfE

Designing Shakespeare Lesson Plans

Posted on February 15, 2019March 4, 2019 by Ted Tibbetts

-Ted Tibbetts

The daunting task of designing an entire unit of Shakespeare lessons can feel like, well….Exit, pursued by a bear. While these units hold so much potential, helping students over the Elizabethan language barrier can be tough. So tough, in fact, it can be tempting to “do you any embassage to the Pigmies, rather than” attempt to convince students that Shakespeare can be fun. By planning a series of progressive skill building activities, however, you will find that students will clamor for more! Really.

Shakespeare Units: Backwards Design

When designing Shakespeare units, consider “Backwards Design” if you are a Marzano follower, or “keeping the end in mind” if you are a Covey acolyte. Some teachers may want to emphasize literacy, essential questions, or cultural allusions. As I have discussed before, I prefer to focus on the performance. The process fosters teamwork (“I don’t want to play Juliet, you play Juliet-No I don’t want to play Juliet-okay, fine, I’ll play Juliet), and resiliency, (“Gulp, there’s an audience out there”). I find that textual and cultural literacy will occur de facto, though I usually include few activities to ensure that happens. However, when considering the big picture of what I want my students to know or be able to do: perform a Shakespeare scene. I consider this the third and final phase of the unit.

To get to phase three, we must deliberately plan phase two. (For you Monty Python fans, five is “right out.”) . How do I teach students the skills necessary to perform a scene? For English class students, many who have 1) never acted before and 2) are initially terrified of the process, I like to keep it relatively simple. Clearly, they need to understand what the words mean and how they feel about what they are saying. They need to be able to “speak the speech…trippingly on the tongue” so it doesn’t sound like a drunken cowboy at a hootenanny. (No offense to you drunken cowboys out there.) They also need to know how to use space to communicate ideas so they’re not either standing in a line or a circle oblivious to the audience. Finally, they should know how to depict a character.

Phases of Shakespeare Lesson Planning

BUT, before we can get to any of the skill development, we have to plan phase one. In many pedagogical circles, educators emphasize the need to clarify misconceptions. Most importantly, as Shakespeare teachers, we must change the student paradigm that Shakespeare is a boring, pompous dead white guy impossible to understand. Or, in other words, eliminate “Shakesfeare.” (I usually begin this process by telling them that many of Shakespeare’s original audience couldn’t read and that there or more sex jokes in the opening of Romeo and Juliet then in an entire episode of Game of Thrones.) Consequently, many of my phase one activities are purposefully upbeat, relatively easy, and, often, as silly as possible. Making these warm-ups and introductory activities energetic gradually fosters familiarity with the language and hopefully sends the message that, “Hey, this is kind of fun. Maybe I won’t be eviscerated doing this.” When students come to class and begin asking hopefully, “Are we doing Shakespeare today?” then you know you’ve accomplished the mission.

Time for Shakespeare

We also face the thorny issue of time. Already pressed for time as a result of this standardized testing day, that professional development day, or, in the North, the inevitably ill-timed snow day, our classroom time disappears faster than happy hour on Friday. And, for sure, using performance strategies to teach Shakespeare takes time. This is why: I assign almost no homework for this unit. Other than activities at the end of the unit to prepare for scene work, I do it all in class. In my humble opinion, assigning Shakespeare reading for homework constitutes a recipe for disaster. My entire approach is predicated on the philosophy that Shakespeare should be seen and experienced, not merely read. However, this approach takes time, and curricular demands often necessitate covering more content.

Thus, I solve this problem by assigning less complicated text…a choice book perhaps, or, in the case of a 9th-grade classroom, The Pearl. In addition, lately, I have been experimenting with faux online class structures. As online education becomes more and more popular, (many of our juniors and seniors take online college classes in high school), I want students to be familiar with the process. Moreover, as a Google Classroom school, it is easy for me to post materials, assignments, and discussion questions online. I check in with students in class each day about this unit to answer any questions, but, for the most part, students complete this work on their own and we can focus on Shakespeare in class.

In addition, I save time by cutting the play. Bryn Allison in her article “How to Teach Shakespeare so Your Students Won’t Hate It” suggests both omitting entire scenes and performing parts of others. I find this highly effective. Rather than forcing students to muddle through long passages of archaic references, I streamline scenes to be more time efficient. I often post or print cut google doc versions for class. (If you think you’d like versions of these scenes, leave a comment below and I’ll add posting them to my project list!)

Lesson Planning

Students work the opening of *Romeo and Juliet*

Many learning situations, especially activities like music and sports, follow a progression. First comes the warm-up, then skill building followed by the application of the skills in drills, and finally, the performance or game. I like to follow a similar daily progression. I choose a warm-up appropriate to the needs of the students and the content of the day. For example, if students need to develop more reading fluency, I’ll choose a text activity. If their speech sounds like a garbled mess I’ll choose a voice activity like “Silly Sounds.” If the scene for the day provides opportunities for complex blocking, then we’ll do a space activity. I often consider the warm-up to be a skill builder as well, so we often progress right to the scene(s) of the day. As mentioned earlier, most of my phase one activities focus on building familiarity. In fact, I often tell students, “Don’t understand any of it; I’ll explain it later!” so they don’t get bogged down. Once students begin to read more fluently and have overcome some of their anxiety about the text, I facilitate more skill-building activities like “Dropping In,” “Find the Breaks,” or “Embedded Stage Directions.” (Look for upcoming posts on all these activities!)

After warm-ups/skill building, we run the scene. For phase one and the beginning of phase 2, we do it all together. I either ask for volunteers for the parts or “highly encourage” students to take on various roles. Usually I also “set the scene” by explaining generally what happens in the upcoming scene and how the characters feel about what’s going on.

Students then read through the parts on their feet, acting as much as possible, and I play the role of director suggesting ways to deliver the line. For example, I may ask them, “How do you think the character feels about what you just said?” When they answer I say, “Okay, say it like you mean it.” Or, I may suggest, “Okay, you really want her attention right? And she’s not so sure she wants it, so…each time to say a line take a step closer. And you, every time you say a line, take a step away.” I’ll even sometimes have a student deliver a line two or three ways and ask them which one they like best.

For longer scenes, I will find natural breakpoints and recast with different students to get more people involved. About midway through phase two, I’ll break the scene into parts, and assign a group of students to cast, read, and briefly rehearse their section, then bring the whole class together in a scene jigsaw where each group performs their part of the scene. Not only does this approach get everyone involved but it also prepares them for scene rehearsal.

Shakespeare Assessment

I plan on putting together an entirely separate post on assessment; however, I will touch on it here. Essentially, I tell students to decide what character or scene they would like to perform, or with whom would they prefer to work. I give them a performance rubric (the rubric addresses the Reading Literature and Speaking and Listening Standards) and a week and a half and…go! I ask them to create basic costumes, obtain necessary props, memorize lines, and rehearse the scene. I try to schedule time in the theater so we have a bigger space in which to work.

During the phase, I also give small assignments that help them prepare. I facilitate a memorization tricks workshop. I ask them to “translate” their individual lines into their own language and submit it. I also have them submit “Intention Notes,” and I give them memorization quizzes for blocks of lines. Many students still feel nervous at this point, so I tell them that if they complete all these assignments to the best of their ability, I guarantee success no matter what the outcome of the performance.

Conclusion

Like most fears, the reluctance to study Shakespeare stems from the unknown. Confidence, on the other hand, comes from accomplishing challenging but manageable tasks. People don’t often get up from the couch and run a marathon. By sequencing lessons and activities in ways that foster confidence and skill building, teachers can help create Shakespeare enthusiasts from their students.

Please feel free to post questions and comments below!

The Number One Reason I Love Teaching Shakespeare (Way Beyond Standards…)

Posted on February 11, 2019March 4, 2019 by Ted Tibbetts

-Ted Tibbetts

I felt almost giddy in the classroom. Clearly, my students could sense it. I was introducing the Shakespeare unit; I’m sure I was gesticulating wildly, talking fast, and perhaps even foaming at the mouth a bit. Cassius would have disapproved. I paused for a breath and one of my students raised her hand.

“Why do you love teaching Shakespeare so much?”

I felt pretty sure I knew the answer; but I started off with the typical, “It’s good for language skills and cultural knowledge and the human condition and…,” but then I stopped. And told them a story about MaryAnn.

Afterward, wondering if others felt the same, I did some research. As it turns out, I agree with the Shakespeare teachers out there. I particularly enjoyed Brian Sztabnik’s article “Why I Love Teaching Shakespeare (And You Should Too!)” He’s spot on when he says that getting up and acting it creates “less of a sedentary place and more of a dynamic environment for learning.” I couldn’t agree more that the themes foster “sophisticated discussions.” And he even acknowledges that as a student, reading Shakespeare helped him develop his reading confidence. I would add that the confidence-building extends beyond reading. In fact, it has had the most significant impact on both me and my students.

Here’s the story….

I began using performance strategies for teaching Shakespeare in the mid-1990s. The strategies had such positive impacts in English class that they spawned a Shakespeare through Performance elective. Several students participated in a summer Shakespeare program. Then they came back in the fall, went to drama club, came back to me and said, “Drama club’s cool, but it’s not Shakespeare. What if we had a separate drama club just for Shakespeare?”

Me (out loud) “Sounds great!” Me (inner voice) “With three of you?”

We ended up with around 25 students.

Students workshop with Desmond Barrit of the Royal Shakespeare Company

This club turned out to be one of the most powerful student groups with which I’ve worked. In the fall we worked on skill development, ensemble building, and everyone learned a monologue (including me). In the winter, we cut a play to a 15-minute farce. In the spring we produced a full-length Shakespeare play and the first week of summer vacation we spent at the Royal Shakespeare Company workshopping with RSC actors during the day and attending the theater at night. It was truly an incredible group with which to work.

MaryAnn joined the club her sophomore year. Often appearing shy and self-conscious, she struggled to decode text. Once the language anchored itself into her head she was fine, but getting words from the page to her head, then into her voice, was an arduous process.

That year we produced Much Ado About Nothing. It was the year Gap had been running the khakis swing dancing commercials, and since it was a post-war play we decided to set it in a post-WWII swing dancing era. A local music teacher and composer set “Sigh No More” as a swing song (“Hey! Hey! Nonny Nonny, Hey! Hey! Nonny Nonny”) and “Goddess of the Night” as a slow blues tune. MaryAnn’s singing voice made her an excellent fit for Balthasar. Her performances were beautiful but restrained. I could tell she still felt a bit hesitant.

Her junior year we did Merry Wives of Windsor. She played Bardolph, still a small role, but one she took seriously. Kids told me that she never broke character even backstage. It was also this year that I really began to understand how her brain worked. She still struggled with reading text, but one day I discovered that she possessed outstanding verbal skills.

We were workshopping monologues in a variation of a “dropping in” exercise. We’d asked her questions about the words in her text designed to provide her with emotional and visual context for her monologue. Then, she stood up and performed it for us. When she finished, she just stood there. And I knew that she had gone somewhere…hypnotized almost. We just sat there and waited. “The words….” she stammered and shook her head almost as if to clear the cobwebs. “The words….”

Then came her senior year. We had decided to perform Henry IV Part 1. Students had filled out audition sheets and when I got to hers I saw that she wanted to play Falstaff.

Oh, boy.

So I called her into my office.

“I see that you want to play Falstaff.”

“Yeah, that would be great!”

“There’s a lot of lines…a lot of memorization.”

“I know. I know. But I can do it. I promise.”

“There’s a lot of jokes about size, and..uh….”

“I know. But I really want to do it.”

Thinking. (Me). Waiting. (Her).

“Alright, Let’s do it.” And so began one of the most powerful educational experiences of my life.

As a teacher or a student.

I liked to structure rehearsals like this: On Monday we would rehearse a scene: work on the language, determine blocking and create characters. (Only the actors involved in that scene needed to be there.) Then the next scene on Tuesday, maybe a couple of scenes on Wednesday, and so on. On the last rehearsal of the week, usually Thursday or Friday, the entire cast would come. We would run the scenes we had already rehearsed word for word. I expected actors to have memorized their lines for those scenes we had already rehearsed. Then, we would improvise the rest of the play. “Tell me the story,” I would shout from the audience. I loved this part. A bit rocky at first, but week by week these run-throughs grew more and more comic.

MaryAnn came to her first rehearsals with her lines already memorized. Not perfect, but pretty darn close. Although we never really talked about it, I’m pretty sure that she knew that it would be tough for her to read them and rehearse, so she prepared early. And the results were astounding. Free from decoding text she found sight-gags and interpretations that went far beyond my creative abilities.

Indeed, she made good on her promise. She learned all her lines; she created a strong character. It turned out to be a highly engaging show with comedy, drama, music, and clanging and banging broadsword stage combat. Word spread. By our last show, we had a packed house. And MaryAnn truly emerged as a star.

She had decided that Falstaff would ALWAYS have a pint of ale in his hand. At the inn, on the road, and in battle. Late in the play, during a battle scene, Falstaff feigns death, (after carefully setting his ale down lest he spill a few drops) to avoid risking his life fighting Douglas the terrible Scot. Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, Hal, the protagonist succeeds in killing Hotspur the Antagonist. After Hal exits, Falstaff gets up and sees Hotspur lying there (after his “the better part of valor is discretion” speech.) He decides that Hotspur looks scary even dead, and, lest he “counterfeit too and rise” Falstaff decides to stab him to be sure he IS dead. Moreover, even better, he can claim that Hotspur, merely wounded, rose again and that he, Falstaff, ultimately killed him. Again, MaryAnn made a hilarious interpretive choice here saying “Therefore, Sirrah, with a new wound in your…[closing her eyes and stabbing blindly, then looking]…thigh, come you along with me.”

The stage directions then state that Falstaff “Takes up Hotspur on his back.” Fortunately for us (I’d love to claim that it was brilliant casting on my part but I don’t recall having the forethought for this), a 112-pound champion wrestler played Hotspur, so his athleticism and MaryAnn’s strength made this move possible. Not only could she pick him up but she could also retrieve her pint of ale in the other hand. Of course….

Prince Hal and other members of the army of re-enter and question Falstaff about Hotspur’s death. And then comes the stage direction, “Throwing the body down”, but how could Falstaff put him down without spilling the ale? Once again, Hotspur’s athleticism came into play. Falstaff could heave him from his shoulder, and Hotspur could use stage combat falling technique to protect himself while making the fall look real.

So, as I said, it’s a full house. Most of the audience hadn’t seen the show yet and have no idea this is coming. MaryAnn heaves Hostpur from her shoulder who falls with a great clamor on the hardwood stage floor. There is a LOUD audible gasp from the audience. I’m pretty sure I heard multiple “Oh my God!”s. MaryAnn stops…looks at the audience, shrugs her shoulders, points to the body and whispers, “He’s dead.”

Uproarious laughter and a standing ovation on the spot! And I’m choking because my body can’t decide to laugh or cry. It’s HILARIOUS but I’m wiping away tears because I am so moved by the moment. This shy, self-conscious, most likely dyslexic student has internalized Shakespeare and the language. That’s exactly what Falstaff would have said! She has developed confidence. She’s, for the moment, the hero of the play. And I think, “This is why I teach Shakespeare.”

There is no Common Core standard for that. But it’s the most important. And yes, I fully agree that the rigor of Shakespeare’s texts develop literacy and cultural knowledge and…the list goes on. But performing Shakespeare, even in low key settings of the classroom help build people, not just students. Yes, there can be some anxiety. (Anxiety is today what ADHD was in the 90s). But our students need opportunities to work on overcoming this anxiety. In a day where educational leaders and community members chant “Rigor!” studying and performing Shakespeare fits the playbill.

Performing Shakespeare builds community in the classroom. Students learn to trust each other. They bond by overcoming shared challenges. They clap for each other; I clap for them.

Difficult moments will arise. At the end of the unit, there’s usually at least one student who says, “I was terrified and never want to do it again.” Others admit, “I was terrified, but I’m so proud of myself for doing it.” Believe it or not, though, a significant additional portion of students clamor, “That was fun, let’s we do it again!”

At that moment, I’m reminded of MaryAnn. I feel myself tearing up, and my students once again wonder what’s wrong with me.

Silly Sounds: Teaching Shakespeare Voice and Language

Posted on February 2, 2019March 4, 2019 by Ted Tibbetts

Many students initially object to Shakespeare because it sounds funny. But funny in a bad way. Like, “hmmm, this milk smells funny.” This activity spins funny in a good way. Like, “that scene from Comedy of Errors sure was funny!” By using a non-traditional and non-serious approach to the text we can demystify Shakespeare, improve students’ diction, and increase their familiarity with the language.

A Brief Stint into Pedagogical Theory

Before we delve into the activity, we should discuss some pedagogical theory. ( Don’t worry, this won’t be as long and boring as a faculty meeting.) Learning needs to happen through repetition. However, when repetition gets boring our brains check out so although we think we’re getting repetitions we’re really just wondering what we’ll do when Game of Thrones ends. Thus, most efficient learning comes when we can engage in experiences similar enough to facilitate learning BUT varied enough to keep in fresh. (Unlike the funny smelling milk.) That’s one of the reasons I love this activity.

Speak the Speech

All that you need for this activity is some text, a sense of adventure and trusting nature. Essentially, students will read a text in a variety of ways. I usually place them in pairs and have them switch of reading when they come to a “major punctuation mark” like the end of a sentence, a colon or semi-colon. That way they can get a bit of a break and, also, listen to someone else reading.

For all of these directions, I usually explain them briefly, then immediately say “Off you go,” then start modeling the directions myself.

First, I tell them to read while waving their hands in “dramatic flourishes.” This does nothing to improve their reading but it increases the energy. I also have an unscientifically proven theory that this makes them feel more like real Shakespearean actors.

Next, I tell them to pronounce ONLY the consonant sounds. After I remind them what a consonant is, I model a line. For example, the line “This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine” would sound like “Thsthngfdrknsscknldgmn.” It’s like Pig Latin but more chaotic.

Then, you guessed it…vowels. This gets even sillier. “I have of late but wherefore I know not” sounds like,” I-a-o-a-u-e-o-io-o.”

After vowels I usually have students vacillate through their vocal range. The begin a line talking really low like Darth Vader and gradually, over the course of the line talk in a high voice like Michael Jackson, then back down again.

Then I get really crazy. Sometimes I have them sing…opera, rap, country twang. Then in an “outrageous accent. Really OUTRAGEOUS.” Some students become a bit hesitant here, but others leap right into it. There’s usually quite a bit of giggling going on at this point. From the students, too. If so, I know the activity has been a success.

I always end with a whisper. But I tell them “not to lose a single sound.” This variation fosters precision in their articulation. It also helps to restore a bit of order and focus. Chaos can be great but needs to be reigned in before we can shift our focus to scene work.

At the beginning of a Shakespeare unit, I do this activity as a warm up about twice a week. I see a dramatic improvement in the fluidity of their reading and the clarity of their diction. Give it a try and be sure to send me a recording of the outrageous accents!

https://youtu.be/5gmXKl4FwCk

Check out some student examples!

Fun Activity for Teaching Shakespeare Plots

Posted on February 2, 2019March 4, 2019 by Ted Tibbetts

Why Teach a Plot Summary?

Teaching Shakespeare can be hard; learning Shakespeare can be even harder. The demands of vocabulary, syntax, plot, and sheer volume of words can overwhelm young brains accustomed to processing bite-sized text. Student brains can often crash attempting too much too soon with a Shakespearean play. They are like web browsers taxed with too many open tabs. Beginning with a plot overview engages all learners and relieves anxiety while introducing the characters and plot lines; thus, freeing brain power to focus on the complexities of language in future lessons.

“Casting” the Play

To begin, assign as many roles as possible. I will often write the major characters on scrap pieces of paper or occasionally grab a stack of “Hi, my name is….” stickers from the office. When I have time, a particularly creative burst of energy, or a class that really needs strong visual references, I make large name cards that can be worn around the neck. I find including smaller characters like servants or messengers unnecessarily complicates the plot lines; however, small parts often engage more reluctant thespians. So I often include parts like, “The bush that Romeo hides behind” or, for Twelfth Night, “The Bow, “The Stern,” “The Mast” and “The Shipwrecking Storm.”

I employ various strategies for distributing roles. Sometimes, I have students pick parts from a hat. Other times I “rig” the drawing when I know that either someone would serve as a marvelous Mercutio, or, terrified of performing, they would make a terrific tree from which Ariel could be rescued. In addition, sometimes I try to get everyone a role, or, with smaller classes, two roles, and other times I promise that non-recruited students will receive roles in the future.

Action!

After parts have been cast, read a plot summary. I like the ones from Shakespeare for Dummies. They impart a sense of humor and aren’t too detailed…although at times I find myself adding more detail if I think that students are following the plot well. As I read the summary, students get up and improvise that part. For example, I would read, “Duke Orsino sends letters to Lady Olivia, who rejects them because she is mourning her brother.” I would then prompt the student playing Orsino, “Hey, send her this letter. [The piece of scrap paper I’m waving around my hand] Give it to that guy, he’s the messenger.” Orsino usually takes the letter and hands it to the other student and direct the messenger: “Okay, go give it to Olivia over there. Okay, good. Now Olivia…reject it.” At which point, she either puts up her hand, drops the letter on the floor, or, ideally, she rips it up dramatically then hurls it at the messenger. Progress through the summary, reading, directing, encouraging and complimenting. After finishing, check for understanding. Ask questions for the class to answer, or see how much of the play they could do again without prompting.

Bonus Tip for Creating Culture

Years ago I participated in a Shakespeare workshop with a theater out of Lenox, Massachusetts, and Kevin, the director, gave me some of the most powerful educational advice: “Don’t be good at it!” I found this liberating. “Wait…I don’t have to be good at this? I can just wing it?” Suddenly my brain and heart were free to fully experience the activity without worrying about getting it right. Let’s face it, ALL learning is failure. If you didn’t fail, you didn’t learn…you already knew it. Thus, focusing on the experience, not “getting it right” helps create a growth mindset culture.

So give it a try! Post your questions, reactions, and discoveries in the comments! You can check out a video version of this post below!