S.E.E. (the Statement, Evidence, Explanation Model), by Shawn Northfield

Gadzooks! 'Zounds! (Are you Crazy!), Exceptional Shakespeare in the Exceptional Classroom, by John Bell.

The Strategic Planning Process, by Barry Russell, Alix MacDonald, and Leslie McKernon

Writing Class? Where to Start?, by Margann MacGregor

Gadzooks! 'Zounds! (Are you Crazy!)
(printable PDF version)

Introduction

Let's face it - we've all been there. We start off in September with the short story unit, ease gently into the novel study, coax more-or-less willing participants into trying their hands at poetry. We have the best of intentions, really. We are decent, dictionary-fearing people, we English-types. Then we hit it. The wall. Shakespeare.

Frankly, we as teachers dread the logistical nightmare of shepherding a group of recalcitrant students through an often inaccessible text. And let's be honest here - some of our students at the best of times have but a tenuous grasp of the concepts of reading current Standard English, let alone the prose/poetic mix of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.

Teachers dread the inevitable questions - why are we doing this? What does that mean? Why is this important? We dread the questions, because we are not armed with the answers. Grandma's "eat-your-carrots" justifications pop immediately to mind: "Because it is good for you." "Because it will build character." "Because I said so."

Why do we teach Shakespeare? Some of us have no choice. We do it because it is on the curriculum. We are often defensive, overwhelmed and, so are the kids. If we don't know what we are doing, if we aren't enjoying ourselves, the kids won't either. They pick up our subtle nonverbal clues and throw them right back in our faces, immediately scuttling any hope of a successful, more or less enjoyable, Shakespearean unit. Obviously, this is compounded in the exceptional classroom.

Year after year, creeping its petty pace from day to day, the situation replicates itself, resulting in frustration, resentment, and a complete write-off of Shakespeare's work. Friends, Teachers, Country persons - it need not be so. There are no easy-out Hollywood movie answers to the dilemma -- Robin Williams and Michelle Pfeiffer we are not. In the real classroom there will be no "captain my captain," or trips to fancy restaurants for students who do assignments. Glamorous it is not, but a simple common sense, down to earth, and playful attitude will rescue the Bard from the boggy mire in which he doth currently reside.