Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Great Resources
Hey guys,
As an education major, what I want from this class and this blog are a multitude of wonderful resources to use in the future. Hopefully, a few of you are on the same page and enjoy these posts.
This Shakespearean Dictionary is amazing. Did you know that facinorous means wicked?
This site has famous quotes.
Learn some information about the history of the Globe Theater at this site.
As an education major, what I want from this class and this blog are a multitude of wonderful resources to use in the future. Hopefully, a few of you are on the same page and enjoy these posts.
This Shakespearean Dictionary is amazing. Did you know that facinorous means wicked?
This site has famous quotes.
Learn some information about the history of the Globe Theater at this site.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Another Just For Kids Site
I know I have already posted a site for kids, but one more can't hurt. Have fun with coloring, word searches, mazes, crosswords, and puzzles here.
Wiredforbooks.org
I wish I would have found this site sooner. The site has audio and video readings of almost all Shakespearean plays and a few sonnets. For me, reading Shakespeare is so much easier when I follow along to someone else reading aloud. This site would be wonderful for students, especially students with lower reading levels.
Shakespeare For Kids
Here is one last site from the Folger Shakespeare Library. It's full of activities for kids. Check out Shakespearean insults, word jumbles, fun facts, coloring, puzzles, and more. I have several favorites on this site. I absolutely love the Who am I? game in which a short descriptive paragraph is given and you guess the character. Here is an example from the site. Can you guess who it is?
Only one of Shakespeare's comedies is set in England. Name the play.
I have one last favorite. The site provides the recipe for wassail, a beverage drank during holiday celebrations like the one in The Twelfth Night. It looks yummy!
At my practicum, I was grading some Romeo and Juliet tests the eighth graders had completed. The essay question required them to reflect on their level of understanding for reading Shakespeare. One student remarked that he/she had heard so many times that Shakespeare was difficult that he/she did not even want to try. However, after he/she had started reading, he/she discovered the reading was challenging but not impossible. Sites like this one, that put a fun spin on Shakespeare, put students at ease and encourages students to try. These engaging, interactive, and educational websites are a wonderful asset to teaching Shakespeare, especially in the younger grades.
Two men are chasing me in the forest. They declare they love me, but yesterday they both loved my friend. I don't understand why they mock me so!
Or, take the Shakespeare challenge.Only one of Shakespeare's comedies is set in England. Name the play.
I have one last favorite. The site provides the recipe for wassail, a beverage drank during holiday celebrations like the one in The Twelfth Night. It looks yummy!
At my practicum, I was grading some Romeo and Juliet tests the eighth graders had completed. The essay question required them to reflect on their level of understanding for reading Shakespeare. One student remarked that he/she had heard so many times that Shakespeare was difficult that he/she did not even want to try. However, after he/she had started reading, he/she discovered the reading was challenging but not impossible. Sites like this one, that put a fun spin on Shakespeare, put students at ease and encourages students to try. These engaging, interactive, and educational websites are a wonderful asset to teaching Shakespeare, especially in the younger grades.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
More Teacher's Resources Makes April Happy
Also from the Shakespeare Folger Library, this page is an educator's dream-come-true. These teacher's resources are organized by lesson plans, primary resources, study guides, audio and visual, teacher's lounge, and other sources.
The site shows five featured Shakespeare lesson plans every month, but also has allows searching through archived lesson plans.
The primary resources part of the site is really cool. The Folger Institute is home to many early modern books. The site shows excerpts of these books along with teaching ideas. Like with the lesson plans, the site features a few early modern books or manuscripts on a variety of topics, but also archives all books to allow for searching. For an interesting experience, browse this book, Coryats Crudities, written by Thomas Coryats and published in 1611. The book is about Coryats observations of Jews as he travels through Western Europe and his analysis of Jewish stereotypes, very fitting for this The Merchant of Venice blog.
The site has study guides for many of Shakespeare's plays, but not The Merchant of Venice. "Each study guide contains a plot summary, a list of characters, interactive activities, and discussion questions."
Under the audio and visual category, the site contains a podcast about Macbeth's themes, characters, and conflicts. In addition, another video shows students how to remix Shakespeare scenes to create original audio dramas. Any teacher should check out this engaging activity.
The site also has a teacher's lounge, a forum where teachers can ask questions, give answers, or just share.
The site also includes many other links in the other resources category.
The site shows five featured Shakespeare lesson plans every month, but also has allows searching through archived lesson plans.
The primary resources part of the site is really cool. The Folger Institute is home to many early modern books. The site shows excerpts of these books along with teaching ideas. Like with the lesson plans, the site features a few early modern books or manuscripts on a variety of topics, but also archives all books to allow for searching. For an interesting experience, browse this book, Coryats Crudities, written by Thomas Coryats and published in 1611. The book is about Coryats observations of Jews as he travels through Western Europe and his analysis of Jewish stereotypes, very fitting for this The Merchant of Venice blog.
The site has study guides for many of Shakespeare's plays, but not The Merchant of Venice. "Each study guide contains a plot summary, a list of characters, interactive activities, and discussion questions."
Under the audio and visual category, the site contains a podcast about Macbeth's themes, characters, and conflicts. In addition, another video shows students how to remix Shakespeare scenes to create original audio dramas. Any teacher should check out this engaging activity.
The site also has a teacher's lounge, a forum where teachers can ask questions, give answers, or just share.
The site also includes many other links in the other resources category.
Folger Shakespeare Library
This page is from the Folger Shakespeare Library website. This particular page provides a great short synopsis of the Merchant of Venice. Even better, the page contains graphics of paintings depicting scenes from this play. The watercolor of the trial scene is amazing. :)
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