Shakespeare is elementary!

Crichton Park, a small school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has found interesting ways to have their children get better acquainted with Shakespeare. Combining efforts of classes from grade 2 to 6, some artwork, letters, plays, journals and quizzes have been uploaded onto their special website, which targets teachers seeking for ideas as well as the kids themselves. It is interesting, for example, to browse by the timeline of Shakespeare's life while appreciating artwork and letters made by the children for each important fact, such as the great fire that burned down Globe Theatre. In a section called William's wonderful writing, the kids can read summaries and engage in online activities regarding six of Shakespeare plays: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and Macbeth. One can also watch a powerpoint presentation on the life and times of William Shakespeare and find some books and videos related to the English writer.

Do some Shakespeare yourself

Parents, teachers and students can find in Shakespeare Kids, a website maintained by the University of Texas at Austin, great ways of teaching and learning Shakespeare. To help parents support their children's interest in the English writer, there is some guidance on the purposes of the site and how to benefit from it. The "Do your own Shakespeare" pages, on their turn, allow students to imagine they are playing one of the roles of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", while teachers can find abundant material, including a guide to educator resources and texts for classroom use.

Shakespeare in UK schools

Shakespeare 4 Kidz is a very comprehensive website from a company based in the UK whose aim is to disseminate Shakespeare education through junior and primary schools. As they state in this section, they intend, among other things, to "demystify Shakespeare; making his work accessible whilst staying true to his style and content". It is easy to glance through their activities with the help of this 2007/8 pdf  bochure.

In the Fun section, both adults and kids can watch some very absorbing videos, including this rare footage of John Barrymore performing Richard III soliloquy and a link to the compelling BBC Shakespeare Game. The website also congregates news and professional reviews on the company's activities, along with a broad repository of external links about William Shakespeare.

Movies in the afternoon

An experienced teacher who lives in the Middle-East has had a little post of her blog devoted to list film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, many of them suitable for children. The list features BBC productions such as The Merchant of Venice and famous movies like The Taming of The Shrew, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

As for the ratings indicated next to each movie, this explanation by the Motion Picture Association of America can be very helpful.

Fun, fun, fun...

When it comes to teaching children, there is nothing more effective to keep their attention and interest than bringing some fun to the subject. Folger Shakespeare Library, home to one of the world's largest collections of materials related to William Shakespeare, has an online section called Shakespeare for Kids, where the little ones can learn and test their skills with world jumbles, challenges, mazes, image colouring, jigsaw puzzles and even crosswords, through specially designed pages such as this one.

Also, there are lots of information and fun facts about the Queen Elizabeth I, who saw some of Shakespeare's play performed, as well as links to the Library's collection and treasures. Furthermore, it is possible to listen to a piece of music from Shakespeare's time.

In another section called Puck's Place for Kids, they can submit and publish stories, plays, poems, songs and other materials. That is certainly a very good stimulation to the children, who actively indulge themselves in art.

Still speaking about fun, Random House has published a captivating website called "Playhouse - Home of Shakespeare games" with four interactive games designed to test children's knowledge on the English playwright and his plays, including an aptitude test.

Finally, there is this simple quiz with eleven questions about Shakespeare and their answers.

Stories of success

There are many accounts of success in the difficult task of introducing and teaching Shakespeare to elementary students. Some of them are aligned here, along with quick tips that can be of good use in the early stages of children's education and a lesson plan designed to encourage students to use their imagination with the support of the text of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and this simple handout.

A very enthralling case study aims at explaining the formula of a successfull play with children. According to its author's report, the students were compelled to vote on their most-liked play by secret ballot, and then to prepare its presentation on the stage while breaking the barriers of fear and timidity. As a result, concluded the author, the students ended up ready to stage "Twelfth Night" on Broadway.

A classic approach

When talking about adaptations of Shakespeare's plays for children, it is impossible not to mention Charles and Mary Lamb's "Tales from Shakespeare", a collection of 20 stories written back in 1807 for the purpose of affording children the possibility of a genuine contact with Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies.

The full text of the book with illustrations can be found here.

Further resources

If your children is interested in Shakespeare but not particularly excited about online activities,this page gathers a variety of other resources, such as videos and lavishly illustrated books. One fine example of the page endorsements is A Midsummer Night's Dream, a literary adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most known plays by Bruce Coville and Dennis Nolan. In addition, the page recommends The Inside Story: Shakespeare's Theatre, by Jacqueline Morley and John James, a book which brings "all about the Globe Theatres and theatrical techniques of Shakespeare's day".

It is also possible to purchased simplified scripts of Shakespeare's plays written to be staged by children in no more than one hour each.