Theatre Around the World: Shakespeare

I taught a lesson on Shakespeare that was very similar to a lesson that I taught over the summer. You can see another post on that. I am just trying to get them to walk away with a few facts from each type of theatre that we study. I am finding that its hard to get them to remember even a few short facts. Since I've been to London, I showed them pictures of the Globe. The best part of the lesson was telling them about gender roles in Shakespearean Theatre. First, I told them that women were not allowed to be actors in that time. The girls cried out in outrage and the boys gave a mean spirited, Haha. Then I tell them that there were still girls in Shakespeare's plays so the boys dressed up as girls. "Eewwww, no way." So its the girls who get the last laugh.

I told them the story of the Tempest in a very truncated version. Then I let them act it out. The part where Caliban and Trinculo hide under the cloak is a fun scene for kids to act out. Also, the part where a pack of hounds chase Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo. The love story with Ferdinand and Miranda can be tricky but because there are so few girl roles, all the girls want to be Miranda and all the boys want to be the Prince so it works out.