Customer Reviews

Discovering Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Workbook for Students and Teachers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I highly recommend this book to any teacher who wants to introduce her students to performing Shakespeare. We used this abridged version with our fifth and sixth grade students (we added in the whole of Puck's final speech, however!). The book pairs Shakespeare's language with a vernacular version of the play; the original language and vernacular "translation" are placed on facing pages. With the help of the vernacular version and a lot of coaching, our students were able to understand the play, memorize the lines, and perform the play in front of an audience. What was most exciting about the experience was that you could tell the kids *understood* the Shakespearian language from the way they spoke the lines -- they *said* them, rather than recited them. I credit this book's design and approach to the play with helping the kids to understand so much. We approached the idea of doing Shakespeare with this age group with some trepidation -- but with the help of this book, it was the highlight of our school year. (The book also has helpful sections which introduce the kids to the basics of the theater).

This thoughtfully organized book is a fabulous resource for any teacher hoping to introduce Shakespeare to her students. I am currently using this book with two fourth grade classes and could not be having better results.