Beware the Ides of March

Beware the Ides of March

March 14th is often celebrated as "pi" day by my math colleagues, but March 15th is a day my fellow English and social studies teachers celebrate in honor of Julius Caesar.

Do you do anything special in your classroom on this day? I am usually teaching Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar with my sophomores and try to time it so we are performing Act III in class on the ides of March.

PROPS:
My students love to dress the part, so I have several sheets that have been donated to the classroom for students to drape over their shoulders. I also picked up plastic daggers after Halloween one year (I think they were 25¢ each on clearance). I usually take pictures while they are acting and post them in the room so the other sections can see their classmates in action.

One year I had some extra creative students who wanted to make a Roman feast for March 15th. After doing some research, they realized that most of the recipes were probably a little too difficult for them to prepare (or they didn't have enough time). But we still feasted on grapes, sparkling grape juice, cheese, olives, a roasted chicken, and of course Doritos and Chips Ahoy cookies, which were Caesar's favorites.

How do you and your students celebrate March 15th? 
Share in the comments below. For additional reading about the Ides of March, please read my posts on my other blog:
Celebrating Shakespeare...
Beware the Ides of March: Lessons Men Can Learn from Julius Caesar

Act III of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare