Shakespeare Giveaway for Teachers

Shakespeare Giveaway


Please join my fellow TpT English teachers in this great giveaway hosted by David Rickert! ALL of the resources can be used with ANY Shakespeare play. And please share why YOU love teaching Shakespeare in the comments below.

Six English teachers with a love for Shakespeare are hosting a giveaway in honor of Shakespeare's birthday. (It's also the 400th anniversary of his death.) One lucky winner will get six great lessons that can be used with ANY Shakespeare play. So what can you win? Click on the links to get a preview and find out how to enter.

Presto Plans has a lesson on Shakespeare's Language called "What Would Shakespeare Say?"

Need some room decor? Room 213 is offering a Shakespeare Word Wall and Posters.

Tracee Orman has a great way to introduce Shakespeare with a Life and Times Power Point.

The Classroom Sparrow has a handy reference guide with her Shakespeare Mini Book.

Reach for the stars with Brynn Allison's Astrology Based Characterization Activity.

David Rickert's Comic Lesson on Iambic Pentameter will introduce students to the way Shakespeare writes.

The raffle will run from Sunday, April 24th to Sunday, May 1st. How do you enter? Simply click the link below and enter your favorite Shakespeare quote. It's that easy.

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So why do these teachers love Shakespeare?

Presto Plans:
"Since students often feel that Shakespeare isn’t relevant today, my goal when I teach his work is to find ways to relate the plot, characters, and themes to their lives. What I enjoy most about teaching Shakespeare is seeing my students make a personal connection to universal themes (loyalty, ambition, jealousy, betrayal) that emerge in his work. When students can make those connections, the class discussion always becomes far more interesting and engaging, and I know Shakespeare still has a place in today’s classroom."

Room 213:
"I love teaching Shakespeare because not only is he a brilliant writer, but he understood what makes we humans tick. What I enjoy most of all, though, is finding ways to draw students into his plays. Most have preconceived notions and dread when it comes to Shakespeare, but I design my lessons and activities in a way that helps connect the plays to their lives and, that way, it's more interesting and enjoyable for them."

Tracee Orman:
"I love the moment when students hear famous lines spoken that they never realized were penned by Shakespeare. Today in class we covered Marc Antony’s “Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war” quote in Act III of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. After that scene, I showed them the beginning of an episode of Big Bang Theory where Sheldon quotes the phrase after he seeks revenge on the person who hacked his World of Warcraft account and stole his weapons. There are so many great allusions, quotes, parodies, and references to Shakespeare; I love opening their eyes to them. When former students email or post/tag examples or references they come across on my social media pages, it warms my heart to know they not only still remember this play from sophomore year, but they actually understand the reference or allusion."

The Classroom Sparrow:
The best part about teaching Shakespeare is the level of engagement the plays can bring to a classroom. Most students are not excited about Shakespeare because they have a hard time understanding the language, but once they start reading the first few acts, the students are eager to find out what will happen next. By the end of the unit, students have a better appreciation for Shakespeare in that many of his themes are timeless.

Brynn Allison:
"Reading any of Shakespeare's works is difficult for my students, many of whom read several levels below grade level, but this challenge is what makes teaching Shakespeare so rewarding. My students are incredibly proud of themselves when they begin to read and understand his plays. Acting out key scenes and making connections between the timeless themes in Shakespeare's dramas and real world issues helps to increase students' comprehension. Have students practice insulting each other using Shakespeare's language before reading the first scene in Romeo and Juliet or by conducting a People magazine-like interview of Portia and Calpurnia from Julius Caesar. Activities like these help students to see that world in Shakespeare's plays is not so different from their own."

David Rickert:
"I love the challenge of teaching Shakespeare to students who are reading it for the first time. I love his plays. They have comedy, tragedy, thrills, chills, and just all around great writing. There are some wonderful metaphors in the plays, and I find myself using them in everyday language without thinking about it."
Good luck!
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Harper Lee: The Silent Salute for You


Though I knew this day would come, my heart still stopped when one of my students ran into my classroom this morning and told me the news that Harper Lee had passed.

I have a hard time articulating how deeply her words meant to me when I first read To Kill a Mockingbird as a junior in high school. There was something about her narrative style that I hadn't read before and I was addicted. It was the only book we read as part of a curriculum that I wanted to buy for myself. I did, and I continued to re-read it every year until I was hired to teach sophomore English and could re-read it several times each year. It still remains a favorite after all these years.

While I am saddened that I will never have the opportunity to meet or see my literary hero, I am glad that Nelle Harper Lee died peacefully in her sleep and lived a full, happy, quiet life.

Three-Finger Silent Salute Harper Lee
Her legacy of tolerance will live on as her words continue to inspire generation after generation. The silent salute to you, Harper Lee.

Harper Lee quote www.traceeorman.com

Harper Lee quote www.traceeorman.com

Harper Lee quote www.traceeorman.com

R.I.P. Nelle Harper Lee
April 28, 1926 - February 19, 2016

Valentine Rejected Candy Hearts

Valentines Day Rejected Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com


Valentines Day: Some people love it; some hate it. Whatever your preference, everyone seems to get a laugh from #RejectedCandyHearts. These are the words and phrases that didn't make the cut on the popular Valentine conversation hearts. You can find examples with a free download in my TpT store and on Twitter using the hashtag #rejectedcandyhearts.

DISCLAIMER: Some of these can be crude and inappropriate, of course, so if you share with your students, use your own discretion.


MAKE IT EDUCATIONAL


Students love to come up with these sayings if you give them the opportunity. This activity is short and perfect for an exit slip or bell ringer (last five or first five minutes of class). Make the assignment related to your content area and watch the creativity flow in your classroom.

ELA: For example, if you teach English/language arts, have your students think of words/phrases for the hearts that one character would give another in the novel or story you are reading.
Valentine's Day To Kill a Mockingbird Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com

Or use author puns, vocabulary words, and, of course, Shakespearean insults!
Valentine's Day Book Author Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com

HISTORY, SS: Current events, politics, and historical figures are all fodder for phrases. (Ask students what message Abe Lincoln would send to Jefferson Davis on a conversation heart either pre- or post-debate.) These can jump-start many class discussions related to your content.
Valentine's Day History Current Events Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com

SCIENCE: Students could have a contest to see who can come up with the funniest chemical element combination or science-related pun.

MATH: Have students think differently about numbers by allowing them to come up with creative equations and math-puns for the hearts. In many ways, math class is perfect for this because numbers can express thoughts and feelings with brevity.
Valentine's Day Math Science Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com


Whatever your content area, your students will love this brief exercise in creativity.

VALENTINE'S DAY OR ANYTIME

The best part? It can be done any time (though before or after Valentine's Day seems logical).
*As a post-Valentine's Day activity, phrase your prompt in the past-tense:
"Before he was killed, Julius Caesar received a package of conversation candy hearts from the Senate. What messages were on them?"
Valentine's Day Julius Caesar Rejected Candy Hearts www.traceeorman.com

Just for fun:

Fun with #RejectedCandyHearts www.traceeorman.com

(Want to liven up your next faculty meeting? Prompt your colleagues for their favorites and let the fun begin!)

Please share your favorite #RejectedCandyHearts messages in the comments below.

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