Help your students gain confidence as they dive into the language through play to see what they can discover in Shakespeare’s words about characters, the play’s big ideas—and themselves.
Text Clues 101
At the center of Chicago Shakespeare’s work with actors—and teachers and students—is the process called "text work." Explore some of these clues in Romeo and Juliet with Associate Professor of Theatre Kevin Long.
Jump-in Reading & Pointing
Pairing these two activities encourages students to pay attention to the meaning and power of individual lines or phrases in a text through reading, rereading, collaborating, and writing.
UnRound Robin
We love “UnRound Robin” reading because it helps build fluency and confidence with complex texts. With partners, students work to dive into a passage and practice close reading (and rereading with a purpose!)—up on their feet.
Mind Your Gestures
This is an active, “body-connecting-to-voice” way for students to play with multiple interpretations within a text. Experimenting with different gestures will lead to new discoveries (and involves rereading with a purpose in the most engaging of ways)!
Performance—by Students—as a Text
Students watching other students perform Shakespeare, take risks, and have fun in the process can be a great motivator for trying something new. These activities come from Chicago Shakespeare SLAM and celebrate the power of Shakespeare’s language through students’ own voices.
