Shakespeare for Elementary School
As I looked at our co-op topics and saw Shakespeare, I should have been more calm and collected about teaching this to our elementary aged kiddos. I did take two semesters of college Shakespeare, after all. That was also 15 years ago so….. cue lots of overwhelming feelings! But this has been the month of Shakespeare– it’s like when you’re car shopping and suddenly see a certain car EVERYWHERE you look. Only I’ve been seeing Shakespeare everywhere I look! Ha! After so many unlikely run-ins, I’m pumped to add in some Shakespeare to our schooling this year! The books below have been such winners for the younger crowd (my oldest is in first grade and I’d recommend these throughout the elementary years!).
(I especially loved what author Pam Barnhill shared in Better Together about using Shakespeare in her homeschool, in addition to the first book on my list which is simply inspiring!)
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How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig. This was so much better than I even expected– this truly taught ME Shakespeare, and really lit a spark in inspiring me to teach my kids in turn. The author is a highly acclaimed playwright with an amazingly outstanding resume, in case you weren’t aware- like me! He is incredibly passionate about Shakespeare and it translates across the pages as he deconstructs twenty five passages. He walks you through scene by scene, explaining the plot, characterization, language, and theme. The “method” is based on memorization and he makes a strong case for it. The author himself used the method with his own children, beginning at age 6.
Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk by Jane Sutcliffe. This is a fantastic introductory book to the life and times of Shakespeare– Elizabethan England comes alive as readers learn the ins and outs of play-going and writing. What’s even more fun is the peppering of Shakespearean phrases throughout the text– those that we use today that originated with the Bard. A sidebar explains the context of which play it’s from, and what it means today.
Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare. This is a fat little book– 400 pages, but just 6″ tall. It contains 6 retellings: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet; and, a biography of the Bard. Each retelling is broken into chapters, and just a paragraph or two per page beside colorful illustrations. The sentences and language are simple.
Romeosaurus and Juliet Rex by Mo O’Hara. I’m using this to show my students how Shakespeare continues to inspire new work 400 years later. This is a silly spin-off with a happy ending. Perfect for a compare-contrast after grappling with the original plot. (And also perfect for discussing Shakespearean language, particularly the meaning of “wherefore art thou” in fact meaning “why are you Romeo” not “where are you, Romeo?”!)
The Boy, The Bear, the Baron, the Bard by Gregory Rogers. Certainly a nontraditional way to explore the world of Shakespeare! This is a wordless book in which a boy, chasing his soccer ball, wanders into an abandoned stage at 4pm, the time when Shakespeare’s plays were performed. He is transported back in time to the Globe, disrupting a play in progress and setting an angry Shakespeare after him! He is chased through the streets of Elizabethan England where he saves a bear and a Baron. If your readers have some background in Shakespeare’s world, they will enjoy spotting what they are familiar with within this silly romp.
Will’s Quill by Don Freeman. Shakespeare and Don Freeman? YES! (Don Freeman is the prolific author Corduroy and many others that we love! See my Roundup here.) This is a cute, fictionalized story involving Shakespeare– Willoughby Waddle is a goose who grows restless in the country and decides to check out London. While exploring the streets we learn a bit about Elizabethan London; the Bard shows him kindness, and Willoughby follows him to the Globe where he mistakenly thinks his new friend is in trouble while jousting on stage. Later, he saves the day by providing a brand new quill to inspire a new play. This is a simple story that weaves in some of Shakespeare’s world and work. I’m going to use this as a bit of “seek and find”– what can you spot that is based on fact about the time and about Shakespeare? This is out of print and my libraries did not own it! I decided to spend a few dollars and buy a used copy, sight unseen and I’m happy that I did! A nice addition to our introductory Shakespeare studies.
A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories: 12 Tales from the Bard, Retold for Children by Angela McAllister. I love the design of this book- the illustrations are so appealing and the layout really makes Shakespeare accessible to young readers. Each of the twelve retellings begins with a one page illustrated “cast of characters”; the stories contain illustrations on every page, though not always full page. Wide margins also help in making this feel more approachable. Snipets of the original language are included, and even my 4 year old enjoyed listening to Romeo and Juliet!
Playing with Plays. This series presents adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, with Shakespeare’s lines peppered throughout (indicated in highlighted/bold text). Each book features three play adaptations for different group sizes. So, for example Hamlet contains a 15 minute version for 6-7 actors; a 20 minute version for 8-14 actors; and, a 25 minute version for 11-20+ actors. A perfect way for classes to have FUN with Shakespeare!
Pop-Up Shakespeare by Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor. It’s remarkable how much information is packed into five double page spreads and their coordinating pop-ups! The first spread introduces the basics of Shakespeare’s life, time period, the Globe, etc. The remaining pages focus on each genre with summaries and quotes from each play.
Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits Retold by Bruce Coville. We listened to this on audio– a dramatized (“Full Cast Audio”) retelling of the classics with heavy use of original language. I found that the combination of hearing the actors portray different characters, alongside of the retellings by Coville made this a great choice, and I was further pleased by the amount of quoting right from the plays.
For our first week at co-op, I read the two books pictured above (Will’s Quill and Will’s Words) and made quills and ink. My own kids collected (and cleaned) feathers for weeks, and then Pop showed them how he could use the sander to file the end and reveal the hollow area for ink to flow through. We then made ink out of berries (mash up the berries in a strainer over a cup, then add a touch of white vinegar and water as needed for consistency).
Do you have any favorite Shakespeare resources for younger students? I’d love to hear! Share them in the comments below, or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram! This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
