Which Shakespeare play to teach?

[byucougs]

I teach 8th grade LA and I taught Midsummer Night's Dream this year. It went well. Next year I want to teach three plays. I think I am going to teach Midsummer again. Any suggestions for the other two? To the students that read this, do you have any fond memories of Shakespeare that you would like to share?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ed "Mr. Belak"

[Asa Adams]

When I subed for a good friend of mine, who taught grade nine and ten, he had always loved to teach the kids hamlet. The fun part I had with it was showing the kids different versions of the films. Watching movies in class always grabed thier attentions! Try it out. i know you are only teaching 8 but, work with your school board's choices. If Hamlet is there, then reward the kids afterwards with movies, and popcorn.

cheers Ed

[cuppajoe_9]

I'm a big fan of Othello, personally, but The Tempest might fit into the curriculum a bit better. Macbeth is always a favorite. King Lear is great, but it might be a bit heavy for grade 8.

[Charles Darnay]

When I was in grade 7 and 8, we did Macbeth, Midsummer's Night Dream and Hamlet - and that's when I fell in love with Shakespeare.

They were abridged versions and we took them vary lightly - meaning we did not disect Hamelt's psychological reasons for his madness - but I think that it was enough to get a good number of kids in the class interested in Shakespear, which really pays off.

I know a lot of elementary school's who do Taming of the Shrew - personally, i think this is a bad idea. That plays seems to turn people away from Shakespeare for some reason.

[genoveva]

I would suggest reading some of his less popular plays. Enough with all the over done plays! Eek gads. Try one comedy, one history, one tragedy and one romance. Perhaps discuss the differences of each type, etc. We all know Romeo and Juliet, but who knows Coriolanus? A Midsummer Night's Dream- yes, a classic, but what about Troilus and Cressida. Go outside the box and discuss some plays that get little attention. Sooner or later, most students will read/watch the popular plays. Turn them on to something new!

I also wanted to let people know about two great resources: Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories I and II. These books have Shakespeare's plays re-written as a narrative to make it easier for the students to understand. Perhaps try a reading circle for the narratives, and then read the original Shakespeare more closely paying attention to word choice, structure, etc.

[Shannanigan]

I'm a big fan of Othello, personally, but The Tempest might fit into the curriculum a bit better. Macbeth is always a favorite. King Lear is great, but it might be a bit heavy for grade 8.

I performed King Lear in a drama class in 8th grade, and we pretty much understood it...though for the audience we created a scoreboard in the background to keep track of who was good, who was bad, and where they stood in rank and such as the play progressed...

I just did Othello, and I think I would have liked it a lot in 8th grade...I would recommed that...

and maybe watching "A Westside Story" after reading Romeo and Juliet, heheh...I found that entertaining in 10th grade...

[Jay]

I think your students might enjoy The Merry Wives of Windsor. It's funny and not too complicated.

[cuppajoe_9]

I would also recomend stayinig away from Two Gentlemen of Verona and his comedies in general. The man just wasn't that funny.

[ShoutGrace]

I performed King Lear in a drama class in 8th grade, and we pretty much understood it...though for the audience we created a scoreboard in the background to keep track of who was good, who was bad, and where they stood in rank and such as the play progressed...

I think that is a really cool idea - I, for whatever reason, just haven't seen that done.

I fondly remember studying Macbeth in 8th grade. Better than that, however (and this probably has to do with how old I was at the time), was reading and performing Much Ado About Nothing, and then watching it done in the Shakespeare fest.

Shakespeare was a blast at that age.

[Charles Darnay]

I would suggest reading some of his less popular plays. Enough with all the over done plays! Eek gads. Try one comedy, one history, one tragedy and one romance. Perhaps discuss the differences of each type, etc. We all know Romeo and Juliet, but who knows Coriolanus? A Midsummer Night's Dream- yes, a classic, but what about Troilus and Cressida. Go outside the box and discuss some plays that get little attention. Sooner or later, most students will read/watch the popular plays. Turn them on to something new!

I also wanted to let people know about two great resources: Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories I and II. These books have Shakespeare's plays re-written as a narrative to make it easier for the students to understand. Perhaps try a reading circle for the narratives, and then read the original Shakespeare more closely paying attention to word choice, structure, etc.


I completely agree with you..... except that we are dealing with grade 8's here.

There are a reason why his "overdone" plays are overdone - they are generally thought to be the most exciting/entertaining. Not to say that his other's are not as great or better (Much Ado about Nothing, Comedy of Errors, Trolius and Cressidea do not get nearly enough credit), but I think that they would not work for begginners

[kilted exile]

Ok, firstly I wish I had the chance to do shakespeare at that age. I did one shakespeare play (R&J) at school and that wasnt until I was 17.

I would suggest either Hamlet or Macbeth

[Petrarch's Love]

I would suggest reading some of his less popular plays. Enough with all the over done plays! Eek gads. Try one comedy, one history, one tragedy and one romance. Perhaps discuss the differences of each type, etc. We all know Romeo and Juliet, but who knows Coriolanus? A Midsummer Night's Dream- yes, a classic, but what about Troilus and Cressida. Go outside the box and discuss some plays that get little attention. Sooner or later, most students will read/watch the popular plays. Turn them on to something new!

This would be a good suggestion for college or possibly highschool students if they've been exposed to a fair amount of Shakespeare earlier in their curriculum, but I would not try out a lesser known play on a group of eighth graders. This is probably their introduction to Shakespeare. The plays seem overdone to someone who's read a lot, but they'll be brand new to most twelve and thirteen year olds. The reason the more well known plays are taught and performed more is that they are more engaging. I don't think I would have been as keen to read more Shakespeare if I had started out with Coriolanus (I also appreciated Coriolanus more when coming to it with more Shakespeare under my belt). On a practical level as well, the language is already going to take some getting used to and it really helps if the text is something that they've at least heard of and seems culturally familiar. I also don't think you can take for granted that people will naturally read/watch the popular plays as a matter of course. I've met many people whose only encounters with Shakespeare were in their school days, though they often remember the plays they read then fondly.

I think Macbeth would be a fun one, or R&J (especially since Juliet would, I think, be right around the age of the students).

[genoveva]

This would be a good suggestion for college or possibly highschool students if they've been exposed to a fair amount of Shakespeare earlier in their curriculum, but I would not try out a lesser known play on a group of eighth graders. This is probably their introduction to Shakespeare. The plays seem overdone to someone who's read a lot,

Good point! :thumbs_up

[Pensive]

Is it necessary to teach them anything by ShakyShockyShakenPear? I don't think so that he is much suitable for students in Grade 8 but if you really want ShakuShockyShakenPear, then A Midsummer Night's Dream is fine, not too much complicated.

[Schokokeks]

I fondly remember studying Macbeth in 8th grade. Better than that, however (and this probably has to do with how old I was at the time), was reading and performing Much Ado About Nothing, and then watching it done in the Shakespeare fest.

I would like to ardently second Much Ado about Nothing, apart from Hamlet.
We did Much Ado this year and it turned out quite hilarious even for those dreading Shakespeare units before (our copy had a translation on the opposite pages, though! ;)). There is also a very recent movie version starring Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale et al. which our teacher used for detailed discussion of several scenes.
As to Shakespearian tragedies, I think Hamlet is classic and there are so many references to it in other works that I think it should run under "an 8th grader's toughly acquired general knowledge" :nod:.
Good luck with your teaching!

[mono]

Plays for 8th-grade students, I think, and not to sound too offensive, must seem something exciting with a good plot, and something that keeps them interested. I love the idea of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but may also go with A Comedy Of Errors, Titus Andronicus, or maybe The Merry Wives Of Windsor. :nod:

[genoveva]

Plays for 8th-grade students, I think, and not to sound too offensive, must seem something exciting with a good plot, and something that keeps them interested.

Although I have not yet read it, but it is next on my list, I was told by one of my instructor's (who is also a playwright) that the romance Cymbeline is heavy on the plot- more so than any of his other plays.

[mono]

Although I have not yet read it, but it is next on my list, I was told by one of my instructor's (who is also a playwright) that the romance Cymbeline is heavy on the plot- more so than any of his other plays.
Indeed, Cymbeline I found slightly more difficult, on average, and more complex than the other comedies (or tragedies, depending on your opinion of the play). Nothing quite compares, I think, to the challenge of reading Shakespeare's historical plays, however, requiring quite an amount of study of history. :p

[genoveva]

. Nothing quite compares, I think, to the challenge of reading Shakespeare's historical plays, however, requiring quite an amount of study of history. :p

Yes I agree- and my favorites are his history plays. What a wonderful way to learn history! I was lucky to take a whole college level course on just his history plays. I think this was one of my best experiences learning history.

[fitzgolden]

I'm teaching Othello at the moment, to 17 year-olds. They love it - have also taught Much Ado and Hamlet at this age group with great results. I find Macbeth easier to do with younger kids, say 14-15 ... have also had success with Julius Caesar, a personal favourite of mine for some reason. I'm not sure how old "Grade 8" is, but I think Lear is too difficult for younger students.
Whatever you decide on, have fun with it! :p

[Shannanigan]

Plays for 8th-grade students, I think, and not to sound too offensive, must seem something exciting with a good plot, and something that keeps them interested. I love the idea of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but may also go with A Comedy Of Errors, Titus Andronicus, or maybe The Merry Wives Of Windsor. :nod:


The Merry Wives of Windsor! My God I had forgotten about that one! My 8th grade class went to a production of it and had an absolute BLAST! I think I would have to recommend that one...

[byucougs]

These all sound great! Thanks for the input. I know I will continue with MSND and I think I will do MacBeth. Romeo and Juliet is a 9th grade play so I can't do that one. I am hesitant to do Hamlet. It may be too complicated. I might just show the Simpson's version. LOL. I want to have my students get a nice broad foundation of the Bard so they will develop a deep appreciation in their adult years.

[SleepyWitch]

I completely agree with you..... except that we are dealing with grade 8's here.

There are a reason why his "overdone" plays are overdone - they are generally thought to be the most exciting/entertaining. Not to say that his other's are not as great or better (Much Ado about Nothing, Comedy of Errors, Trolius and Cressidea do not get nearly enough credit), but I think that they would not work for begginners

they might work... but as Petrach said, for most people school is the only chance to read Shaky...
so it's the teacher's responsibility to make them read the most well-known plays because that's what everybody else reads and what counts as "educated"...
at least that's the picture over here, dunno what it's like in CA...

@byucougs
yeah, I think McBeth might be more intersting for them.. it's got more action and seems easier to understand...
as for Hamlet,i took a Shakes module at the univ of Warwick (UK), right around the corner from Stratford upon Avon*... they've got lots of renowned Shakes experts there and even these weren't able to tell us what Hamlet is all about... they were like: is he really suicidal? "to be or not to be"... hum, could mean anything really.."the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns".. yeah, but does that make him suicidal?... is he really crazy? etc... so they went for a meta-analysis and talked about how Hamlet was a turning point in the development of a) drama and b) err... the history of thought or something...
coz Hamlet says "Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not seems..... But I have that within which passeth show".... so their interpretation was that this is a new view of the individual, because Shakes assumed that the individual has something within himself that cannot be communicated at all... plus it's metatheatrical, because the actor is supposed to communicate the character's inside to the audience, but ultimately it can't be done... so it's quite absurd.....

now try telling your students that :) :) :)

plus, McBeth has got witches in it, that's an addes bonus :lol:

(*local pronunciation: Stratford oopon Ivon; Shakes is said to have "kept his broad Warwickshire accent after he went to London)

[genoveva]

Just want to share that there is this fabulous CD out called Bard Americana- The Songs of Shakespeare Music by Joe Hillyer. These are direct excerpts from plays put to song. Very beautiful! I plan to integrate this CD into the studying of Shakespeare's plays. For more info see: www.bardamericana.com or www.joehillyer.com

[dramasnot6]

I have only recently come out of 8th grade and we studied Taming of the Shrew. It made for very interesting analysis about gender roles. Some of the students found the complexity of the plot hard to comprehend though. Midsummer is an excellent one to study but i also reccomend Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth from personal enjoyment.

[Schokokeks]

I have only recently come out of 8th grade...
Can't help it, but somehow I still don't believe you :p.

[Niamh]

Ok, firstly I wish I had the chance to do shakespeare at that age. I did one shakespeare play (R&J) at school and that wasnt until I was 17.

I would suggest either Hamlet or Macbeth

I did Romeo and Juliet for my Junior cert which means i started to study it when i was 14.

I'd deffinately go with Hamlet. Spent Two years doing indepth study of it for my leaving cert. great play and so much content! could spend hours just discussing it!

[Niamh]

Ok seeing as i've just discovered what age group 9th graders are, and 8th graders are obviously younger, go with Romeo and Juliet or Much ado About Nothing.

[dramasnot6]

Can't help it, but somehow I still don't believe you :p.

Aww thank ye very kindly cookie! You're sweeter then all the cookies in the world put together :)

[dramasnot6]

Romeo and Juliet seems to be a popular choice, i agree with it too. It's protagonists are an age that the students can relate to and relatively the plot isnt very difficult.

[Redzeppelin]

At the risk or being a "hum-bug" I wonder about giving 8th graders Shakespeare - at least in full dramatic form. As a high school teacher (English 11 and AP English 12) I find that while you can deliver the essential plot of a Shakespearean play to younger students, the greater themes sometimes elude them. I know, I know...I sound like I'm patronizing junior high students, but I guess I have a problem with taking kids through the immense beauty of Hamlet or the terrifying bleakness of King Lear. I mean, why would you want to have them read it when the issues it grapples with may glide right over them? I don't want to get overwhelmed with posts about what 8th graders can comprehend - I teach for a living and I've taught 8-12. I just believe that you don't expose kids to greatness just because its great - you expose them to a level of greatness that they will be able to appreciate and absorb. I think the comedies might be ok, but again - to what effect? If the goal is to introduce Shakespeare, why not his sonnets or narrative poetry? Or even excerpts of soliloquies?

I suppose you can teach them whatever play strikes your fancy - but none will necessarily be "better" or "easier" than another. As I remind my students: Shakespeare did not write R&J for 9th grade anthologies or Hamlet for 12th grade anthologies - they were written for adult audiences and are replete with mature experiences/ideas/expressions that - even in HS - sometimes cannot fully be grasped by young students. I'm all for introducing Shakespeare, but I'd rather junior high teachers saved the "heavies" like Macbeth, Lear, Hamlet for high school. Just last year the AP 12 teachers had to ask the freshman teacher to quit assigning Grapes of Wrath to 9th graders because its in our AP 12 curriculum. Ninth graders should be dealing with Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and such - don't take away the crown jewel from those of us at the end of the educational "food chain"! That's why I chose high school - I wanted to teach the toughest, most profound stuff out there. Why drop the heavies on them so young?

But God bless you for teaching, byucougs, and if Shakespeare is a passion of yours, by all means teach it - because that's what matters most. Good luck ;)

[Stephanie B.]

When I subed for a good friend of mine, who taught grade nine and ten, he had always loved to teach the kids hamlet. The fun part I had with it was showing the kids different versions of the films. Watching movies in class always grabed thier attentions! Try it out. i know you are only teaching 8 but, work with your school board's choices. If Hamlet is there, then reward the kids afterwards with movies, and popcorn.

cheers Ed

I'm in highschool and my memory of hamlet and the movies we were shown is not a happy one. All i ask is that you DO NOT show the one with mel gibson as hamlet, it was literally torture. And it depends if you have finished the entire play then watch the movie or reading an act and watching an act. With the latter everyone loses interest and it falls flat. I suggest using the mvie where hamlet kills claudis with the chandalier. Plus everyone got a kick out of the gravedigger!

[Niamh]

At the risk or being a "hum-bug" I wonder about giving 8th graders Shakespeare - at least in full dramatic form. As a high school teacher (English 11 and AP English 12) I find that while you can deliver the essential plot of a Shakespearean play to younger students, the greater themes sometimes elude them. I know, I know...I sound like I'm patronizing junior high students, but I guess I have a problem with taking kids through the immense beauty of Hamlet or the terrifying bleakness of King Lear. I mean, why would you want to have them read it when the issues it grapples with may glide right over them? I don't want to get overwhelmed with posts about what 8th graders can comprehend - I teach for a living and I've taught 8-12. I just believe that you don't expose kids to greatness just because its great - you expose them to a level of greatness that they will be able to appreciate and absorb. I think the comedies might be ok, but again - to what effect? If the goal is to introduce Shakespeare, why not his sonnets or narrative poetry? Or even excerpts of soliloquies?

I suppose you can teach them whatever play strikes your fancy - but none will necessarily be "better" or "easier" than another. As I remind my students: Shakespeare did not write R&J for 9th grade anthologies or Hamlet for 12th grade anthologies - they were written for adult audiences and are replete with mature experiences/ideas/expressions that - even in HS - sometimes cannot fully be grasped by young students. I'm all for introducing Shakespeare, but I'd rather junior high teachers saved the "heavies" like Macbeth, Lear, Hamlet for high school. Just last year the AP 12 teachers had to ask the freshman teacher to quit assigning Grapes of Wrath to 9th graders because its in our AP 12 curriculum. Ninth graders should be dealing with Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and such - don't take away the crown jewel from those of us at the end of the educational "food chain"! That's why I chose high school - I wanted to teach the toughest, most profound stuff out there. Why drop the heavies on them so young?

But God bless you for teaching, byucougs, and if Shakespeare is a passion of yours, by all means teach it - because that's what matters most. Good luck ;)

In the five years i was in secondary school i did two of shakespeares plays. Romeo and Juliet for my Junior and Hamlet for my senior. We had to spend two years Analysing the ins and outs of each play, Plots, sub plots, doing character Analysis etc.

To state that Shakespeare shouldn't be studied by 8th Or 9th graders is undermining their intellegence. Just because they're fourteen doesnt mean they wont appriciate or understand Shakespeare. And By the way in shakespeares time Fourteen year olds could be married and where classed as adults; so does that not mean that they too would not have been in the Audiences of his plays performances? :)

[Redzeppelin]

In the five years i was in secondary school i did two of shakespeares plays. Romeo and Juliet for my Junior and Hamlet for my senior. We had to spend two years Analysing the ins and outs of each play, Plots, sub plots, doing character Analysis etc.

To state that Shakespeare shouldn't be studied by 8th Or 9th graders is undermining their intellegence. Just because they're fourteen doesnt mean they wont appriciate or understand Shakespeare. And By the way in shakespeares time Fourteen year olds could be married and where classed as adults; so does that not mean that they too would not have been in the Audiences of his plays performances? :)

OK - I figured once I posted my opinion that I would get a response like this. As I said above - I have taught 8-9th graders and I know they are capable of appreciating Shakespeare. Done in the right way, middle-school and elementary students can appreciate Shakespeare - his appeal is universal.

If you'll re-read my post, you'll see that I never said Shakespeare shouldn't be studied by 8-9th graders, and my concluding sentence made it clear that a teacher should teach what s/he loves best - and if that be Shakespeare, then so be it.

I suppose my issue is this: junior high school students can study Shakespeare, but I dislike the idea that they want to grab the "heavies" like Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. Regardless as to whether or not the kids can "appreciate" those plays, I believe you do the play a disservice by presenting it to an audience that ultimately cannot connect with its most profound themes without diluting their power. I'm sorry, but Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth deal with issues that go far beyond what most 8th graders can understand. Have you really done the kids a favor if you've given them something that they think is kind of "cool" but they don't really get it? The comedies kids get because comedy looks at what makes us human -there is no introspection because we're focused on the foibles of the characters. For tragedy to be powerful, we have to follow the protagonist into areas that young teens can't penetrate. I'm all for high expectations for teens, but I also believe that you give them that which is most able to connect with them.

[*Classic*Charm*]

I'm not a teacher (clearly) but since I'm bored, might I offer up a student's opinion?

In this case I'd have to agree with Redzepplin. With good side notes, Shakespeare can be very beneficial to younger grades. I myself studied A Midsummer Night's Dream in the fifth grade. It was good, because the side notes made it more undertstandable, the plot and themes could be made easy to comprehend and it was a great opertunity to ask a younger class to be insightful- something that there wasn't alot of in elementary school. Also, thr fact that it was somewhat fairy-tale-like made it interesting to those who weren't particularly interested in its literary value (it was, after all, grade 5). Shakespeare is good in the younger grades as lnog as you keep to to the simpler plays with the more basic themes. As Redzepplin said, leave the heavy stuff for highschool. I studied King Lear this past semester (Grade 12 University English), and I can tell you that as a student who loves and is very enthousiastic about english, I would not have gotten nearly as much out of it had it been done in an earlier year.

I do think 3 plays is a bit heavy for a grade 8 class, unless they are PARTICULARLY strong, because at that level of experience, when thay are just being exposed to the language, they might end up, by the end of it, not able to distinguish between them anymore. But yes, get your students interested in Shakespeare as early as possible, as long as the works you start with correspond with what they are experiencing at their stage of the game.

[hyperborean]

In my high school we had to read Shakespeare each year accordingly: Romeo & Juliet; Julius Caesar; Macbeth; Hamlet.

[Daizee]

I think The Tempest would be a really good one for you to do. I fondly remember studying it when I was a similar age...happy days!

With The Tempest, it could also be introduced by thinking about islands (Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean etc.) The Tempest really lends itself to discussion and performance. The children also love acting out the scenes with the drunken Trinculo and Stefano - we had a right laugh!! xx :D

[quasimodo1]

Merchant of Venice, one of the plays understandable to readers of all levels. RJS

[Robinflamingo]

I think Comedy of Errors would be a fabulous choice. If you don't want to do another comedy, then I would attempt Merchant of Venice. As You Like It would also be wonderful.

As someone who has taught Macbeth three periods a day, twice a year for many, many years, I really think it is suited to older kids. It is Shakespeare's most psychological drama, and the ambition and amoral decisions that Macbeth makes in the name of "fate" really beg for mature discussion.

Of course, I teach teenagers. Mature discussion is rare, but much more likely at 17 than at 13. :brickwall

[JBI]

I wouldn't recommend Macbeth or Hamlet, simply because they have too many things going on at once, and too complex protagonists (Or antagonists, I don't know what to call Macbeth).

Othello is good for the younger readers, because the text is relatively straightforward in comparison with other plays, and there is only one central plot with no relief side plots.

Romeo and Juliet is good, because a) everyone already knows the story, and b) the text is straightforward. I feel that Romeo loses its flavor once you turn about 15, so you might as well let them enjoy it while they still can. The constant end-stopping also makes the text relatively easy to understand, when compared to something like The Winter's Tale which is completely enjambed.

I would also recommend doing The Taming of The Shrew. My opinion of the play is that it is the most comical, and probably the most brilliant of his comedies. The lines are relatively straight forward, and the plot is simple. This I think is comic Shakespeare at its best, simply due to the fact that it is appealing to almost everyone.

I feel that an extremely heavy drama like Macbeth or Hamlet won't go well because the students will lose interest in it. I wouldn't even touch Lear if I were you, because even grade 12s don't get it.

The Merchant of Venice would work well too, because it is a mix of romantic and comic Shakespeare, with sympathetic characters that everyone can relate to.

(I personally wouldn't do A Midsummer Night's Dream, because I still can't get myself through the last scene on my re-reads; boring!).

[*Classic*Charm*]

Romeo and Juliet is good, because a) everyone already knows the story, and b) the text is straightforward. I feel that Romeo loses its flavor once you turn about 15, so you might as well let them enjoy it while they still can. The constant end-stopping also makes the text relatively easy to understand, when compared to something like The Winter's Tale which is completely enjambed.

Ooh I don't think I'd recomend Romeo and Juliet. I really don't think it's a good play to be taught in school, particularly because I think students get confused by all the filler in between the crucial scenes.

The Taming of the Shrew could be good for younger grades, but I think alot of the humour would be lost on them.

[byquist]

Would go w/The Tempest -- Ariel and Caliban are interesting for youth. Also the relationship of Miranda and Ferdinand. All taking place on an island. Father-daughter relationship. And all those sprites putting on a play. Shipwreck and treachery, magic.

[*Classic*Charm*]

[QUOTE=byquist;406057]And all those sprites putting on a play. QUOTE]

HAHA

[bibliophile190]

My favorite history is Julius Caesar. We read it in ninth Grade, and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was very easy to understand.

[aswelch]

I dissagree. Shakespeare was VERY funny, if you understand his jokes. it is difficult to understand some of them because of the difference in time and culture. Most of his jokes rely on turns of phrase, such as a quote early in Romeo and Juliet about cutting off their maidenheads (the heads of the maidens but also the maidenhead aka their virginity). The other important thing to remember about comedies is that they involve great amounts of physical comedy. You can't get that just from reading a play. GO AND SEE ONE. That is what a play was written for, to be acted, not to be read.

[aswelch]

I also want to give an English Education majors view on teaching shakespeare to middle/high school learners. i'm in my Junior year and taking English 464: shakespeare. Now I remember reading good ol' willy in highschool and I loved it. Unfortunately most everyone else hated it. Now that I am in this class I can see what a disservices we did to The Bard. Honestly, you mention the comedies as being "uncomplicated". You couldn't be much farther from the truth. If you get out there into the research then you will see that plays like Merchant and Midsummer are VERY complicated. They involve issues of religious conversion, gender roles, discrimination, familiy vs. friend as well as anything vs. state... it goes on and on and on. PLEASE do not underestimate the complication in comedies or in ANY of Shakespeare's plays. You do The Bard a disservice.

[genoveva]

So, my World Lit class voted to read All's Well That Ends Well. There is practically no supplemental resources on this play to aid me in teaching it. Probably due to the fact that it was one of Shakespeare's least performed play. Any suggestions in teaching it from those who may have read it or perhaps taught it? Thanks!

[quasimodo1]

To Genoveva: It's been thirty years since I read this play, part of a Shakespeare class at Temple University. As you say, it wasn't his best mover. He apparently used a Decameron text as a source for the storyline. Trying to find a source that had any depth I came up with this link......... http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=877 Hope this helps you get started. quasi

[shaklover]

I teach Shakespeare in my English (as a foreign language) classes in Germany, and MY former teacher told me she had done all kinds of stuff before, R&J, JuliusC, Othello, but she finally would up teaching Macbeth a lot.
I've since taught Macbeth many times and it's now the play I know best and students tend to stay with it very well because it's fast moving. In Macbeth, Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, you can even leave out the Hecate scene (probably not Shakespearean, but an interpolation, as Hecate speaks in iambic and the other witches in trochaic meter and there is no good reason to introduce a fourth witch anyway...) and the lengthy English scene, in which Malcolm "tests" Macduff to see whether he is trustworthy or a spy sent by Macbeth, and you can save loads of time.
Macbeth is DEFINITELY a good choice.

As a second play I'd take a look at Romeo & Juliet or Twelfth Night. That depends on whether you'd rather teach comedy or tragedy - over here we USUALLY teach tragedies because all the punning and word-play in the comedies tends to eat kids' lunch and just NOT be funny anymore once you've done all the explaining.
Romeo & Juliet is lengthy but has the advantage of being incredibly well-documented in all kinds of ways, e.g. films, audiobooks, etc., and besides it contains it's very own plot-summary towards the end when the friar speaks - if you've forgotten what had happened sofar, HE'S GONNA TELL YOU.

Twelfth Night is brilliant on the stage no matter what you do, I haven't taught it yet but definitely would like to. Like Rosalind in "As You Like It", the Viola/Cesario character as leading role gives a perfect example of explaining just WHY having a female character pretending to be a man was such a natural choice in Shakespeare's day: The female characters were played by boys and men ANYWAY, because no women were allowed to act - meaning this was a very WELCOME excursion both for the audience and the actor (oh goody, I get to use my normal voice again!) or actually might be very challenging, because now you have a boy playing a woman playing a man - and of course NOT quite succeeding in that last bit, keeping the audience entertained. And - what I really like: The characters aren't just COPIES of one another, as they tend to be in some of the more dubious comedies such as Love's Labours Lost (which I still find brilliant, especially after seeing what Branagh did to it) so they all have a REASON for being there in the first place.

Lots of luck to you in your teaching... shaklover

[dramasnot6]

Shaklover's right.
We were taught Macbeth in 11th grade Lit. You can't go wrong with Macbeth.

[nmmad]

If you can find a Shakespeare play that is on locally in a real theater, even better. It's great if they can get some idea of the theater itself, since many have never been.

[kelby_lake]

we did romeo and juiliet back then.
you could do much ado about nothing and romeo and juiliet

[*Classic*Charm*]

I did Macbeth in grade eleven as well. It was in keeping with a whole tragic hero theme. We also read The Crucible and Frankenstein

[myrna22]

I teach 8th grade LA and I taught Midsummer Night's Dream this year. It went well. Next year I want to teach three plays. I think I am going to teach Midsummer again. Any suggestions for the other two? To the students that read this, do you have any fond memories of Shakespeare that you would like to share?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ed "Mr. Belak"The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet are accessible for 8th graders. To me, the idea is to teach them something they can get without having to skip a lot of the subtext and complexities. Hamlet, King Lear, & Macbeth, for example, are too difficult for 8th graders.

[Chiz]

I was a LA teacher in secondary education for several years and I taught Much Ado About Nothing. It is perfect for high school students because of the parody Much Ado about Noting.