Materials and framework for preparing students to participate in the English-Speaking Union's Annual Shakespeare Competition
Participants:
High-school humanities students
Schedule:
Flexible schedule over several weeks before the contest
Goals:
Learn how to deliver a selection from Shakespeare with poise and evident mastery of the material
Products:
Students prepared to participate fully in the contest
Assessment:
In-process feedback by teachers, and students, self-evaluation, and final review by contest judges
The goal of our Literacy Through Theater curricula at Codman Academy is to enhance students' literacy by interacting with text in a theater context. Since Codman is an Expeditionary Learning school, our education takes place not only in classrooms, but also in our surrounding communities. Every other Friday, the 9th and 10th graders at Codman work with the Education Department at the Huntington Theatre Company to engage in theater activities that deepen their understanding of literature for the stage, from Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun to Shakespeare to the current productions at the Huntington Theatre. The activities consist of close readings, active interpretations of a text, character analysis, playwriting and many others.
In addition to working on Literacy Skills, doing theater encourages students to develop stronger life skills such as working effectively in a group, speaking in public and meeting deadlines.
These curricula can work with any English or Humanities class. The materials that are presented here have primarily been designed by teams of teachers from Codman Academy and the Huntington Theatre Company's Education Department and co-taught as well.
An overview of the curriculum is provided in the Literacy Through Theatre workshop materials presented elsewhere on this site, in which the activities and materials focus on the teaching of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. This section presents the materials used to prepare students to participate in the English-Speaking Unions Annual Shakespeare Competition.
In addition to reviewing the materials presented here, we encourage you to experience the curriculum through Speak True, a film narrated by Taye Diggs and produced by Reel One Productions. The film is available in two sections on YouTube.com and is made directly available below:
Best Practices
