WWSD: What Would Shakespeare Do?

No, don’t worry, this is not a reprise of that post. Anne Smith had her ninth graders complete a word trace from Acts 2 and 3 of Macbeth:

Through our study of acts 2-3 of Macbeth, the kids were put into groups looking at the use of one of the following words: blood, hand, man, night, sleep.

. . . I asked the kids this year to demonstrate their learning using any way BUT PPT . . .

I let my grad school buddies know of this, and Gary Stager our teacher, asked my students to think about the project this way: What Would Shakespeare Do?

After a few presentations today, we debriefed after each one discussing did their presentation merely distribute information or did they go above and beyond the expectations to really show WWSD? I asked the groups that gave a literal interpretation to spend some more time really pushing our understanding of Shakespeare's use of those words. Why those words? Who says them the most? Are there modern connections? What connections can you make between the uses of the words? and being creative with their interpretations. I am anxious to see them progress with their thinking.

The students came up with a variety of presentations including writing a sonnet of their own about Shakespeare's use of 'hand' and connecting it to a Good Charlotte song, creating a rap rendition about 'night' and connecting it to Mission Impossible, and creating a series of one man plays about his use of 'man'. Head on over, check out the examples, and leave them some constructive criticism.

I also think it's interesting to contemplate what various historical figures would do to communicate their ideas given today's tools, and challenge students (and teachers) to not only imagine that, but try their hand at creating it. What would Shakespeare do?