TSI Reflections: “Dive into the words with relish”

Gabriel Fernandez

Before the 2014  Teaching Shakespeare Institute began, we did a couple blog posts with some reflections from TSI alumni from 2010 and 1991.

Now, with the 2014 TSI behind us but still fresh in our minds, we’d like to share another set of reflections from a TSI alum, Gabriel Fernandez, who participated in the 2012 program.

Gabriel teaches for the Upward Bound program for future first generation college students in San Antonio, TX, at Palo Alto College and is currently developing a Shakespeare program for Boystown in San Antonio and the Juvenile Corrections Center in San Antonio. He has taught at the high school level for five years.

Here are some of his answers to the questions we asked.

How did TSI change the way you teach?

TSI made me more perceptive of my students’ needs in regards to Shakespeare and more engaging as a teacher of his works. It also brought me closer to the eternal questions that he continues to ask of every generation.

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Capturing Life at the 2014 Teaching Shakespeare Institute

What is it about the Teaching Shakespeare Institute that led one alumnus to describe it as “the best way on the planet to learn more about Shakespeare and become a better teacher”?

We’re proud of the 30-year milestone that TSI reached this year, proud of the impact it’s made on American education since the first summer institute in 1984, and proud of the legacy it’s created.

And we’re proud of the latest crop of teachers to go through our program! We’d like to share some photos of the 25 educators who spent four weeks at the Folger this summer. What an amazing time for all!

These photos show teachers collaborating together, learning from scholars, investigating primary source material in the Folger’s Reading Rooms, challenging themselves with performance-based teaching techniques, and using technology to build effective classroom material.

 

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See even more photos in our Flickr gallery.

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Evidence-Based Argument: Shakespeare and the Common Core

Guest post by Josh Cabat

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to attend both a week-long workshop on reading strategies at Teachers College and the week-long AP English Language and Composition prep course sponsored by the College Board.

In so many ways, these two activities are diametrically opposed, certainly in terms of the ultimate target audience and, in some fairly interesting ways, in terms of philosophy.

What I’m taking away from these two experiences, however, is how remarkably similar they are. While the levels of complexity were completely different, it turned out that I spent both weeks engaged in exactly the same two activities: teaching close reading techniques, and learning how to teach students to structure coherent arguments and support them with relevant and valid evidence.

Clearly, these activities are founded upon the changes wrought by the Common Core. And as we all know, Shakespeare is one of the few authors mentioned by name within the strictures of the Core. And as I was enjoying these two very different weeks of professional development, I thought a great deal about where Shakespeare might fit into all of this.

Close reading is not really an issue, of course; all of the performance-based activities promoted by the Folger are founded on exactly the kind of close reading demanded by the new standards. But what about the other strand, the idea of evidence-based argument?

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NCTE is coming to us – and we’re ready!

This year the NCTE Annual Convention will be right in our backyard. The convention space at National Harbor in Maryland is less than 10 miles away from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. So mark your calendars for Nov. 20-23!

NCTE has just released the convention schedule, so let’s go ahead and highlight the sessions sponsored by Folger Education.

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Maxims for performing Shakespeare in the classroom

As the 2014 Teaching Shakespeare Institute approaches the end of its third week, we return to Dan Bruno’s NCTE High School Matters blog, where he has been busy sharing some of the insights he’s gleaned from TSI sessions.

Here’s an excerpt from a blog post in which Dan reviews some maxims for guiding students through performance-based learning in the classroom.

This scene is your whole play: this further reinforces the Folger philosophy that close reading on one’s feet does not require the teaching of a whole play; focus on what the scene shows us about the people in it, etc.

All plays are contemporary: despite the original context of the play, students bring their own cultural contexts and personal contexts to the plays they are reading; validating those contexts validates the student and builds confidence

Characters are defined by what they do, not what they say: helping students focus on action eases some of the anxiety with the foreign quality of the language

Words can convey many meanings: What do you mean when you say it?: this one reminds students that they have choice and ownership over their readings of the text while validating that there is no one way to play it

What does the script tell us, NOT what would we like it to tell us?: this one reminds students that everything they need to know is on this page; there is no secret code to reading Shakespeare

Dialogue is action-oriented: all utterances have a goal behind them, even if that goal is to be left alone; understanding these helps link performance movement choice to how the line is read

Good plays are about human behavior: this one links to the previous one; how do people behave when they are in specific contexts attempting to gain specific desires

You cannot play themes or literary tropes: these things are great for the world of literary analysis, but alien to the world of the actor; people don’t consider themes when they are trying to bed lovers or destroy rivals; themes arise from our reflection on those events

Do you have anything to add? What are maxims that you communicate to your students when they are doing performance-based, language-centered learning? Tell us in the comments.

Read the full blog post at NCTE High School Matters.

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Dana Huff: A Model for Integrating Technology in the Classroom

With all the technology tools out there, how can you sort out which ones are the most useful for your classroom?

Dana Huff, the Humanities/Technology specialist for the 2014 Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger, recently offered a valuable breakdown of some of the more popular tools.

As she highlights, the first thing to understand when integrating technology into the classroom is that we don’t want to use technology for the sake of using technology.

Huff instead uses the SAMR model to categorize a variety of tools:

What’s been your own experience integrating technology into your classroom? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Let us know in the comments.

Check out the full post on HuffEnglish.com to read more of Huff’s analysis of specific tools like Scrible, Google Drive, and Popcorn Maker.

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The Insider’s Guide to Hamlet

 

Justin Adams (Laertes) and Graham Michael Hamilton (Hamlet), Hamlet, directed by Joseph Haj, Folger Theatre, 2010. Photo by Carol Pratt.

The Shakespeare’s Globe production of Hamlet is on tour–heading to every country in the world–and it’s stopping at the Folger Shakespeare Library later this month.

Therefore, we thought this would be an opportune time to revisit an invaluable teaching resource created by the Folger, the Insider’s Guide to Hamlet.

The Insider’s Guide is a multimedia experience with video clips from actors that accompany the featured lesson plans. These videos, which are based on Folger Theatre’s 2010 production of the play, highlight Hamlet‘s themes, characters, and plot–perfect for students encountering the play for the first time or those seeking a refresher course.

Here’s the video playlist for the Insider’s Guide, but visit our website to see the associated lesson plans.

What are the resources you use to teach Hamlet? Let us know in the comments.

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Shakespeare in American Life: Bringing American History into the English Classroom

With the Fourth of July holiday weekend behind us, many teachers are turning again to the task of curriculum-building for the upcoming school year and thinking about ways to get this fresh batch of students interested in studying Shakespeare.

Consider how it came to be that Americans over the centuries have so heartily embraced Shakespeare, an Englishman, as one of their own. Take this Henry David Thoreau quote, for instance:

“True, we have declared our independence, and gained our liberty, but we have dissolved only the political bonds which connected us with Great Britain; though we have rejected her tea she still supplies us with food for the mind. Milton and Shakespeare, Cowper and Johnson, with their kindred spirits, have done and are still doing as much for the advancement of literature, and the establishment of a pure and nervous language, on this as on the other side of the water.”

If you’re looking for some good history tie-ins, we have a fantastic online resource for you: Shakespeare in American Life.

This website and its accompanying radio documentary explore Shakespeare’s impact on the American identity, particularly in politics and the experiences of immigrants and minority groups; Shakespeare’s influence in the American classroom and the public arena; and Shakespeare’s abiding presence on stage and on screen.

In addition to all of this rich material, the Folger has provided lesson plans related to Shakespeare and American life, such as this one drawing connections between The Tempest and immigration patterns in American history.

Also, give a listen to the radio documentary, which is broken into three parts of an hour each; consider playing an excerpt for your students, having them take notes, and leading a discussion afterward.

 

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Teaching Shakespeare Institute: Week One, Almost Done

As we draw near to the end of the first week of TSI, we wanted to give you a glimpse into how things are going so far.

The days are just packed! Our TSI teachers have acted on the Folger stage, looked through rare materials in our Reading Room, interacted with scholars in focused seminars, worked through curriculum ideas, and much more.

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