Editors' Note: When this article was posted in Reading Online in March 1999, readers were invited to comment on it through a bulletin board feature that was discontinued when the journal was redesigned in July 2000. Following are the comments posted to that bulletin board.

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Post 1

Author: Jane_Buker
Date: 11-12-1999 19:08

I read Claudia Anne Katz's article with fascination and excitement. Her description of classroom theatre is suitably dramatic, and I imagine even her students who are reluctant to participate at first become swept up in the spirited yet safe environment of playmaking. She desires to create an environment where students are not afraid to appear foolish (helping this along by acting out the hunchback part, for example, in an exaggerated, foolish way). I think Drama is a very valuable classroom activity (all the way from kindergarten to grade 12). The academic benefits are enormous, as well as the obvious benefits of social experience, fun, inspiration, and development of creativity.

Literacy can be effectively developed during classroom theatre. Acting out what you read seems to be an excellent way to understand and reflect on reading material. The characters, plot, and setting literally come to life when a story is acted out. Instead of reading a story and having a vague idea of the character, plot, etc, acting out a story brings all the components into clearer view (in a much more memorable way). For example, Shakespeare can be difficult to understand because of the old language, but when three witches are in the classroom, surrounding a black cauldron and preparing a brew, the story becomes clear.

Claudia Katz reveals a valuable strategy for teaching (which could extend into any subject) in her self-quote: "We have delayed long enough," I yell. "Push back the desks-let our rehearsals begin!" She begins the activity dramatically, with a Shakespearean tone. She is getting the attention of her students in a fun, 'non-lectury' way. This is an example of how the spirit of classroom Drama can even be extended into the area of "classroom management!"

Katz's article is sincere and convincing. Teachers who read it may very well be convinced to include drama in their classroom, for all the wonderful effects it has on students-particularly in creating a love of literature and excitement about communication.

Reply 2

Author: Beth_Dol
Date: 11-18-1999 07:12

This article had personal significance for me because of my own experiences learning about Shakespeare in school, and the experiences of my husband. We both were introduced to Shakespeare in a similar (although not quite as fun) way as the class in the article. Our teachers ensured that we had enough background knowledge to understand both the language and content of the plays. I was lucky enough to be in a class that also attended a live performance as a culmination to one Shakespeare unit.

I was greatly impressed by the fact that the students mentioned in this article were only in grade seven. My husband and I were not formally exposed to Shakespeare's writing until grade ten. I think this shows how our students' potential can be underestimated in determining school curriculum. Of course, the fact that Ms. Katz motivates her class to such a marvelous extent also points to the need for creative teaching, especially for challenging material. My husband had a great teacher when it came to Shakespeare. He did poorly in other areas of language arts, yet after twelve years, he can still remember with feeling some of the lines he memorized from "Taming of the Shrew".

This is how everyone should be introduced to Shakespeare - not as mere words on the page - but as lively, in-depth drama. As stated in the article, Shakespeare's plays were for "working folks from the street". Putting the plays in context is so important for students, especially if the students are to connect with the characters in a meaningful way. It's great that Ms. Katz models how to take on the roles in the play. Very few teachers have the courage to shed their dignity and act silly for the benefit of their students, but those that do are the best teachers around because their students really and truly learn.

Reply 2a

Author: Patti_Osborn
Date: 12-03-1999 21:38

I agree with Beth that more teachers should let loose and perform Shakespeare with their students. I remember reading Romeo & Juliet in my ninth grade English class. We read parts of it silently and parts of it outloud, but it was never dramatic. The reading almost put me to sleep. I took a Shakespeare class in eleventh grade that was completely opposite--we dramatized portions of the plays and did projects related to them. The teacher was very open-minded and allowed us to connect to Shakespeare in our own ways. I wrote a shorty story based off of one of the "tragic flaws" of a character. And during our group project, we put together a tape, substituting song lyrics for the lines in Measure for Measure. I think these kinds of connections are especially important if you are working with junior high students, since they will be even more intimidated by Shakespeaere than high school students. I hope to make my future classroom this fun; Claudia Katz didn't spend a lot of money on props---she used her and the students' imaginations instead!

Reply 2b

Author: Hannah_Boone
Date: 12-06-1999 23:34

I was pleasantly suprised to read of Katz hamming it up with her students to diminish most stage fright at the beginning of the Shakespeare unit. I can't imagine any of my high school English teachers giving such a performance. During the Shakespeare units in High School "acting out" the plays consisted of dividing the roles between members of the class who usually read orally anyway. Most of the time, the teacher sat at her desk in the front of the classroom and followed along as we plodded through a lackluster rendition of Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth. Looking back on these pedagogical practices, I realize their value as a classroom management technique. The assigned oral reading kept my English classes quiet and gave the appearance of being a genuine engagement with the given play. When I am in my classroom I plan to use an instructional method much like Katz's that incorporates actual acting as well as history lessons about the life and times of Shakespeare himself.

Reply 2c

Author: Tiffany_Walker
Date: 12-07-1999 00:03

Shakespeare is For Everyone!! There is so much that can be done with the students in order to motivate and encourage students to enjoy and love the works of Shakespeare. Unfortunately, some teachers think that it's good enough to just read the plays and discuss them. Well, in my opinion much more needs to be done-- just as Ms. Katz ded with her class. When I was taught about Shakespeare and his works, my teacher would have us act out scenes, throw festivities in relation to the times, practice using Shakespeare's language and translating it to much modern language (we even got to use slang words), create collagues, design the theater, etc. Through doing a variety of these activities our class was able to learn about the plays and truly enjoy what we were doing. If I would have been asked to read the play and interpret it, I would have been discouraged. Shakespeare is something that should be fun and interest the students, not something that is going to make them want to hate Shakespeare for life!!

Reply 2d

Author: JoAnn_Tiemann
Date: 12-07-1999 15:31

I see in the same light as Beth on this article. I was introduced to Shakespeare earlier in my educational career. I was deathly scared to read my first story of Shakespeared because so many had scared me that it would be so difficult to read. But after my teacher introduced him to me, I became much more eager to read him. I also had a teacher who made him sound interesting as well as fun and enjoyable. I believe that since I was introduced to him at such an early age, junior high, I gained a better appreciation for his work. I also became less scared to further my reading of him. Knowing how difficult his reading was to grasp only encouraged my reading on him in the future. It made me much more confident in my reading comprehension and therfore built my self esteem when it came to approaching and understanding Shakespeare. I think it depends on one's introduction to this man that determines their future with reading his terrific work!

Reply 2e

Author: Katie_Smith
Date: 02-13-2000 16:38

Bravo! Shakespear, one of the most outstanding playwrights in history, should be introduced to students at the junior high level in all schools. I, too, began to read Shakespear as a seventh grader and I know that it only enhanced my appreciation for this fine man as we then studied his work on a more in-depth level in high school. I've heard so may times that Shakespear is "too difficult and complex for students at the junior high level", but I disagree. As Mrs. Katz suggests, Shakespear is funny! She provides fantastic examples of creative and interactive ways to introduce these plays to seventh and eighth grade students. I laughed as I read about Mrs. Katz's personal dramatic interpretation of a play. She immediately lets down her guard and allows her students to see "modern day" Shakespear - without the Old English accents and costumes. She provides them with the basics and then allows them to take hold of their own interpretations. Though it is often impossible for some schools, I agree that it is crucial for students to see a live, professional performance of Shakespear. Mrs. Katz uses this trip as the basis for a wonderful reading/writing/discussion unit as they discuss news reviews of the show and write letters and thank you notes to the actors. Overall, this article provided me with excellent tools and ideas so that I can someday bring Shakespear into my classroom.

Reply 2f

Author: Anne_Batty
Date: 04-17-2000 20:32

Way to go! Anyone who can get students of any age excited about learning Shakespeare ddeserves a pat on the back. But a teacher who can develop a love of Shakespeare in a Middle school deserves an award.

Plays are written to be acted and enjoyed by others. They are written to bring drama and comedy to the lives of others. They are written so that we can see ourselves in the dynamic characters on stage. Ms. Katz has shown the students of her classroom the joys of drama by using the best of all playwrights, Shakespeare.

I also loved reading about how the students were able to share hear their learning with the adult members of the audience. I think that students were able walk away from the experince with great pride in their learning.

I also want to commend the author for her obvious enjoyment and excitment in teaching Shakespeare to her students.

Reply 3

Author: Dee_Karras
Date: 12-07-1999 08:12

I think that Shakespeare in the middle school classroom is an amazing accomplishment. Currently, I am teaching JULIUS CAESAR with my tenth graders and this has been a wonderful experience, but still the difficulty of the language is hard to overcome. I genuinely want my students to appreciate the language and the storyline. I agree with Katz who wants to bring Shakespeare alive in her classroom. I think that having the classes act out the scenes is a great method to have students understand the plot, however, I fear that students still won't understand the literature unless they take the time to plug through the iambic pentameter and the Shakespearean dictionary.I tell my students that if an actor doesn't understand what he or she is saying, the audience won't understand either. This is why I feel the memoization of lines is essential.

I think that it was Beth who mentioned that her husband still remembers lines from TAMING OF THE SHREW that he was required to memorize. Students are no longer asked to memorize lines of Shakespeare. I can still remember Sonnet 14 clearly from my youth and I cannot agree more that memorization is key. My students were actually excited to memorize their speeches. We are going to make our last week of classes before the break a full week of speeches, but beforehand the students have a lot of work to do. They need to emphasize the correct words with proper intonation and pronunciation.

Shakespeare is my favorite playwright and as a student of the theater, studying his works was a very difficult and time-consuming task. Yet, I know that I would never go back and change all of the time I spent over the dictionary because now I am one step ahead and i can bring Shakespeare Alive.

Reply 3a

Author: Valerie_Wiser2
Date: 12-07-1999 18:39

I agree with Dee's appreciation for the memorization of lines. I think of David Burk, a middle school English teacher who uses the memorization of poetry to make his students excited about something previously under the heading "boring". In this exercise he transfers ownership of poetry from the teacher to student. Shakespeare can be relayed in the same manner, as pieces of his work are memorized and portrayed through dramatic interpretation.

I especially think middle school students need the opportunity to get up and be active in the classroom. Dramatic works demand action to fulfill the genre in which they were written.

Reply 4

Author: Martha_Matyas
Date: 02-20-2000 22:37

Katz's wrote: "All the world has become our stage as we make Shakespeare a truly authentic experience in the middle school." I think this is exactly the way Shakespeare should be taught. Middle school students should be introduced to famous literary works with enthusiasm.

Shakespeare wrote plays; to fully understand the humor and truth within these plays they must be acted out. If students just read a Shakespeare play they will probably miss a lot because of the language used in the plays. By getting middle school students interested and excited about Shakespeare they won't be afraid of reading other famous books, or authors in high school. There are so many themes and plots from long ago that people still go through and can relate to.

I really like that Katz takes her students to a professional performance after they have studied Shakespeare. It gives them something to look forward to, and perhaps and experience they would never have done on their own.

Reply 4a

Author: Kelly_Foster
Date: 04-06-2000 18:40

I think this article is so intriguing because not many people believe that Shakespeare can or should be taught to this age group. Many feel that the language and content is too difficult for them to understand or they aren't mature enough to handle it. But I think this would only be true if Shakespeare is implied to be so difficult and complex. It is important as teachers to break down these misconceptions and make Shakespeare less intimidating to the students. And I think that the best way to do this is to have the students act it out. Shakespeare wrote his plays to be performed, and I think this is where the majority of the understanding comes from. I have been really anxious to teach Romeo and Juliet ever since the new film version came out a few years ago. I think it is so important for them to see the work also. And this version in particular is very modern and I think it would help students see the relevance of Shakespeare in their time. This is another terrific way to break down the barriers students have for Shakespeare.

Reply 4b

Author: Jessica_trantowski
Date: 04-12-2000 14:24

I haven't heard of this book by Katz, but it interests me. I am very fond of Shakespeare. And I think many people would be if they were introduced to him at an earlier age. By the time students reach high school they have so many stigmas attached to Shakespeare and his works.

Introducing Shakespeare to students at an earlier age will break those stereotypes. He can be enjoyed by more than just college professors....

Reply 4c

Author: Chris Anne_Bordewick
Date: 04-18-2000 18:44

I am in full agreement that Shakespeare is all about exposure. If a teacher approaches the content early enough and in the right manner, then kids should not be scared of the great writer when they become more advanced. Shakesprare is like anything else, if the myths are dispelled early enough, the love can be salvaged. If he was properly taught in the early levels such as middle school, then our kids would be much better off when they got to High School and college when they tackled the bigger and more in-depth work of Shakespeare. I am a huge advocate of Shakespeare in the early grades. He is not scary and should not be treated as such!

Reply 4d

Author: cheryl_mellen
Date: 04-17-2000 20:15

I so agree that "Shakespeare is for everyone"! And yes, it is meant to be experienced - plays are meant to be seen and heard, not just read. I am a preservice teacher and avid theatre buff. When doing my student teaching my fourteen year old "basic" student's favorite unit was when we did ROMEO AND JULIET. Exploring background information (they especially liked the idea of the groundlings contributions to the experience) and playing with language made them excited to delve into the story. Though I was unable to take them to a live performance, the students read aloud, acted out scenes themselves and watched portions of both Zeppereli's and Luhrmann's film versions. As a final treat, I provided carefully edited snippets of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE to give a sense of an actual performance in The Bard's time - complete with groundlings. The class had no difficulty comprehending this "difficult" text.

Reply 4e

Author: Mary_Bowen Date: 04-19-2000 11:46

I couldn't agree with you more. Shakespeare's plays were meant be performed, not read. I admit that Shakespeare is hard to follow if you are just sitting there reading it. But, I think that by acting it out, a lot of misunderstandings are cleared up. I remember reading Romeo and Juliet when I was a freshman in high school. To this day, it is still my favorite Shakespeare of all time. We had so much fun perfroming it. My teacher brought in props like swords and gowns. It is funny how I can remember more about that play and what we learned that I can about parsing sentences....

Reply 4f

Author: Deana _Crabtree
Date: 04-21-2000 09:19

I agree that "Shakespeare is for Everyone" and it is meant to be performed and watched. I do not think that students enjoy just sitting and reading line after line at their desks. That is not helpful. During my student teaching my Shakespeare unit went awesome. I used film and acting to teach Shakespeare. I took bits and pieces from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Twelfth Night." My kids loved it. Many of them went out and rented the film and watched the rest at hime with friends. I think that if teachers just give their kids a taste of Shakespeare they will take off with it. After watching the films they actually understood Shakespeare!! That excited me and them. When I was in High School I hated Shakespeare because of how we learned it. If it would have been taught with film I think i would have understood it sooner.

Reply 5

Author: Erin_Doyal
Date: 04-20-2000 11:34

In my ninth grade year I was first introduced to the works of Shakespeare. We sat obediently in the musty classroom as our teacher passed out our books...Romeo and Juliet. "Class," our teacher announced, "your homework tonight will be to read the first scene, we will discuss it tomorrow". And so the trend began...silent reading and frustration became the tone of this unit. The culmination? Not an opportunity to experience the play, but rather a multiple choice test. Did I mention that I didn't learn to love Shakespeare until four years later? Plays, especially Shakespeare, are about the experience of oral language. They are interactive events that should inspire and excite. Too often I've seen classrooms where the students sat quietly as the teacher lectured day after day. Many people still believe that a quiet classroom is a productive classroom. Sure, if your idea of productive is creating a generation of students who cannot think for themselves...students who have never learned to question, laugh, or ponder. I applaud any approach to Shakespeare that gets students out of their seats and into the literature.

Reply 6

Author: jennifer_snevel
Date: 04-20-2000 18:10

Reading this article made me wish I had Katz for a teacher. I remember listening to a "Caesar" tape in high school, and not really paying attention, how "Romeo and Juliet" didn't make any sense to me. Katz's method is such a great idea. The students obviously get into the acting and have a great time while they are learning, I like how Katz takes roles in the beginning scenes and manipulates them to inspire her students. I was also impressed with how well Katz's students did at the professional performance-- the recognition by the director was great. It seems in order to help students enjoy Shakespeare, all you need is the right teacher with the right motivation!

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