Exploring Cultural and
Pedagogical Approaches to
Teaching Shakespeare or
How to TeachRomeo and Juliet
By
Christina Maffa
Advised by Dr. Emily Meixner
How do I teach Shakespeare?
Youre a freshman English Teacher and know youre going to be
teaching Romeo and Juliet this year, so the first question you
naturally ask yourself is How do I teach R&J? What can I do to
make this work in my classroom? But wait . . .
As educators, the first question we should
be asking before we ask how? is why?
RIGHT THERE!
Not How? but Why?
WHY?
HOW?
Why youre teaching determines how you will teach
Developing a Critical Consciousness
Awareness that our ideas come from a
particular set of life experiences
Ability to trace our ideas to their sources in
our experience
Acknowledgment that others will have equally
valid, if different, life experiences and ideas
Acceptance that ideas about what is normal
or right are the products of life experiences
not universal laws
Economic
(Cultural Capital)
Knowing Shakespeare will help
students attain social status because
he is valued by our culture (emphasis
on product)
Empathetic
Learning more about the self,
relationships with others,
understanding humanity
Reading Shakespeare requires the
imagination and daring capacity to
entertain ambiguity and the
paradoxes of human life and
historyto imagine the complex lives
of powerfully historicized human
beings. (Metzger 24).
Democratic
Becoming a critically thinking
citizen
Prompts students to ask questions
about our society and the issues
facing us in relation to the world and
issues Shakespeare presents
Purposes of
Education
Why teach
Shakespeare?
So why do I want to teach
Shakespeare?
Shakespeare provides a context for
students to consider their own humanity,
their relationship to others and their place
in society
Requires its audience to ask questions
Incorporates performance/ visual aspect
as a means of understanding and
analyzing text; engaging students of with
different learning styles
Approaches to Teaching
Standardist teacher possesses knowledge
which she has to impart to students; students
are assessed on whether they retain the
knowledge and eventually use the knowledge
theyve acquired as a way to succeed
Constructivist/ Student Centered- each
person in the classroom brings their own
experiences to the text, each has something to
contribute to the way the text is perceived
Standardist vs. Constructivist
The assumptions the teacher holds about what
knowledge is valuable for students might not be
the same assumptions students hold
An exchange of knowledge will not work if
students see no purpose in acquiring the
knowledge the teacher thinks is necessary for
them
Understanding students experiences and
making them a central part of the approach to
teaching creates a space where their identities
are validated
Assessing students prior knowledge
Because students experiences and
knowledge are the basis of a student-
centered approach, before I begin teaching I
need to know what prior knowledge and
experience they are bringing to the text and
what they will need to know to help them
better engage with the text.
Prior Knowledge
Historical Background Language Play
Historicizing Shakespeare
The more we know about
the real lives of these
audience members, the
more we can appreciate
the art they loved
(Isaac EJ 61).
Meet and Greet People from
Shakespeares Time
Create small paragraphs from the point of view of a
person during Renaissance England and give to students
to read, or have students create these paragraphs by
researching a specific person/ type of person from
Shakespeares time
Possibilities include: Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth,
Working class citizen, young adult boy, young adult girl,
groundling, actor in a Shakespeare play, others who are
relevant to the play you are reading
Students can read these aloud to each other in small
meet and greet groups and then discuss Shakespeares
world and how it relates to ours
How does this connect back to the
Why?
Activity develops students awareness of
human beings who lived during the time
of the play allowing the opportunity for
connections to made between their human
lives and our own
Provides the context to talk about the
meaning of the play
Prior Knowledge: Language
Prior Knowledge
Historical Background Language Play
Working with smaller pieces of Shakespeares
work first (sonnets, short passages)
Comparing a break down of Shakespeares
language to language that students are more
familiar withsong lyrics
Prior Knowledge: Play
Prior Knowledge
Historical Background Language Play
Tragedy
Plot
Characters
Play: Romeo and Juliet
Traditionally a part of
most 9
th
grade curricula
Plot has become part of
our popular culture so
students usually bring
their own set of
expectations for and
knowledge of the play
Teaching often reaffirms
the idea of star-crossed
lovers who are destined
to die
Questions a traditional teaching
might focus on
What is tragic flaw of Romeo and Juliets love that leads
to their deaths and in what ways is this manifested
throughout the play?
Discuss the relationships between parents and children
in Romeo and Juliet. How do Romeo and Juliet interact
with their parents? Are they rebellious, in the modern
sense? How do their parents feel about them?
For what reasons is the love between Romeo and Juliet
so special?
What does a traditional teaching of
R&J mean for students?
Romeo and Juliets relationship is a true
representation of love
Their deaths are inevitable
Implication that students like Romeo and
Juliet, as young adults in a world where
the rules and norms are already set for
them, have no power and no control
Re-envisioning the Tragedy
Tragedy is often perceived to mean that the
main character is fated to die (usually because
of a tragic flaw) however this implies humans
are powerless.
For tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action
and of life, and life consists in action and its end is a
mode of action, not a quality
Aristotle
What if instead tragedy is viewed as the consequence
of the actions of the characters, societys influence on
the choices they make and not a predestined fate?
Romeo and Juliet Reconsidered
What is tragic flaw of Romeo and Juliets love that leads
to their deaths?
Is Romeo and Juliet a tragedy because the main
characters are fated to die or because they see death as
their only option? In a society where the rules and
norms are constructed by others, can young adults
assert their beliefs or control their future, without
resigning themselves to either submit to societys
expectations or to death?
Constructive (Dense) Question
Traditional Question
Romeo and Juliet Reconsidered
For what reasons is the love between Romeo and Juliet
so special?
What are the various definitions of love presented in
Romeo and Juliet and do these definitions give power to
or take it away from the protagonists? Would you define
Romeo and Juliets relationships as one of loveor is it
something else? Where do your definitions of love come
from? How does love translate into power in todays
society?
Constructive question
Traditional Question
Romeo and Juliet Reconsidered
Discuss the relationships between parents and children in
Romeo and Juliet. How do Romeo and Juliet interact
with their parents? Are they rebellious, in the modern
sense? How do their parents feel about them?
What role do the adults play in bringing about the tragic
ending of the play? How do Romeo and Juliets
perception of the adults and the adults perception of
them affect Romeo and Juliets understanding of their
choices? Do you see this disconnect between parents
and teenagers in your own life/ community? What do
you think could bridge the gap between the adults and
young adults?
Constructive question
Traditional Question
Reading Activities
Bookmarks
Comparison of different film
interpretations
Pictorial representations
Examining edited versions of the text
Soundtrack to Shakespeare
Lit Circles with young adult novels relating
to the plot/ themes of the play
Comparing Different Film Versions
After reading a scene (or instead of reading a
scene) show two different film versions of that
scene
While watching students can be thinking about
setting, sound, props/ costuming, script, delivery,
cinematography and/or blocking
Analyzing the different directors choices shows
that there is more than one way to interpret a
play and that the choices a director makes can
profoundly influence the meaning of the play
Two Versions of Romeo and Juliet
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
(1996)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
(1968)
Performance Activities
Using blocking, prompt books, costuming
in student direction of a scene
Re-mix
Performing Shakespeare in non-traditional
settings
Student film
Shakespearean Slide Shows
Shakespearean Slide Shows
Act 3 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet is one scene that
could be used to examine the question of the role of the
adults in the play
Students create a human slide show by creating a
series of tableaux, grouping of silent motionless actors to
represent the sequence of an scene
Relying on more than words to communicate meaning
what we see also contributes to how we interpret the
text
Activity prompts students to think about blocking,
character motivation, subtext, interpretation and the
larger questions that surface in the scene
Literature Circles with Young
Adult Novels
What is a Literature Circle?
A literature circle is a student run
discussion of a particular book. Students
are assigned into groups of 4-6 based on
the book they want to read. Each student
occupies a different role (discussion
director, artful artist, connector, passage
picker, summarizer, etc.) in the literature
circle and is responsible for bringing
certain materials to class on the day of
literature circle discussions.
Why Literature Circles?
Student-Centered (students experience,
knowledge, the meaning they create
become the focus of the discussion)
Prompt students to apply what they are
reading to other contexts
Develop variety of critical reading skills
Provide opportunity for differentiated
instruction
Why use Young Adult Novels with a
Shakespeare play like Romeo and Juliet?
These texts provide students with:
A new context in which to discuss the
issues of the play
A different thematic focus
Contrasting character/plot/setting choice,
Alternatives to the ending Shakespeare
provides
Choosing the books to read along
with the play
Heirs to Shakespeare
Internet resources
Bookstore websites ([Link])
([Link])
Not all books you find will fit the purposes
of your classroom (Armageddon Summer)
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
Main character, Nathan, a boys drama
troupe that travels to London to perform
at the Globe
Upon arrival in London, Nats illness
causes him to travel back in time to 1592
where he finds himself a part of
Shakespeares acting group
Not connected to Romeo and Juliet but
recreates the historical setting of
Shakespeares
What does this book offer?
Comparison of our time and
Shakespeares time through the eyes of
Nat
Exploring the workings of the theatre:
rehearsals, costuming, blocking, audience
reaction
Political implications of Shakespeares
plays
Using text from Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet Together (and
alive!) at Last by Avi
Middle school students who decide
to put on a production of Romeo
and Juliet
Reversal of the situation of the
play Romeo and Juliet --the
protagonists are in love with each
other but reluctant to show their
love (presumably because they are
in middle school) and their friends
are working towards bringing them
together through the production of
the play
Questions/ Issues Raised
How does Shakespeares portrayal of
love between teenagers compare to
this portrayal and why are they
different or the same?
What are societys expectations for
teenagers in terms of the power they
can exercise over their choices?
Turning Romeo and Juliet into a
comedy?
Breaking Rank by Kristen D. Randle
Casey volunteers to tutor Baby (Thomas)
who is a member of the Clan, a non-
conformist, all male group who isolate
themselves from the High School
population
As their relationship develops, both
teenagers begin to come into conflict
with their peers/family for associating
with someone outside their accepted
circle
Casey and Baby must struggle with how
to maintain their relationship with each
other and at the same time their
relationship with their friends/family
Questions/ Issues Raised
How do the choices Casey and
Baby make affect the outcome of
their relationship?
How does the clan influence the
role gender plays in the story?
Relationships with adults
Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper
Romiette and Julio are two teenagers
who come from different backgrounds:
Romiette is upper/middle class African
American and Julio is lower/middle class
Hispanic
They fall in love but soon encounter
threats to their relationship from the
local gang who are opposed to
interracial relationships which causes
their love to become progressively more
dangerous
Questions/ Issues Raised
Using the issue of race to provide the
context in which the two lovers come
into conflict with those around them
Gang membership/ violence
Rhetoric of love
Support from friends/family
Destiny/ Fate
What choices do these characters
make that leads to their situation at
the end?
Final Points to Consider
Asking why first, not how; knowing the
why will help you determine the how
Making students experiences central to
the classroom; considering their prior
knowledge
Re-envisioning the tragedyRomeo and
Juliet: A play about choice not fate
Thinking about the various activities you
can plan with the why in mind
One Last Thought
Its essential to take a conscious look at our
assumptions because they largely determine
the effectiveness of our strategies and the
quality of our results . . .assumptions about
schools, students, teaching, and learning all
influence teachers actionsand teachers
actions have enormous consequences not
only for the students whose future they
shape, but also for American society
(Hinchey 4).
THE END
Thank you for coming!
Questions?
