Shakespeare

Shakespeare

I learned a lot during the Shakespeare unit. I thought it was very interesting that we got to learn about how to incorporate Shakespeare into lesson plans. The Hobart Shakespeareans was my favorite thing that we learned about and I hope to use this video/website for later use. I enjoyed learning about A Midsummer Night's Dream and it was very interesting to act out different scenes of it. I believe that acting out what you read is a good idea to use in the future with my students.

Links/Resources for Shakespeare:

A Midsummer Night's Dream-
http://www.rsc.org.uk/exploringshakespeare/

The Hobart Shakespeareans-Link to the website for the documentary film, which follows Rafe Esquith and his 5th graders from Hobart Elementary in central Los Angeles-
http://www.pbs.org/pov/hobart/

Reader's Theatre- Useful article about using Reader's Theatre in the classroom
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/carrick/index.html

Lois Burdett- Shakespeare for kids-
http://www.fireflybooks.com/Shakespeare.html

Enjoying a Midsummer Night's Dream-
http://www.pathguy.com/mnd.htm

Tips for Reading Shakespeare-
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsu/maune/ShakespearePages/ReadingTips.html

Hobart Shakespeareans Prompt to use in the future:
For the post this week, I am mainly curious to see what you think about Rafe Esquith's class. Write a bit about your ideas after viewing this documentary: what about his class seems interesting to consider in terms of what students are capable of? How does he seem to think about the teaching of literacy, particularly work with reading? What else does he value? What seems problematic? What is the "take away" after viewing this film?

My Response:
I was very inspired after watching The Hobart Shakespeareans film in class. The Hobart Shakespeareans is about a teacher named Rafe Esquith who teaches fifth grade at Hobart Elementary in Los Angeles. Hobart Elementary is one of the nation's largest inner city schools. Rafe Esquith teaches in a very unique manner and believes that Shakespeare wants his audience to use imagination. Although I did disagree with some of Rafe Esquith's thoughts and idea, I believe that his classroom is an amazing place. I believe that his classroom was so incredibly interesting to me because of that fact that I had never seen anyone teach like Rafe before. I thought it was very interesting that he taught the material he did in his classroom because to me it seemed to be way above the fifth grade level curriculum. He seems to think that the teaching of literacy should also be done visually. I was shocked when I saw his fifth grade student performing many Shakespeare plays that they had read in class. However, it seemed as though the students really understood what they read by performing the plays. I think that Rafe truly values seeing his students succeed. It is very rewarding for him to see his students learn and comprehend what he is teaching them. Rafe enjoys giving his students the opportunity to do things that they would usually not be able to do. He plans two major trips a year to Washington D.C. and Virginia in order to teach his students about America's history. While watching the video, I could see that his students love these trips and really learn a lot while having fun. In the video, Rafe also takes his students to the UCLA college campus in order to encourage his students to set goals and plan for the future. While on this trip, Rafe had each student make a goal that they wanted to accomplish. I thought that having his students make goals was a great idea.

There were a few things about Rafe's class that seemed to be problematic. Rafe admits that he understands that not everyone in his class is going to always understand what is going on and he says that that is okay. He also explains that violence is a way of life for some of his student because they are living in a poor environment. It made me very sad when Rafe's school had to go on lock down during the video. Crimes and shootings are very common right by the school and lock downs occur often. Another problem with Rafe's class is that some parents aren't involved. This point caught my attention because this problem can occur at any school. It is very unfortunate that children have problems at home, but sometimes there are drug and alcohol problems with family members.

I believe that the "take away" from this film differs depending on the viewer. My take away however, is that as a teacher you should incorporate your own creative ideas into your curriculum. Many of the things that Rafe did in his classroom inspired me as a future teacher. For example, I thought that the money system that Rafe created in his classroom was a great idea. Rafe gives money to every student and they are rewarded or punished for performing certain tasks. He gives fines for not doing homework and you pay rent for your seat in the classroom. Someone in the front of the classroom would have a move expensive rent then someone in the back. I thought this was a good idea because he prepares his students for real life and teaches them management. I also thought it was interesting how Rafe gave out Barnes and Nobles gift cards to his students in order to encourage them to buy books. This is something that I would maybe think about doing in the future. Overall, I thought that The Hobart Shakespeareans was an amazing film. I have never seen anyone have such a passion for teaching as Rafe. I plan on watching this film many more times in order to inspire myself as a future teacher.

On the last day of school Rafe told his students.. "This is not over, this is the beginning