This year it seems that my boys have taken a keen interest in teasing out the nuances of the English language, particularly as we read Romeo and Juliet. Mixing film, photography, creative writing, and dramatic interpretations with our analysis of the text has proved to be a welcome change for me. While I innately enjoy Shakespeare, transferring my interest and understanding (no matter what grade level I teach) is always a unique challenge. Often my Shakespeare units are the most altered, refined, and re-imagined lessons.
In graduate school, I had the wonderfully nerdy opportunity to take a semester class all about the Bard. With a better understanding of his histories, tragedies, and comedies, my final project for the class was to create a unit with plays least likely to be taught in an American middle or high school. It was an interesting experiment and one that has recently resurfaced in my mind. Lately I've been thinking about "replacing" Romeo and Juliet in my eighth grade classes. I haven't figured out which play would offer as many "blush points" as Romeo and Juliet (how quickly young men of all shades are tickled pink), but I think it is important for students to have some exposure literature not as recognized.
Hmmm...we'll see.
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