Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a good start to the new school term - mince pies and wrapping gifts already feels like a distant memory doesn’t it? But as one good thing comes to an end an equally exciting one steps into its place. There’s plenty to be looking forward to this spring. For example… 

This week some post arrived that had the whole office smiling from ear to ear! We were lucky enough to receive an envelope from Four Marks Church of England Primary School stuffed with hand written letters from their Year 5 and 6 children, responding to our workshops with them earlier this term.

In Part 3 of our Guide to Teaching Shakespeare, we look at getting children up on their feet and performing the bard’s work. From character statues to character creation, here are some exercises and activities that you can use in the classroom, differentiated for different ages.

You’ve told, read, re-read and re-told your story. Everyone knows what’s happening. (Finally!) Great.

Safe with an understanding of the overall story from a narrative version, it’s time to transfer your students’ knowledge to a script version and discover how Shakespeare really brought his stories to life.

Our advice when it comes to teaching Shakespeare in primary schools is to tell a story, break it down and get physical with it to bring the drama to life. In this blog series, we break down each of these points in turn to provide ideas and suggestions for how you can deliver them in our own classroom. To get us started, Part 1 focuses on telling the story.

Last week a group of teachers gathered with our Creative Director, Abi, in RADA for our first CPD Masterclass. They spent the evening chanting, dancing and moving their way through a toolkit of games and activities to help primary school children explore Shakespeare.

Next week our Creative Director, Abi, will be running a free CPD session for primary school teachers at RADA to help unlock some of the secrets of exploring Shakespeare in primary schools.