How do you teach Shakespeare and other British literature without the kids falling asleep, (and myself)?
What ages are you dealing with? Mine did Brit Lit as High school seniors and we used Sonlight's program which they all enjoyed.
What age? I found Shakespeare incredibly boring in high school. After reading about what some others have done I decided to introduce Shakespeare early on, but in modern language so they are familiar with the stories by the time they hit high school. I start with the Shakespeare Animated Tales (can view on Youtube) in elementary school and in middle school my kids read/will read Shakespeare tales in modern language. I'm hoping that the familiarity will help. For Beowulf, I got the audio version and had my kid follow along in the text. I kept falling asleep, but my ds liked the monster story.
The Standard Deviants videos on Shakespeare can help a great deal in terms of basic understanding. I used to teach British Lit---- it was my favorite. LOL I think, as with anything, it's easier to make something enjoyable for others if you enjoy it yourself. I adore British Lit, and so it was something I was always enthusiastic about teaching. One thing I'd definitely recommend with regards to Shakespeare: don't feel compelled to do all the tragedies. Schools focus so much on the tragedies- Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Caesar- and leave the comedies to the wayside. Also, people tend to forget that plays were designed to be viewed, not read. So, sit down with the text in hand and watch some versions. There are often jokes or dialogue that people don't understand while reading that become clear when they see it in action. I personally loved the Arthurian legends and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There are a ton of things you can do with those. Chaucer's tales are also a lot of fun. Remember that so much of the early British Lit were stories designed to entertain. So teach them as oral stories. Don't bind yourself to the writings themselves and feel you must read every bit of it. Read some and summarize some. A little can go a long way.
Oh my! We LOVE Brit Lit here in this house! LOL My oldest is chomping at the bit to do Shakepeare, but I'm making her wait. I want her to be able to really understand it. She's a huge fan of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc....I told her we'd do a Jane Austen Year. Sorry....I guess I'm not much of a help. I adored it in HS and read brit lit for pleasure, I think it rubbed off on my kids.
Brit Lit doesn't have to be boring or stuffy! How about some light poetry by Edward Lear to start? And maybe some Sherlock Holmes stories? Do your kids like science fiction? If so, how about The Time Machine by H.G. Wells? Movie adaptations might help too. There are some decent ones of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. And, there are many Charles Dickens movies around, too. I know the season is ending now, but my kids have always loved Shakespeare in the Park each summer. Maybe you can look for local playhouses, theaters that put on Shakespeare plays, or even your local college. Shakespeare comedies might be easier to start. The Tempest and A Winter's Tale are non-intimidating. I think my kids were about 5 or 6 years old when they and some other friends put on a cute short skit based on A Winter's Tale. And there are some animated versions of some of the Shakespeare plays.
We used Lit guides (Novel Units and Progeny Press) for most of our literature. HSLDA has some good podcasts on teaching Shakespeare http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/40/hshbwk2.asp
I hated Shakespeare (and never even thought about teaching it to our children), but I quite enjoyed Dickens (and had our children watch Lionel Bart's 'Oliver'). I'd second Sherlock Holmes and the novels of HG Wells. The writing of GK Chesterton is good, too. As a teen, I thoroughly enjoyed Dylan Thomas.
Central Ohio is blessed with free outdoor Shakespeare. Phillip attended his first Shakespeare play when he was 7, and we usually do at least one, if not two, each summer. The kids really enjoy the Bard (though they've mostly just seen the comedies). The first time, I read the story from a children's book of Shakespeare, so they knew what the story was before going. Then (being outside), I could explain some things as we went along. This year, we saw "Twelfth Night" (set in the 80's!!! You would not BELIEVE listening to the Bard's words set to the tune of Footloose!!!), and Faythe and I plan on seeing Romeo and Juliette in a few weeks. Ballet Met did the ballet of Romeo and Juliette last spring. I've seen many performances of Ballet Met before, but this one was absolutely AWESOME!!! I might add that my kids' VERY FIRST introduction to Shakespeare was from Wishbone!!! And for those with older kids (which mine are), I'm being told that PBS is going to do a series of his historical plays in chronological order this year. We're going to at least start out watching them, because we've already studied the War of the Roses, so they're familiar with the historical setting.
