Shakespeare in the Junior School

Grade 8 students in Ms. Stephanie Cummings’ and my English classes teamed up for a wonderful unit on Shakespeare, digging deep into some of his most popular works.

Throughout the unit, students engaged with old English texts through theatrical performance, text analysis, film studies, and collaborative work. Paying respect to the importance of outdoor theatre, both in historical and cultural context, students rewrote a simpler more concise script for Romeo and Juliet. They then performed it for the Grades 6 and 7 classes on a beautiful spring day.