My project needs craft materials such as beads, glitter paint and glue so that my students are able to construct puppets to recreate Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Julius Ceasar.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
No high school student looks forward to reading Shakespeare. I want to change this with my students in English class. I teach at an inner city school. Despite the negative connotations this image may conjure, my students are bright and possess a fierce desire to shine. Our school provides the students with the necessary basics like textbooks, but does not have the funds to provide materials for creative and imaginative expression. I am asking for your help in changing this reality.
I believe that by taking one of the hardest texts to read and comprehend and making it fun, my students will get their opportunity to achieve. Rewriting Shakespeare into modern day language and settings is not a new strategy; I want to take it to the next level. I am asking my tenth grade students to read Julius Cesar, as my ninth grade students read Romeo and Juliet. They will then adapt the plays into an original puppet theatre production.
By supplying me with the necessary raw construction materials, my students will be able to bring Shakespeare alive with their own hands. The unit will involve reading; writing on a daily basis; oral presentations; and comprehension of elements of drama as well as themes, tone, and characters. They will get to use their own creativity to express the meaning of the play. They will fashion the characters in the likeness they wish to see. After final script approval and rehearsals, the students will perform the puppet theatre for their peers and invite a local pre-school to a production.
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences proposes that every person is better than the average person in one of eight intelligences: linguistic, logical, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and the naturalist intelligence. I believe this project will accomplish learning and Shakespeare appreciation by appealing to diverse students-my students. They will rewrite the language into modern day speech, re-visualize the play, cooperate with peers to design sets, create puppets, and perform for an audience. Your donation can not only help make Shakespeare fun, but also will allow for minority students to attain more than just a standard of learning in high school English class.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Beatty and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.