My students need a set of 5 camcorders to produce, record and present our favorite scenes from Shakespeare and Hamlet out in our neighborhood!
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Averill's classroom raised $951
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Part of the excitement of teaching any of Shakespeare's plays is exploring a 400 year old play and finding how much its timeless themes can apply to our modern world! The best way to reinforce this connection is to literally bring the staging out of the English classroom and into the neighborhood.
If I've learned anything from my experiences teaching in the U.S.
and overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer, it's that kids are kids everywhere. They're funny, energetic, inquisitive, and motivated, and my students are no different. They're passionate about their goals and very focused on achieving them. However, my students do have some challenges many students in the U.S. don't have when they grow up. To begin with, a large portion of my students come from homes where English is not the primary language. While being bilingual does provide students with an excellent and marketable skill set, over 80% of my students enter high school reading below grade level, and many need more support in developing their English language skills in order to graduate and be successful in college. This, combined with the fact that 89% of students qualify for free lunch, helps to show why many of our students need additional resources in order to be successful in school and achieve the goals they've set for themselves.
My Project
We are asking for five Kodak digital camcorders to enhance the teaching and learning of Shakespeare in my classroom. I love Shakespeare and so it's always a challenge when my class picks Hamlet, I hear, "I hate Shakespeare!" Many of us have had bad Shakespeare experiences, so I resolve to change some opinions. I say The Bard is meant to be explored, reinterpreted and even reinvented. And so, with camcorders in hand, our class of 11th graders will divide into acting troupes and choose a favorite scene from Hamlet. The staging of this scene will involve exploring characters, monologue and dialogue, costumes and especially setting. Ultimately our goal will be to find the many connections between Hamlet's medieval castle in Denmark and our modern New York City. And by having the scenes crafted and digitally revised, we will be poised to have a final Shakespeare celebration with the school and our neighborhood community all in attendance!
Our camcorders will be locked safely and monitored closely by teacher and students alike.
And so, with the success of our first rendition of "Hamlet in the Heights", we pave the way for future explorations of not only Hamlet, but other works of literature as well. Indeed our goal is to explore Hamlet, but ultimately I am seeking new and innovative ways of validating and honoring the unique voices and creative young people that I have the honor to work with every day.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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 Mr. Averill and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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