What Ophelia Knew! Hamlet's Story Through Her Eyes
My students need 60 copies of Falling for Hamlet to read along side Shakespeare's version of Hamlet.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Thomas's classroom raised $615
This project is fully funded
My Students
Torture! That's what my students think every time I announce to them we will be reading Shakespeare. The collective groan is almost deafening. By introducing a modern version of the story alongside its original, I hope to change all that.
My students range from ages 14 through 18 and live in a predominately urban setting.
Our school is one of the last "big" schools in the area and has an enrollment of almost 2,000 students. Their own lives are often challenging and school is not always seen as a priority but given the right opportunities and encouragement, I have watched many of them transform themselves and their ideas about learning into something positive.
My Project
Reading Shakespeare has never been one of the more popular assignments in our school. The preconceived notions about its lack of relevance to today's issues can be hard to break, not to mention getting over the hurdle of its being written in Old English. However, once the students start reading, they soon realize how his stories often deal with the problems we face today like love, jealousy, and betrayal. Using Falling for Hamlet in tandem with Shakespeare's Hamlet will help provide a modern context for his work and allow students to quickly make connections between themselves and the text. Also, having the story told through the eyes of another character will allow them to see how different perspectives can change the perception of events, a skill they can take with them and apply to other literature as well. This will also enable them to develop their skills regarding characterization, theme, motivation and point of view.
Through this project, I hope to make Shakespeare more accessible to my students and to foster in them, if not a love, than at least an understanding of the Bard's work and to encourage them to find unique perspectives when reading in the future.
More than three‑quarters of 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 Mrs. Thomas and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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