In the US, the works of Shakespeare are often limited to high-school English language arts (ELA), with some students not encountering Shakespeare until college-level English courses. His works are often considered “the mother lode of complex texts” (Thompson & Turchi, 2016, p. 6), which may discourage teachers—particularly those working with younger students—from including them in their curricula. Introducing Shakespeare in elementary classrooms, however, constitutes an opportunity for younger audiences to be acquainted with early modern English literature, making Shakespeare’s work potentially more accessible and familiar when it is revisited in later grades (high school and beyond).

Shakespeare’s English can be daunting for students and teachers, and it can present challenges—especially for teachers who have not previously studied Shakespeare’s works. For some teachers, teaching Shakespeare may also imply a commitment to an entire play, which may overwhelm younger students. In response to the latter challenge, this chapter presents a module design that identifies thematic excerpts from different Shakespeare plays that can be intentionally “peppered” into grades 1–4 curricula and that can spiral up towards higher grades. The focal module of this chapter suggests ways teachers can guide analysis, interpretation, and discussions of relevant themes with students to explore and study diverse identities, including racial and gender-identity markers. The use of thematic excerpts affords learners, particularly young ones, opportunities to incorporate Shakespeare into their knowledge base (Porter, 2009), which will enrich students’ study of his plays in upper grades. Additionally, early exposure to complex texts may also enrich students’ linguistic repertoires, with particular potential for emergent bilingual (EB) learners.

In his (RaceB4Race) RB4R presentation, Ian Smith (2021) suggested the need to slow down when reading Shakespeare in the classroom. Smith proposed focusing on specific passages to uncover the workings of race in Shakespeare’s plays where we might otherwise miss them. In his presentation, Smith revealed the value that attention to issues of race and identity has for understanding Hamlet, for example, a play not usually considered to be focused on race. This invitation suggested an in-depth treatment of themes and ideas that push back against mandates for coverage of Shakespeare’s works (Smith, 2021). This in-depth treatment of Shakespeare’s works aligns with Thompson and Turchi’s (2016) selection of frames or thematic ideas across plays. By using thematic frames across plays, high-school teachers interested in teaching Shakespeare need not be intimidated by the content as the thematic links are emphasized over knowledge of an entire play. The authors also aimed this type of thematic engagement for teachers interested in teaching Shakespeare in ways that do not require instructors to commit to teaching a whole play.

In this chapter, we suggest expanding opportunities for younger audiences to learn using thematic excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays. At the University of California at Davis’s Center for Shakespeare in Diverse Classrooms, we have observed teachers successfully teach Shakespeare to younger children. In one example, an elementary-school teacher taught excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream using puppets and other visual tools in her first-grade class. Aided by these and other drama-based practices, the teacher prioritized event sequencing through storytelling and hypothesizing/predicting key plot elements. The teacher engaged students in reading parts of the play aloud, sometimes chorally, and then led a discussion of what unfolded in the text. Students described what occurred during the reading and enactment and predicted what might come next, both objectives for elementary grades listed in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Exploring excerpts instead of whole plays may afford young learners opportunities to learn about Shakespeare’s themes and language without feeling overwhelmed by its complexity. Also, Shakespeare’s works carry cultural capital that, for some parents, might be important for their children to have at an early age. This cultural capital can sometimes outweigh parental hesitations about complex discussions about race and gender—two themes widely explored in Shakespeare’s works—which makes his works a possible “safe” way for teachers to discuss these themes with young learners. Thematic excerpts can also become entryways for teachers to connect Shakespeare to contemporaneous texts, themes, and current sociopolitical issues that learners can explore, analyze, relate to, and address through a critical lens. Teaching Shakespeare multimodally and in transmediated ways (Houk, this volume) may empower learners to engage with his work critically, destabilizing his authority as “untouchable” and affirming their own role as co-authors of meaning and as literary critics. By designing a space for students to exercise their creative agency while studying Shakespeare, teachers can cultivate emancipatory and anti-racist opportunities (Wozniak, 2016) to approach themes and social commentaries found in his plays.

In prior work, we reported how new teachers engaged in design and inquiry into one-to-two-week mini-units utilizing excerpts from Shakespeare rather than teaching an entire play. These mini-units (and the lesson plans within each) explored themes from a specific Shakespeare play and possible intertextual links, supported by drama-based pedagogy (DBP) (Athanases & Sanchez, 2020a). Such a module or mini-unit can be taught as an intact lesson series, as lessons that help frame or extend the teaching of a Shakespeare play, or as lessons structured with unifying links but taught over time. In that study, we documented ways two teachers co-designed and later implemented Julius Caesar, focused on the themes of Power and Patriotism. Different from Porter (2009), who reported using abridged versions of Caesar in her work with emergent bilingual learners, the two teachers in our study did not modify the original language of the play. Instead, teachers contextualized selected excerpts from Caesar using DBP practices (Table 1) to highlight character intentions and actions. Teachers designed and met learning goals through careful selection of excerpts, contextualization within the chosen play, scaffolded learning using varied multimodal means (akin to Houk’s chapter, this volume), and the repeated use of familiar DBP practices. In that work, we also reported ways these teachers engaged their culturally and linguistically diverse students in critical conversations about patriotism and its consequences for individuals often discriminated against in the US. Through their lessons, teachers also explored ways young learners could foster healthy relationships after embodying and analyzing Portia and Brutus’s discussion (Shakespeare, 2004, 2.1.253–313) before Caesar’s assassination (Athanases & Sanchez, 2020a).

Table 1.* Drama-Based Practices Defined and Aligned to Common Core State Standards

Practice	Description	Standards-aligned Purpose
Story Whoosh	Teacher or student narrates an overview of the story while individuals/groups enact portions of the story with or without lines.	Review/Preview RL.7.2: Determine theme or main idea RL.7.3: Analyze elements of story, interactively
Moving Tableaux	Groups model scenes from stories, motionlessly. Short lines can be integrated into tableaux. Possible extension: students create Instagram posts or GIFs of tableaux.
Principal Thought	Students seated in a circle with a copy of short text they have previously read. Teacher guides students through collective reading: Circle five most important lines Cross out two lines you circled Within three remaining lines, circle five most important words Cross out three circled words Cross out one more word so only one remains Students share words individually in a whole-class circle, noticing patterns.	Comprehension/Close Reading RL.7.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis SL.7.1.C: Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions
Hot Seat	Student assumes role of character in the “Hot Seat.” Classmates interrogate character, using prepared questions.	Character Analysis RL.7.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis RL.7.6: Analyze how author develops & contrasts characters
Hook, Probe, Deflect	Using cut scene, students read in pairs. At the end of each line, they “hook,” “probe,” or “deflect” their partner to convey emotion.
Point to the Pronoun	Students read a text aloud, independently. Each time they get to a pronoun, they point to emphasize it. Can also be done in pairs.	Fluency & Intonation Lang.7.3: Use knowledge of language conventions RL.7.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis RL.7.5: Analyze how drama/poem form or structure contributes to meaning S&L.7.1: Engage in collaborative discussions

* Adapted from “Embodiment, Emotion, and Reflection: Resources for Learning through Drama,” by J. J. Jasper, L. L. Dvorak, S. Z. Athanases, and S. L. Sanchez, 2021, English Journal, 110(3), p. 41 (https://doi.org/10.58680/ej202131066). Copyright 2021 by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Note. Table highlights seventh-grade standards but activities described also align with equivalent standards across elementary and high school grades. For more, visit http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/

 

In this chapter, we extend our prior work and propose using selected thematic excerpts across several of Shakespeare’s plays for unit/lesson designs. Additionally, the focus of this chapter is on elementary students’ early exposure to Shakespeare. If treated carefully and with supporting structures, young learners can access a variety of Shakespeare’s works and the breadth of themes included. Relating literary works with themes that explore current sociopolitical issues can add value to the type of discussions students and teachers have, informing students of relevant issues and how these issues may impact them and their peers, further facilitating the development of empathy and perspective-taking (Athanases & Sanchez, 2020b). The module design described in this chapter assumes that the treatment of thematic excerpts will enable elementary school students to have early encounters with Shakespeare while extending themes to students’ discussions, without teachers needing to commit to teaching whole plays. The design is framed by Bruner’s (1960) spiral curriculum, a framework that allows students to revisit themes and ideas repeatedly throughout their schooling. Each time students revisit themes and ideas (in our case perhaps even excerpts), they may add complex and nuanced understandings that can produce new learning by tapping learners’ old schema and leaning on a new contextualization of themes (guided by age-appropriate questions and discussion).

However, the success of any thematic unit truly following a spiral curriculum depends on teachers’ capacity to collaborate with peers, both at and across grade levels. Collaboration requires lesson planning and sustaining this kind of work over time. As proposed by Athanases et al. (this volume), when teachers dialogue across disciplinary and institutional boundaries, intentionally design instructional units with peers, implement designs, collect student data, and collectively reflect on practice, teachers can collectively build pedagogical and content knowledge (Shulman, 2013). In this way, educators can engage in distributed expertise (Brown et al., 1993), important for new teachers who may value the support and know-how of more expert teachers but also for veteran educators interested in new pedagogical approaches introduced by recent teacher-graduates. For teachers without sufficient knowledge of Shakespeare’s works or who lack confidence in integrating Shakespeare into classrooms, sharing knowledge and experiences with others can be beneficial. Teacher collaborations may lead to additional insights on practice. A constant feedback loop, akin to Freire’s (1998) praxis (action/reflection), may result in more robust collaborative spaces for troubleshooting opportunities for what works (and what does not) among students. For educators in a more isolated teaching context, No Fear Shakespeare,^[1] the Royal Shakespeare Company,^[2] and Shakespeare’s Globe: Teach Shakespeare^[3] have some useful teacher-specific resources that can be adapted and used in different classroom settings. These resources are also useful for teachers needing to familiarize themselves with Shakespeare.

Students, particularly young learners, need classroom routines that help prime higher-order thinking activities. Drama-based practices become familiar tools/strategies when used repeatedly to introduce different types of literacy work. Additionally, drama-based work can help create a classroom culture that embraces (and in some cases interrogates) opinions, where learning is engaging, fun, and co-constructed, and where sharing is commonplace. Multiple engagements with DBP practices and weekly reading circles where learners read, write, listen, and speak about stories also facilitate students’ familiarity with characters and multiple plots.

Familiarity with characters, plots, and drama practices is crucial when using thematic excerpts. Switching back and forth between excerpts from plays with various plots can be confusing, as characters and actions differ. To contextualize selected excerpts, we suggest using Story Whoosh and Moving Tableaux, which can help summarize plot points and distill themes. These types of practices (Table 1), presented to us by Globe Education practitioners at the Center for Shakespeare in Diverse Classrooms, can be adapted as needed. For example, Jaclynn has successfully adapted Whooshes and created manageable summaries of Twelfth Night and The Tempest for her first and second graders (Appendix A) who are only starting to read. These short Whooshes can be reintroduced every time students need a reminder of plots or when a new character enters the scene. With teacher guidance, students can Story Whoosh any section of a play, then dive into teacher-selected excerpts or scenes that convey the main idea(s) being explored in the class. If carefully curated, excerpts can be linked to lessons that integrate and connect other literary works and align with CCSS goals.

To foster young students’ engagement with critical perspectives on texts, we describe issues of gender that are particularly and increasingly salient. Table 2 highlights ways in which gender can be examined, prompted by excerpts from Shakespeare. Appendix B highlights ways in which the critical treatment of gender can be explored through thematic excerpts in a spiraling way, up from early grades to the upper grades of high school. In addition, we explore how such critical explorations also can be envisioned for issues of race (Appendix C).

Table 2. Gender Themes for Elementary Grades with Guiding Questions and Possible Contemporary Thematic Connections

Themes & Grades (age)	Play(s) & Excerpt(s)	Guiding Questions	Possible Connections
Challenging the Male-Female Binary Grades 1–4 (Ages 6–9)	Much Ado About Nothing (4.1.314–38). Beatrice wishes to be a man to avenge her wronged cousin	Why does Beatrice ask for Benedick’s help? Why does Beatrice wish to be a man?	Gender inequality Male vs. female sports Socioemotional learning: male aggressivity
	Twelfth Night (1.2.25–67). Viola decides to dress up as a man, Cesario, to be able to work for Duke Orsino	Who did Viola want to work for first? Why? Why did Viola disguise herself as a boy? Is it fair for a girl in Illyria to know they can only work for Olivia and only boys can work for Orsino? Why/why not?	Job opportunities based on gender Male-female binary & the job market The pay gap
	As You Like It (1.3.40–46, 112–32). Rosalind disguised as a boy/male to protect herself from her uncle and for her trip through the forest	Why did Rosalind have to leave? Why did Rosalind choose to disguise herself as a boy? According to Rosalind, why would a boy be safer in the forest?	Gender-based safety Violence against women/females Consent

Note: Excerpts from the Folger Shakespeare Library (https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/).

Table 2 presents suggested excerpts within larger ideas focused on gender across several plays for the elementary grades. Columns 3 and 4 add guiding questions and possible connections to contemporaneous issues and ideas related to the excerpts. Teachers may also include age-/grade-appropriate contemporary texts to expand connections and address standards.

Viola/Cesario in Twelfth Night: Discussing Gender with Elementary-Grade Students

Rationale: It is never too early to thoughtfully discuss gender in the classroom. In fact, students and teachers talk about “boys” and “girls” all the time, especially when discussing activities or professions often associated with one gender more than with the other. However, these conversations most likely occur within the gender binary (male/female) and rarely ever extend to other forms of gender expression. In a time fraught with political tensions and divisive discourse, openly discussing gender in the elementary grades might be complicated and scary for teachers. Nevertheless, elementary-grade teachers can still initiate these discussions framed in the context of Shakespeare’s texts, which carry “weight” in the canon. After all, engaging younger students in explorations of gender identities is only natural since most five-to-eight-year-old children encounter gender scripts in the larger culture and the policing of gender norms in and beyond schooling.

In service of this rationale, the lesson sequence example proposed below can help create a classroom culture that cultivates mutual respect and safety for students. From there, literature can further deepen academic conversations about gender in the younger grades, ultimately leading to later analysis of the patriarchy and the binary treatment of men and women in texts and society. A useful Shakespeare duo for analyzing gender is Twelfth Night’s Viola and Cesario (her male alter ego). Although the characters are the same human throughout the play, their perceived gender changes across scenes. Using the characters’ duality/binary, teachers can guide younger students (grades 1–4) through lessons that help learners see how perceived gender greatly impacts the treatment of characters in the story. For example, a first grader can conceptually understand fairness and see when a character is being mistreated or discriminated against based on their gender. Although still operating under a gender-binary construct—generally problematic—early conversations in primary grades may prompt insightful talks that lead to the slow but steady deconstruction of the binary. Learners should both identify unfair gender stereotypes and recognize injustices to ultimately fight to eradicate them. For tips on how to facilitate critical conversations with students, visit Let’s Talk! | Learning for Justice.^[4]

Lesson Sequence: the following sequence shows an excerpt used in three short lessons:

1. Pre-Read/Prime Text: in the first lesson, introduce Viola and explain her initial problem in the play. In the excerpt (Table 2, row 2, Twelfth Night, 1.2.43–67), Viola decides to get a job after shipwrecking in Illyria, and teachers may help students identify who Viola wants to work for first (Olivia) and why. In a second short lesson, the text is introduced and students learn that Viola chooses to dress up as a boy to get a job with Duke Orsino. For a final lesson, students read through Viola’s decision-making process and question why she cannot work for Orsino as Viola but can when dressed as Cesario.
2. Drama-Based Practices in Action: teachers can utilize Story Whoosh to contextualize scenes, with children acting out pieces of a paraphrased summary of the play (Appendix A, Whoosh A2). This sample Story Whoosh summarizes Act One, scenes one and two. Using props during the embodied enactment of a scene can help younger students distinguish and remember characters (e.g., glasses for Viola, sunglasses for Cesario, and a captain’s hat for the Captain). Overall, the physicalization of characters and plots helps students prioritize comprehension without learners (and teachers) getting caught up in decoding difficult text.
3. Reflect and Discuss: every excerpt in Table 2 offers guiding questions to spur conversations where all learners can give their opinions. For the selected excerpt above, we propose asking: Who did Viola want to work for first? Why? Why did Viola disguise herself as a boy? Is it fair for a girl in Illyria to know they can only work for Olivia and only boys can work for Orsino? Why/why not? Framing this discussion in the context of Shakespeare’s Illyria may help teachers keep the talk focused on the characters. As discussed in the rationale, this theme may be contested by parents who do not want their young students having these types of discussions. A focus on character and text may help teachers explain to parents the inclusion of such relevant themes. If this excerpt is used in combination with others, or in high-school grades, for example, questions could elevate the tone and tenor of discussions to go deeper into the issue of the gender binary and associated themes.
4. Evaluate/Demonstrate: consider opportunities for students to engage in small project-based learning activities for the classroom. For example, after working across different thematically linked excerpts on gender, younger students can choose a famous female-identifying figure from history who defied gender norms (e.g., Lusia Harris, the only woman to officially be drafted into the NBA; Sacagawea, who was the only woman on the Lewis and Clark Expedition; Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly across the Pacific; etc.). Students can then collaboratively design a mural to celebrate their chosen female history makers. Students who picked the same historical figure can work together to write and perform a short play where they dramatize how their chosen figure overcame social barriers. As a follow-up activity, students can co-create posters about current jobs that defy the gender binary or types of families beyond “mom/dad” or “granny/grampa.” For later grades, small groups of learners can go deeper into one play of their choice after analyzing several connected excerpts. They can look for new plots and themes that connect across other non-Shakespeare, contemporaneous works.

Hitting the Standards: this lesson sequence for young learners addresses several required ELA standards in reading literature and speaking and listening. During text priming and the use of Story Whoosh, learners read poetry of appropriate complexity (CCSS.RL.1.10), ask and answer questions about key details in the excerpt (CCSS.RL.1.1), and describe characters, settings, and major events in the story (CCSS.RL.1.3). As the lessons progress, standards get expanded and combined with others. During reflection and discussions, learners participate in collaborative conversations with peers (CCSS.SL.1.1) and describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details (CCSS.SL.1.4), while expressing ideas and feelings about the story and action.

Our module design allows teachers and students to revisit themes from earlier grades, adding complexity. This can be accomplished in several ways: 1) by revisiting themes while adding age-relevant questions for more complex discussions; 2) by adding excerpts from the same play to expand on initial themes and discussions; 3) by incorporating excerpts to add layers of complexity to thematic analysis and discussions (Appendices A and B). Our proposed design can augment a child’s ability to understand how gender underpins societal constructs, paving the way for greater gender equity and critical consciousness in higher grades. The middle grades can explore how gender roles lead to the patriarchy, and grades 9–12 students can further critique gender roles and patriarchal norms. With themes building upon the one before, students can create new and firmer understandings.

Depending on time availability and the success of earlier applications of thematic analysis, teachers may choose to eliminate topics or suggest additional connections and texts. For instance, discussions of the theme Intermarriage Laws in the US (see Loving vs. Virginia, 1967) may prompt discussions about the identity challenges that mixed-raced children face. In later grades, teachers can incorporate conversations about intersectionality, opening up a wide array of topics across subjects and grades. For ELA classrooms, the introduction of texts presenting multiple voices and perspectives (e.g., The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet, or The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison) can enrich connections between literature and current, relevant sociopolitical issues.

Exploring a wide array of texts can empower students to cultivate multiple perspectives. These diverse, often diverging perspectives can enrich the interpretation and understanding of literary works students engage with. In order for learners to share their perspectives openly, teachers may need to embrace complex, differing, and non-canonical ideas from students. In prior work (Jasper et al., 2021), we reported Mrs. Dvorak’s (high-school ELA) experience with a student interpretation during analyses of a passage in The Diary of Anne Frank: A Play. In the first scene, Mr. Frank and Miep discover Anne’s diary after the war and read the first lines before the words transition into Anne’s voice. Aided by Principal Thought (used to distill meaning in lines by choosing the most important words, Table 1), students chose words such as memories, suffering, and good-bye, suggesting these carried more weight in meaning than others. One student, Sarah, selected can’t and explained how—for her—the word illustrated the impotence Mr. Frank felt in that particular scene, connecting her choice to all other words. Sarah distilled a layer of meaning that other students and Mrs. Dvorak did not think about. Instead of prioritizing other words, Mrs. Dvorak focused on Sarah’s selection and interpretation. For the student, can’t was about “what Mr. Frank can’t do, who he can’t see, why he can’t move on.” Student-led discussions enabled students’ learning autonomy, increasing participation and engagement.

Embedding Race and Other Relevant Sociopolitical Discussions

Appendix C presents thematic excerpts focused on race, which presents entryways where themes and plays overlap with the treatment of gender. Teachers can connect, for example, Othello’s theme of Women’s Agency in & Beyond Marriage—illustrated by Brabantio’s questioning of Desdemona’s decision to marry a Black man (Appendix B, row 3)—with a discussion about interracial marriages and the I hate the Moor speech (Appendix C, row 2). This connection may further lead to discussions about interfaith marriages and religious discrimination (e.g., Othello’s status as a Moor can start discussions about Islamophobia). Once the concept of religious discrimination is presented, other Shakespeare characters can be introduced, for example, Shylock from The Merchant of Venice (for multimodal ways to discuss the character’s role in literature, see chapter by Houk, this volume).

Although nesting themes and connections can be complicated and at times feel forced, such linkages often appear natural for students when they explore a breadth of literary resources. Our proposition of utilizing excerpts significantly reduces teachers’ need to pore over every detail and plot point from a longer text. By providing students with curated excerpts stemming from an anchor text’s themes, teachers present students with opportunities to analyze and critique events and social norms described in the text. Textual and thematic analysis during class discussions can further encourage students’ critical thinking and societal awareness of relevant issues. Thematically excerpting Shakespeare facilitates access to infinite possibilities for teachers and students. For example, a teacher can encourage students to challenge Shakespeare’s decision to put non-conforming characters back in their gender-conforming or social-status positions, inviting learners to collectively think and develop more socially just endings to stories they care about.

This chapter illustrates what is possible for those interested in introducing Shakespeare to young learners. Our module design envisions elementary-school teachers integrating excerpts from Shakespeare’s works that are thematically linked and that can “pepper” mandated curricula with CCSS-aligned, relevant themes and ideas, beyond time and curricular constraints. By mandated curricula, we mean the content and materials provided by a school district that teachers are expected to cover in their classes. Content and materials are often approved by various stakeholders in the district community, sometimes with little input from teachers. Overall, discussions of race and gender should not be limited to ethnic studies and human biology classes. They should transverse every subject and age group. Aided by age-/grade-appropriate complexity, we encourage educators to offer learners varied ways to discuss thematic excerpts at different stages of their educational journey. The more literary resources students access, the more connections they will find in ELA curricula and their everyday lives. These interactions will help students (and teachers) to study Shakespeare while addressing important issues for culturally and linguistically diverse learners in inclusive and equitable ways conducive to further learning.

References

Athanases, S. Z., & Sanchez, S. L. (2020a). “A Caesar for our time”: Toward empathy and perspective-taking in new teachers’ drama practices in diverse classrooms. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 25(2), 236–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2020.1730170

Athanases, S. Z., & Sanchez, S. L. (2020b). Seeding Shakespeare and drama in diverse 21st-century classrooms through a cross-national partnership: New teachers’ challenges and early practices. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 21(23), 1–27. http://www.ijea.org/v21n23/

Brown, A. L., Ash, D., Rutherford, M., Nakagawa, K., Gordon, A., & Campione, J. C. (1993). Distributed expertise in the classroom. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 188–228). Cambridge University Press.

Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. The President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Rowman and Littlefield.

Globe Education Shakespeare. (2017). Shorter Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. Hodder Education.

Jasper, J. J., Dvorak, L. L., Athanases, S. Z., & Sanchez, S. L. (2021). Embodiment, emotion, and reflection: Resources for learning through drama. English Journal, 110(3), 40–47. https://doi.org/10.58680/ej202131066

Porter, C. (2009). Words, words, words: Reading Shakespeare with English language learners. English Journal, 99(1), 44–49.

Shakespeare, W. (2004). The tragedy of Julius Caesar (Folger Shakespeare Library). Washington Square Press.

Shulman, L. S. (2013). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Journal of Education, 193(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741319300302

Smith, I. (2021, January 21-23). Racial literacy: A reckoning [Presentation]. Race Before Race (RB4R) Conference, Online.

Thompson, A., & Turchi, L. (2016). Teaching Shakespeare with purpose: A student-centred approach. Bloomsbury.

Wozniak, J. (2016). The politics of performing Shakespeare for young people: Standing up to Shakespeare. Bloomsbury.

Appendix A: Sample Whooshes, Scripts, and Text Excerpts for First and Second Grade

Whoosh A1

Complete Summary of Twelfth Night for Elementary School Students (First and Second Grade)

Twelfth Night,* by William Shakespeare
*adapted from Globe Education Shorter Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. (Globe Education Shakespeare, 2017).

Duke Orsino,^[5] ruler of Illyria, loves Olivia, but she rejects his messages of love.

Viola, rescued from a shipwreck by the Captain, fears her twin brother Sebastian is drowned. The Captain tells her they are in Illyria, ruled by Orsino. She plans to go to his court disguised as a boy.

Sir Toby (Olivia’s uncle) is dancing and being loud, and Maria (Olivia’s lady-in-waiting) warns him that Olivia dislikes his behavior and also disapproves of his friend, Sir Andrew. Sir Toby defends both. Sir Andrew arrives and Sir Toby humiliates him through Maria.

Orsino sends Cesario (Viola disguised as a young man) to persuade Olivia to marry Orsino. Viola (as Cesario) goes, despite having secretly fallen in love with Orsino herself.

Feste teases Olivia and is belittled by Malvolio, Olivia’s butler. Cesario pleads for Orsino. Olivia rejects Orsino but encourages Cesario to return. She sends Malvolio after Cesario with a ring she pretends Cesario gave her from Orsino.

Meanwhile, Sebastian is rescued by Antonio. Sebastian believes Viola is dead. He sets off to Orsino’s court. Antonio follows him, despite having enemies in Illyria.

Malvolio catches up with Cesario (Viola) and tries to give them the ring. Cesario refuses to take it, so Malvolio drops it and leaves. Viola (as Cesario) realizes Olivia is in love with Cesario!

Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste are having a party late at night. Maria tries to quieten them. Malvolio storms in and tells them off, including Maria. Maria suggests a trick to pay back Malvolio.

Orsino sends Cesario back to Olivia to plead his case.

Sir Toby and Sir Andrew watch from a hiding place while Malvolio reads a love letter that Maria has written as if from Olivia. Malvolio believes it and decides to follow the commands of the letter.

Cesario (Viola) returns to Olivia, who tells him she loves him, not Orsino. Cesario says Cesario can never love Olivia.

Sir Andrew had hoped to marry Olivia but is upset she prefers Cesario. Sir Toby persuades him to challenge Cesario to a duel.

Antonio and Sebastian arrive in the city. Antonio goes to their inn while Sebastian explores the city.

Malvolio comes to Olivia wearing yellow stockings and behaving as the letter suggested. Olivia thinks he is beyond silly! Sir Toby and Maria lock him up. Then Sir Toby tricks Cesario (Viola) and Sir Andrew into a duel. Antonio joins thinking Cesario is Sebastian. Officers recognize and arrest Antonio.

Sebastian meets Sir Toby (who thinks he is Cesario). They fight. Olivia intervenes, thinking she is saving Cesario.

Sir Toby and Maria persuade Feste to visit Malvolio in prison disguised as Sir Topas, a curate. Feste pokes fun, mocks, and humiliates Malvolio as Toby and Maria look on. Feste eventually agrees to take a letter from Malvolio to Olivia.

Sebastian and Olivia (who thinks he is Cesario) marry.

All is revealed. Sebastian and Cesario are found to be the twins Sebastian and Viola. Orsino will marry Viola, and Olivia has married Sebastian. Sir Toby and Maria get married. Antonio is released from prison, as is Malvolio, who says he’ll be revenged on everyone!

Whoosh A2

Expanded Summary of Twelfth Night’s Act One, Scenes One and Two, for Elementary-School Students (First and Second Grade)

Act One, scene one

In the land of Illyria [all group repeat: Illyria], Duke Orsino enters. To his musicians, he says, “If music be the food of love, play on.” [repeat the line]

Orsino is hopelessly in love with the beautiful Lady Olivia and pines away for her. He refuses to do anything and orders musicians to entertain him while he thinks about his love for Olivia.

Whoosh

His servant Valentine reminds Orsino that Olivia does not return his love or even listen to the messages he sends her.

Whoosh

Olivia is in mourning for her brother, who has recently died. She wears a dark veil [have students gesture to make veil over eyes], and she has vowed that no man will see her face for another seven years—and she refuses to marry anyone until then!

Whoosh

Act One, scene two

Meanwhile, in the sea just off of Illyria [repeat Illyria], there is a huge storm. The rocky waters rock the ship about [students make the sea storm]. The ship wrecks on the shore, and only Viola and the ship’s captain have survived.

Whoosh

Viola is a young noblewoman. She has a twin brother named Sebastian. Now, twins are born at the same time and spend their entire lives together.

Whoosh

TEACHER NOTE: Now, remember: Who are the two people talking in this scene? [Viola and the captain]. Viola cannot find Sebastian.

Viola thinks that Sebastian has died out at sea in the storm.

Viola needs to find a way to support herself in this strange land called [children repeat Illyria]. There are only two people you can work for in Illyria: Olivia [half of the circle put “veil” over eyes] and Orsino [half of the circle put “crown” on the head].

Whoosh

Viola and the captain discuss plans.

Whoosh

This is what they say to each other. Time for Reader’s Theater!

INSERT: Cut Text Activity (a shorter version of the 1.2.25–67 excerpt).

VIOLA
Who governs here?

CAPTAIN
A noble duke.

VIOLA
What is his name?

CAPTAIN
Orsino.
He did seek the love of fair Olivia.

VIOLA
What’s she?

CAPTAIN
The daughter of a count
That died, then leaving her
In the protection of her brother,
Who shortly also died.

VIOLA
O, that I served that lady!

CAPTAIN
She will admit no kind of suit.

VIOLA
Conceal me what I am. I’ll serve this duke.

(They exit.)

Whoosh A3

Complete Summary of The Tempest for Elementary-School Students (First and Second Grade)

The Tempest,* by William Shakespeare
*adapted from No Fear Shakespeare’s Plot Summary

[Play context] Shakespeare’s story of an exiled ruler who uses magic to restore his daughter to power argues that the powerful must show mercy. First performed in 1611, The Tempest explores the consequences of European settlement in the New World.

[Story Whoosh starts] A storm threatens to destroy a ship carrying Alonso, King of Naples, his brother Sebastian, his son Ferdinand, Antonio, Gonzalo, and others. The nobles argue with the Boatswain, who tries to keep the ship afloat.

As Prospero and Miranda watch the shipwreck from the island, Prospero explains Miranda’s history. Prospero reveals that he created the storm with magic. Prospero and Miranda visit Caliban, a native. Caliban ran the island until Prospero showed up, and Prospero enslaved Caliban forcing him to be a servant. Prince Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love, and Prospero imprisons Ferdinand.

Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo search for Prince Ferdinand. Antonio nearly convinces Sebastian to kill Alonso and take the throne, but Ariel thwarts them by waking Gonzalo.

Caliban hides from Trinculo under his coat, thinking he is a spirit, but Trinculo joins him. Stephano sees the men’s legs and mistakes them for a monster until he recognizes Trinculo’s voice.

Miranda speaks to Ferdinand as he works as Prospero’s servant, and then he accepts her proposal of marriage. Prospero secretly watches and approves.

Drunkenly, Caliban plots with Trinculo and Stephano to kill Prospero and make Stephano king. Ariel whispers that Caliban is a liar.

Spirits bring a banquet to Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo, but Ariel and an invisible Prospero interrupt them to explain that as punishment for driving out Prospero and Miranda, Fate has killed Ferdinand.

At Prospero’s wish, Ariel summons spirits to perform a play in honor of Ferdinand and Miranda’s upcoming marriage. Prospero remembers that Caliban will soon try to kill him.

Ariel brings Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo to Prospero, and Prospero forgives them and shows Alonso that Ferdinand is alive. He doesn’t punish Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano, and plans to sail with everyone to Naples for the wedding and then to Milan.

Speaking to the audience, Prospero describes losing his magic and asks the audience to release him from the stage by applauding.