English Presentation

by Annu Rani
Class: X’A
Roll NO: 03
WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE
BIOGRAPHY
ENGLISH PRESENTATION
Contents of this Presentation
About William
Shakespeare
His teaching skills
His thoughts
His values
 About William
Shakespeare
 William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet,
playwright, and actor born in 1564 in
 Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most
commonly celebrated on 23 April (see 
When was Shakespeare born), which is also
believed to be the date he died in 1616.
 Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the
Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre
(sometimes called the English Renaissance or the
Early Modern Period). Shakespeare’s plays are
perhaps his most enduring legacy, but they are not
all he wrote. Shakespeare’s poems also remain
popular to this day . 
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
1. Introduce the Bard: For some of your
students, this may be the first time they’ve
studied Shakespeare, so it’s important to give
them a brief introduction of the man and
why, after hundreds of years, his work is still
relevant today. Use posters, quotes, let them
know how many words the man created and
coined. Ask them if they knew Shakespeare
was a favourite author of Tupac Shakur's . 
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
2. Be Prepared: This is the hard part, but it's
essential. Know the play you are going to
teach. Use graphic novels or the Manga editions
if it will help you and your students.  Read
translations, study famous quotes from the play,
and, most importantly, find ways it can connect
to your students’ lives. The 
Folger Shakespeare Library website is an
excellent place to start. You can also use the 
No Fear Shakespeare (Spark Notes) website for
translations of the text.
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
3. Watch It/Act It: Plays are meant to be performed and
watched, not to be read in silence or sitting in desks. Watch the
play in class (there are plenty of great versions available),
pausing to discuss lines more in-depth and the emotions within
those lines then have your students perform select scenes.
Unless your class is a drama class, most students will feel
uncomfortable acting in front of the class, at least right away.
Allowing them to see the scene(s) first and study their lines
before they perform will help ease their fears. I usually just
select a few scenes from the play to be acted as it would take
much too long to both watch and act the entire play. Don’t
forget to use props! They can be as simple as fake daggers,
sheets that students can fashion into robes, and fake ivy
students can use as headpiece or crown. To help with
understanding the lines, here’s a free hangout you can use with
your students.
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
4. Get Creative: Use a portion of your class period (10-15
minutes) for creative time during the unit. 
• While you are introducing Shakespeare, have students  
recreate a model of the Globe theatre. 
• If your students are struggling with the lines,  use memes to
help them understand, then challenge them to create their
own. 
• Make masquerade masks while watching Romeo &
Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About
Nothing and others. You can use the templates in my free
handout.
• Decorate fake daggers to use as props while acting out certain
scenes.
• Provide colouring pages for students. Colouring is a great
way for students to decompress and it’s also been shown to
boost creativity in teens.
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
5. Create a Parody: One of my students’ favourite
activities all year is creating parodies for
Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Julius Caesar. They hear
about the assignment from previous students and look
forward to it all year. This anticipation, of course,
generates and builds excitement for studying
Shakespeare. Plus, they tend to grasp the content
better while practicing essential technical and
communication skills. You can view some of my
students’ past projects on my 
YouTube Playlist: Student Video Parodies and learn
more about assigning a parody here.
 William
Shakespeare's
teaching skills
6. Bring Food: A guaranteed way to get your
students excited about Shakespeare is to bring
food! When I teach Julius Caesar, I’ll often
bring in grapes, cheese, mixed nuts, and
sparkling grape juice and call it our Ancient
Roman feast. In fact, that combination of food
can be used for many of Shakespeare’s plays.
You can also plan ahead and have students sign-
up to bring in a snack so you don’t have to
provide it all. It is amazing how motivating food
can be in class.
 William
Shakespeare’s
thoughts
“Be not afraid of greatness.
Some are born great, some
achieve greatness, and
others have greatness thrust
upon them.”
 William
Shakespeare’s
thoughts
“I would challenge you to
a battle of wits, but I see
you are unarmed!”
 William
Shakespeare’s
thoughts
“Love looks not with the eyes,
but with the mind, And
therefore is winged Cupid
painted blind.”
 William
Shakespeare’s
thoughts
“If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh?
If you poison us do we not die?
And if you wrong us shall we not
revenge?”
 William
Shakespeare’s
thoughts
“All the world’s a stage, and all
the men and women merely
players: they have their exits
and their entrances; and one
man in his time plays many
parts, his acts being seven
ages.”
“["Values"] describes individual or
personal standards of what is
valuable or important.”
 William Shakespeare’s
Values
Values of Shakespeare's time rested a great deal
upon one's social standing. Royalty was
afforded more latitude, freedom and tolerance
than were those of lower social standing. If one
had a privileged position in England, he or she
had more value. 
 William Shakespeare’s
Values
English society during this time saw to the needs
of those who had money and power. The poor
were generally of no consequence: they had no
rights in the face of landowners and the nobility.
It would be many years before they were given
representation with regard to health, sanitation,
child-endangerment, etc.
 William Shakespeare’s
Values
Women had little value. A good wife was an obedient,
hardworking, uncomplaining woman who was able to
have children and keep house. Even among the nobles,
women were expected to provide their husband with
an heir. This belief was based upon primogeniture:
that all of a man's goods and his title would pass on to
his son. And the eldest son was the most valued, while
second and third sons would often become soldiers or
join the Church.
 William Shakespeare’s
Values
Education was of importance, but only for men of
substance. Women of noble families might be
educated. In the middle class, women were generally
educated at home, most especially in how to sing, sew,
manage a household, and entertain. Boys would be
placed in an apprenticeship to learn a trade. For the
poor, the option of begin educated was non-existent.
For those who were destitute, life was drudgery. For
women of poverty, life was often short—especially
because of the dangers of childbearing.
 William Shakespeare’s
Values
As is often the case today, many people
during Shakespeare's time believed in God.
The people's belief in "the system"
depended upon the success of who sat on
the throne. During Shakespeare's time, men
were valued more than women and
education was generally reserved for the
elite.