Joyful Socks Mom: Action Packed Shakespeare: 5 Days of Shakespeare Fun at Home

7/22/14

Action Packed Shakespeare: 5 Days of Shakespeare Fun at Home

ORIGINAL PHOTO CREDIT via Compfight.com CC

"Action is Eloquence"

~ William Shakespeare

Good to know Mr. Shakespeare. If this statement is true, then my old Webelos Den is truly the most eloquent group of boys in the world! Just saying.

The thrill of Shakespeare can be ignited in boys, especially, when we begin to examine the possibilities of sword fighting, ship wrecks, murder most foul, and high-end adventure. Many of Shakespeare's plots include adventures and sporting of various kinds that can help inspire those of the male species that might otherwise be less inclined to tune-in to Shakespeare study.

Of course, it goes without saying that one should continue to keep the age and developmental stage of each child in mind, when selecting such action-packed works.

Let me first begin with a list of Shakespeare plays that may be of particular interest to the bored and restless, listed here with the themes that may be of interest to those who enjoy action.

Julius Caesar: war, Roman history, murder.
Romeo & Juliet: several fight scenes, accidental death, suicide.
Hamlet: murder, revenge, fighting.
Macbeth: war, murder, revenge.
As You Like It: contains a notable wrestling scene.
King Lear: war, betrayal.

You can find the Complete Works of Shakespeare online here.

Action Packed Shakespeare, High-End Adventure & Super Villains: What stirs the blood of a young boy more than high-end adventure, soldiers in battle, bad guys and all-out war? Not much else, I would gather according to current video games sales statistics. Embrace this want for adventure and turn it into a tool for teaching Shakespeare.

Sporting events of many various kinds can also be found inside the pages of the Bard's works. Woven throughout many of Shakespeare's plays you will find sports of various kinds, including: sword fighting, quintain (a form of jousting), wrestling, running, racing, swimming for competition, and even billiards. There is also bear-baiting, as was a source of entertainment & sport in Shakespeare's time, but we should certainly strike it off our list as a source of enrichment for homeschooling purposes. People think homeschoolers are weird enough already.

Here, I have gathered a list of activities and resources that will serve to enrich the various adventure-filled Shakespeare plays with some hands-on action:

Make teeter-boards and sticks to practice jousting. Here is a quick tutorial on making your own wobble board & here is a tutorial on making your own jousting sticks.
Begin a study of Shakespeare's greatest villains and analyze their character traits using this character analysis notebooking page.
Learn more about the sport of fencing & make your own swords to practice with. Remember to go slow and following the rules of engagement.
Notebook about the sports and gaming enjoyed in Shakespeare's time. Here is an article about sports & also here is a great printable notebooking pages to document some of your findings.
Listen to Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It from Lamb's Shakespeare on Audio. Now spend some time acting out the "action scenes" that most appeal to your child. Practice and perform the scene after dinner.

Notebooking pages to accompany Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear and As You Like It can be found here, from Homeschool Share.

I hope you will join in tomorrow, as we will be completing an art lesson for studying Shakespeare.

If you missed our previous post, Day 1: Shalt Thou Go To Ye Olde' Cinema? check it out.

Don't forget to keep hopping on with the iHomeschool Network Summer Hopscotch.