Comments on: Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:58:09 +0000

I LOVE Shakespear but my 6 yr old can’t seem to follow along. We have Lamb’s book but have not been able to find Nesbit’s at our used book store. These videos look fantastic and I am going to see if my library can get them. Thanks for sharing!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:44:21 +0000

Hello, this is Rebecca Kochenderfer from Homeschool.com. I so enjoy your blog. Thanks for the great Shakespeare suggestion. I want to do a Shakespeare unit with my 16 years olds, but wasn’t sure where to start. I don’t have that much experience with Shakespeare myself. I think I’ll start with the animated version you recommended. Then watch well-made movies, then have the girls pick out scenes to act (they’re actresses), and watch modern inspired versions of Shakespeare (like Bride and Prejudice, etc). Since we are living down in Los Angeles right now, we can go see a live performance too. Such fun! I, too, want my children to grow up understanding and loving Shakespeare’s works. Does it sound like I have a good plan? Do you have any other suggestions or resources for me? Thanks for all you do for homeschoolers. Warmly, Rebecca

By: mrs darling

mrs darling — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:19:06 +0000

Wow what an incredible find! I am definitely going to use these!!!

By: Rowana

Rowana — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:15:56 +0000

Thanks so much. I’ll try the other book.

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:08:53 +0000

First, I would recommend switching to “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” by Edith Nesbit. They are a bit easier to understand, and you can listen to them for free on librivox.org.

When I read them (because we have Lamb, too), or listen, I stop frequently and make sure the kids are following and we act out as we read. It generally takes 45 minutes to read one play because of all the stopping and acting we do. I make sure they understand the key plot point and help summarize the action. So we read a bit, then act it out, then read a bit more, and so on.

Having the DVD’s helps alleviate some of that since they are already familiar with the play.

By: Rowana

Rowana — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:02:04 +0000

Thanks for the idea. I have been struggling to help my first-grader understand Shakespeare. We are using the book “Tales from Shakespeare” by Charles Lamb. I think it is an excellent book but he struggles to understand it it . I like your idea of acting it out and also using the movies.

Do you read just one section of the story and then act it out or do you read through the entire story and then on another day act it out and then maybe watch the movie on yet another day??? I could use some help in this area. Thanks a bunch!