Community Review of Folger Shakespeare Library

My Rating

Engagement

Pedagogy

Supports

My Take

This tool requires a LOT of teacher preparation. There is so much information to sift through to pull out the quality pieces that will help your students, but there is so much here that it would be a crime to not use it when teaching Shakespeare. The plays can be difficult enough to understand on their own, so using these resources can help students connect and make their experienced enriched in a way that the play itself will not do for most of our students.

How I Use It

I created an entire unit for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" using resources from the Folger Library. They had a lot of reference information for students to understand some of the cultural significances of the gender roles, and they had a LOT of great lessons using primary sources to understand the situations of the play. One particularly great piece was a primary document called "The Mysteries of Love & Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing", originally published in 1600s. This is basically a handbook of how to win a lady's heart, and mirrors the actions of the lovers in the play. Students were very interested and amused by some of the societal norms of courtship that definitely wouldn't "fly" by today's standards. In reading this source document obtained from the Folger Library, students were able to understand some of the seemingly idiotic things the lovers do in the play, and had a deeper feeling of empathy for their plight that would otherwise have been missed entirely.

More community reviews for Folger Shakespeare Library

James Denby Educator/Curriculum Developer

June 20, 2016

A gift for anyone teaching Shakespeare

This is a hard tool to rate using the parameters above. It is for teachers and almost functions like professional development by giving ideas for improving pedagogy around Shakespeare. Modules are great, particularly for teachers who have not worked with Shakespeare before. They help make the work more accessible to students. Ideas are curated by Folger staff to ensure good quality.

Bobbi G. Santa Fe South Charter High School Oklahoma City, OK

November 10, 2015

Something Fantastic this Way Comes

I love seeing what other teachers are doing around the world, but to really take advantage of what Folger has to offer, you will need to attend one of their professional developments or buy one of their books. The site is a little busy, but once you figure out how to navigate it, you can get some good ideas. Overall, I think it is a great additional resource, but if you want help teaching an entire play, you will want to buy the book.

Aaron R.

July 21, 2015

Repository of Shakespeare Knowledge

I feel that this is an effective teaching tool. As mentioned in the "How I Use It" section, this is a precision tool. Think more of a hammer used by a jeweler, instead of a sledgehammer. I like the sheer amount of information, it provides me with options for research, as well as lesson creation. There are also a series of lessons that have already been created, that can be used as they are, or easily adapted to the individual needs of your students. An area of weakness is that of navigation. As mentioned before, this website is DENSE and often cumbersome to find something that you need. This website, on the SAMR ladder, falls between Substitution and Augmentation, all depending on how you utilize the tools provided.

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