
Folger Education offers in-person and virtual options for professional development. We have a range of options to fit your schedule, whether you’re teaching in the Washington, DC, area or elsewhere in the United States.
By participating in our professional development trainings, you’ll learn the best ways to use the Folger Method in your classroom. The Folger Method is a way of teaching complex texts that enables all students to own—and enjoy—the process of reading closely, interrogating texts, discovering language with peers, and contributing to the ongoing human conversation about words and ideas.
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To find out when new professional development events are scheduled, sign up for our Education email list.
Upcoming professional development sessions

Exploring the Power of Rhetoric in Julius Caesar
Virtual events
Each month, join us online for a one-hour professional development session, usually held on a Wednesday evening. It’s free!
Here are some of the topics we’ve recently discussed:
- Launching students into complex texts using 20-minute plays
- Teaching from the Shakespeare First Folio on the first day of school
- Using Folger Essential Practices like Tossed Lines and Choral Reading
- Practical ways to collect meaningful data while making Shakespeare accessible to all learners
In-person learning

Weekend workshops
In the spring and fall, Folger Education usually hosts weekend intensive workshops in Washington, DC. At these workshops, teachers learn essential teaching practices, explore rare materials in the Folger Shakespeare Library collection, and see a play on the Folger stage.
Summer Academies
Summer Academies are professional development programs that take place during the summer. We bring teachers to the Folger to spend a week diving into rare books, cutting-edge research, and powerful performance practices – all while working with incredible Folger Mentor Teachers, scholars, and theater professionals.
Transform the way you teach Shakespeare with the Folger Method — a language- and performance-based way of learning by doing.
Summer Academies are a one-week version of the Teaching Shakespeare Institutes (TSI) that Folger Education has held in past years with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our 2025 Summer Academy, The Magic of Macbeth, focused on resources and skills for teaching Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Want to hear when our next Summer Academy is announced?
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Professional development resources on demand
Teacher Members enjoy access to a library of resources that include on-demand webinars on topics such as Shakespeare and race, teaching Shakespeare to English-language learners, and pairing Shakespeare with other texts in the classroom. Browse a selection of resources below, including some that we’ve made freely available to all teachers. View all resources
Become a Teacher Member today at $40/year for access to all these resources and more member benefits. Join us
The Folger Method
Take a deep dive into the most effective method for teaching and learning any complex text.
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
Free resource
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Shakespeare and Performance
Meet the artists behind visionary productions.
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Juicy Lessons!
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43