25 teachers from all over the country joined us this summer for a four week intensive institute on teaching Shakespeare.
Since 1984, the Folger Shakespeare Library has held a regular series of Teaching Shakespeare Institutes (TSI) funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. TSI features a committed faculty composed of scholars, teachers, and actors; a diverse and talented participant group; a research component that utilizes the rich holdings of the Folger Shakespeare Library; the modeling of excellent teaching and learning; and a curriculum component that has been instrumental in changing the way Shakespeare is taught in classrooms around the country.
Teaching Shakespeare 2008 furthered this tradition with an emphasis on the past and future: exploring primary sources that create a link to Shakespeare’s period and culture, and creating curricular innovations utilizing technology and the Internet. These included the development of lesson plans to be published on the Teach and Learn section of the Folger website. (The Folger's Shakespeare Set Free series of books also includes lesson plans from earlier Institutes.)
The Teaching Shakespeare 2008 curriculum focused on four plays:
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The Taming of the Shrew
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Much Ado about Nothing
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Richard III
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King Lear
"...this has been the best experience of my life, both professionally and personally."
Mari O'Meara, participant TSI 2008
Click on the links at left to learn more.
