How to Survive Teaching Act 5

When your class reaches the final act of a Shakespeare play, it can feel like a sprint to the finish or a rush to bring everything together. 

In this dynamic one-hour virtual session, we will: 

Dig into What Matters

Use Folger Essential Practices like “Cutting the Text” and “20-Minute Plays” to help students focus on key moments, ideas, and choices. In the first part of this session, we will focus on Act 5 of Hamlet to model how these approaches clarify meaning, encourage collaboration, and make Shakespeare’s endings come alive. 

Reclaim the Chaos

Explore the final Folger Essential Practice: “Group Scenes.” Learn how to guide students through collaborative performance work that emphasizes collective interpretation, ensemble energy, and the interplay of multiple voices. We will use Act 5 from Romeo and Juliet to show how group performance can unlock deeper understanding of character, theme, and tone. 

Explore Epilogues Through Paired Texts

Discover how Shakespeare’s epilogues invite reflection, closure, and new beginnings. We will pair Prospero’s epilogue from The Tempest with Joy Harjo’s poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here” to explore how endings can become spaces of renewal and connection. Together, these texts invite us to think about forgiveness, community, and what it means to find grace in letting go.