Teaching Macbeth with the Folger Guide

Join Mark Miazga, Folger Mentor Teacher, for a two-hour virtual session devoted to the Folger Guide to Teaching Macbeth. Working through the guide in practice, we will explore hands-on approaches to introducing the language, strategies for close reading and scene work, and a unit sequence that takes students from first encounter to culminating activity.

You will leave with ready-to-use lessons, a flexible framework for pacing Macbeth in your classroom and a discount in the Folger Shop for the Folger Guide to Teaching Macbeth.

About Macbeth

In 1603, after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was soon captivated by all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for inspiration. The play follows the rise and fall of Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman who murders his king after hearing a prophecy that he will one day rule Scotland. Through memorable characters such as Lady Macbeth and the “weird sisters,” haunting supernatural elements, and unforgettable language, Shakespeare examines ambition, power, guilt, and the consequences of moral compromise.

You will leave with: 

• Activities for entering Macbeth’s world through its opening scenes, using sound, movement, and choral language work 

• Strategies for teaching the soliloquies as active thinking-out-loud moments, giving students real ownership of what Macbeth is working through 

• A unit sequence that builds toward a culminating project connecting the play’s questions about ambition and conscience to students’ own lives