Notes on using these resources: Our key principles of practice

• Follow the chronology of the narrative 

  You will notice there are many more activities for the first Act of the play than for subsequent Acts. The two sections of activities ‘Witches' and 'Warriors’ are related to the first very short scene, and are designed to introduce students to the world of the play and support them in thinking about the themes and characters Shakespeare sets up at the start. We follow the chronology of the play by not just meeting the witches and seeing their scene but also exploring what they describe in terms of the battle that happens off stage and in the audience’s imagination. Thereafter, we are careful to follow the action of the play as Shakespeare presents it, so that students can build their understanding of characters’ different perspectives and the layers of dramatic irony in the text by appreciating who knows what and when. 

• Explicit visual resources

  Crowns and sashes 

  We have found crowns and sashes are a clear and fun way for students to keep track of who is playing which character and when titles change hands. In the instructions for the activities we have stated when it is useful to give a crown or sash to a student playing a role.

  A sash can be made very simply by stapling or taping folded paper together and writing the name of the character as indicated. You can, of course, be more creative and make sashes out of fabric and decorate them, perhaps with tartan.

  A crown can also be made very simply - see the link below to a template from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Play crowns are also easy to find. We advise adding an ’S’ to indicate the King of Scotland and an ’N’ for the King of Norway.

  Link to template for making a crown:

  https://www.shakespeareweek.org.uk/kids-zone/make-crown/

  Literary terms 

  A number of literary terms are introduced and explored in the activities. These include: antithesis, iambic pentameter, dramatic irony, metaphor, soliloquy, The first time a term is introduced, there is an image in the gallery to display the word. When the terms are mentioned again, you can write them up as needed.

  Maps 

  Although Shakespeare’s Scottish geography is not always very clear, we have found it useful to use maps to give students an indication of place in the plays. This also supports understanding of how characters’ names and titles are related to the area they rule. 

• Drama/theatre-based approaches

  • For activities, we suggest having a base position of standing in a semi-circle so that students can see instructions from you and also see each other.

  • Establishing routines and clear signals is important for drama activities. For example, using a hand in the air signal for everyone to look at you and waiting until all attention is on you before giving further instructions or touching students gently on the shoulder to direct their attention.

  • Freeze frames are a device commonly used in the activities as a way to quickly create a visceral understanding of characters’ situations and emotions. With freeze frames and other active exercises, it is a good idea to establish clear signs that can be seen across a space. We suggest establishing a sign to hold the freeze absolutely still; a sign to exaggerate the position and facial expression even more; and a sign to relax.

  • A signal to cue a group to perform is also useful, perhaps a 3-2-1 signal with your fingers, pointing at the group on 1.

  • Modelling what you want the students to do is important in many exercises. We suggest modelling activities with a Teaching Assistant or a confident student to support shared understanding with the group. 

• Reinforce cumulative knowledge and explore interpretations 

  We include prompts and closed questions to support students in consolidating knowledge as the activities progress. We include open questions and prompts for discussion to encourage exploration of ideas and sharing of different possible interpretations. These questions can be adapted based on your knowledge of your students. Examples are given of possible responses with sentences beginning ‘Perhaps… but these examples are not the only possibilities and your students may well have other ideas. We encourage you to encourage your students to understand that their ideas are always valid if they do not contradict the text. 

• Modelling including short films with deaf artists 

  We have established sign names for all of the characters in the play. These appear as individual ‘dramatis personae’ films in the galleries.  You can show these films to your students and encourage them to learn the sign names.

  As you go through the activities you will see that galleries are listed as either BSL or ASL. BSL galleries include films in British Sign Language and ASL galleries include films in American Sign Language.

  With the BSL galleries, the films are often also available in SSE (Sign Supported English).  We recognize that this is not a language in its own right, but that it is used in some classrooms where children have a range of communication needs. Feel free to decide which versions of the films to show depending on the needs and understanding of your students.

  Some of the films have also been made in what we are calling VS (‘Visual Shakespeare’).  The sign language used in these films is more performative and theatrical. We have used VS for films where the activities require students to produce their own versions of a scene or speech. We hope that the VS versions will inspire students to be creative and dramatic in their delivery.