~by Holly Rodgers The benefit of exposing students to
Shakespeare is paramount to establishing strong literary
foundations in the classroom, for all learners, regardless of
age and academic abilities. While I could give testimony of the
many advantages to be gained by doing so, I would like to focus
on one in particular, the ability of Shakespeare to serve as a
metaphorical gateway drug to get students addicted to reading.
While I had known that allowing my young ELL (English Language
Learner) students to participate in performance-based
Shakespeare study would improve their developing language
skills, and perhaps make them more critical evaluators of what
they read; I had underestimated the stepping stone Shakespeare
could provide to gain access to other challenging works of
literature. My 5th and 6th grade ELL students had spent the
first nine-weeks of the school year studying Hamlet, Macbeth,
Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While they were
enjoying working with the plays, they also began t