Shakespeare’s Tragedies and Sonnets
Lightning Literature: Shakespeare’s Tragedies from Hewitt Homeschooling, adapted to fit the needs of modern gifted learners. This is semester-long high school course for students of all ages who are prepared to read Shakespeare’s original texts. Weekly webinars are 50 minutes long. Recordings are available for students who must miss a session.
Lightning Literature: Shakespeare’s Tragedies from Hewitt Homeschooling, adapted to fit the needs of modern gifted learners. This is semester-long high school course. Weekly webinars are 50 minutes long. Recordings are available for students who must miss a session.
Lessons include:
- Shakespeare’s life
- Shakespeare’s language
- Theme
- Character
- Symbolism
- Elizabethan theater
- Elizabeth I and James I
- Authorship of the plays and sonnets
Learning activities include regular writing to communicate ideas via the discussion forum, videos and multimedia materials to support learning, use of web 2.0 tools to illustrate new concepts, and weekly participation in live webinars.
Required books:
- Lightning Lit Shakespeare’s Tragedies and Sonnets Student Guide by Elizabeth Kamath
- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- King Lear by William Shakespeare
- 8 Sonnets (provided)
All original text versions of Shakespeare’s plays are acceptable, including graphic novels and comics that include unabridged text. These may be available at your local library, or can be purchased online.
| Challenge Level | Appropriate for grades 9 through 12. This is a high school literature course open to students ages 12 and up who are prepared to read and discuss literature at a high school level. |
|---|---|
| Time Commitment | Most students report spending approximately 3-4 hours per week on homework outside of the webinar. |
| Instructor | Headmistress Guinevere |
| Reading List | Lightning Lit Shakespeare's Tragedies and Sonnets Student Guide by Elizabeth Kamath |
| Usually offered | Spring Semester |
| Available Sessions | Spring 2025 Tues 11am Pacific, Spring 2024 Monday 11am Pacific, Spring 2023 Thursday 11am Pacific |