Shakespeare for Kids: Hamlet Lesson Plans

We studied Hamlet in our homeschool last year – over 6 months ago – and the quotes still linger as part of our family culture.

Last month I was headed out the door with friends to spend a weekend away (hooray!) and the kids all started waving limply and wailing, “Adieu! Adieu! Remember me!”

Their new favorite answer to the question, “What are you reading?” is now, “Words, words, words, words.”

If you want quotable Shakespeare, Hamlet is your best bet. It is full of pithy one-liners and common phrases that have entered English parlance.

Lesson Plans for Hamlet

In my original Shakespeare for Kids post, I wrote:

You don’t have to wait for high school to do Shakespeare with your kids, and you don’t need to be homeschooling to study Shakespeare together. If you do any reading aloud or movie watching together, you can do Shakespeare together.

And even if all you want to do is read a picture book version and learn a line or two – that counts as introducing Shakespeare!

Step 1: Introduce Hamlet

If you want to begin first by introducing Shakespeare and his time and his theatre, William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki is a beautiful narrative book that makes a great read aloud in its own right.

For the “picture book” introduction, my absolute favorite is the version by Bruce Coville. It captures the essence of Hamlet, weaves in direct quotes, and is beautifully illustrated.

Step 2: Memorize Hamlet Famous Lines

Or, at least a handful. Hamlet reads nearly like a play of cliches, so many of the lines are famous.

We chose these two selections:

GHOST: I am thy father’s spirit,

Doomed for a certain term to walk the night,

And for the day confined to fast in fires,

Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature

Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid

To tell the secrets of my prison house,

I could a tale unfold whose lightest word

Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,

Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,

Thy knotted and combinèd locks to part,

And each particular hair to stand an end

Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.

But this eternal blazon must not be

To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!

and Polonius’ lecture to his son:

Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine ownself be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

Yes, there is the famous “to be or not to be” monologue in Hamlet, but it didn’t seem right to have 8-year-olds memorizing a contemplation of suicide. A ghost scaring us about purgatory, perhaps, but not suicide thoughts with knife in hand.

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Step 3: Watch a Play Movie or Production

I am a firm believer that Shakespeare is meant to be seen, so I think watching a production – live or movie – is an important part of learning and loving Shakespeare. Usually we’ve tried to fit a movie in after reading the picture book summary and introducing the play and before we start the real text.

Unfortunately, most producers seem to think Ophelia needs to undress during her insanity scene, so finding a movie the whole family can watch is difficult.

We chose the Mel Gibson version, although it very abridged and rather Freudian in its interpretation. It’s still a good introduction and the set is dark but sumptuous.

If you have older children, are willing to skip a scene, or have different opinions on the matter, I highly recommend previewing the Hamlet with David Tennant. This is my favorite version. Kenneth Branaugh’s version is remarkable for being uncut and unabridged, but it is entirely inappropriate. Branaugh hits you over the head with what some lines allude to by interposing bedroom scenes.

Step 4: Listen to Hamlet

How a text is read greatly influences comprehension and appreciation, so I like to stick with well-done audio versions of the play along with either coloring or reading along. A Shakespearean actor reading the text simply makes it more understandable, and a British accent makes it more enjoyable, too.

I chose the version narrated by B.J. Harrison, but the Arkangel editions are also recommended.

Step 5: Play Hamlet

No lectures or charts or Socratic discussions necessary – not for elementary students. Just wait and watch and see what connections they draw themselves and I bet you’ll be surprised.

Another way the kids enjoyed acting out Hamlet was with the Masterpuppet Theatre set. They each picked a scene to read while using the puppets to act it out.

After all, playing someone who is playing a madman is always fun.

If you can find a skull to toss around, even a Lego one, all the better. Everyone can “Alas, poor Yorick” with gusto.

Remember that the point in the pre-high-school years is just to introduce the stories and get Shakespeare into their affections. If they grow up thinking that Shakespeare is fun and normal, they will be ready to dive deep when maturity comes because there will be no fear or intimidation that comes with the assumption that Shakespeare is hard and enigmatic.

So loosen up, and remember that the point is caring, being interested, and growing in familiarity.

Shakespeare Lesson Plans

As we study Shakespeare plays together in our homeschool, I am making available our lesson plans and resource lists. Here are the links to each of the plays we’ve studied so far. Included in each one is a downloadable pdf set with not only the lesson plans, but also the printable quote cue pages we use for memorizing select lines from each play!

• How to teach Shakespeare to kids in 5 easy steps
• Comedy of Errors Lesson Plans
• Henry V Lesson Plans
• Hamlet Lesson Plans
• Julius Caesar Lesson Plans
• Taming of the Shrew Lesson Plans
• The Tempest Lesson Plans
• Macbeth Lesson Plans
• Merchant of Venice Lesson Plans
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream Lesson Plans
• Much Ado About Nothing Lesson Plans
• Mystie chats about enjoying Shakespeare in your homeschool on Your Morning Basket with Pam Barnhill

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