Shakespeare Week festivities provide free resources for primary school children
Hattie Fisk
Monday, March 15, 2021
Primary school-aged children can celebrate Shakespeare Week from 15-21 March, with virtual activities and events carrying the themes of Shakespeare and wellbeing.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Across the country, Shakespeare Week celebrations have commenced, giving primary school-aged students an opportunity to tune into daily broadcasts, hosted by celebrity guests.
Organised by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, festivities include drawing workshops, daily broadcasts, meditations and a creative competition. All of these resources are available free of charge here.
Some of the country’s best-loved children’s authors, artists and celebrities will feature in the virtual celebrations, including CBeebies presenter Ben Cajee, Horrible Histories’ illustrator Martin Brown and CBBC’s Nikki Lilly.
Sally Gray, education officer at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: ‘There’s no denying that the pandemic and associated restrictions over the last year have impacted on children’s learning, attainment and their wellbeing, which is why this year’s theme is all the more important.’
‘Although Shakespeare was writing over 400 years ago his ability to explore human emotions and the creative language he used to describe the human spirit remains relevant today. His words provide a wonderful vehicle for children to discuss human attributes such as resilience and self-esteem and to explore their own characteristics, feelings and identities.’
A creative competition for children aged 4-11 is also being held, where participants are asked to respond to the famous Shakespeare quote from Hamlet: ‘This above all, to thine own self be true…’. Submissions can be in the form of creative writing, poem, poster, artwork, song or video.
A range of other activities span the week, including a wellbeing booklet of activities, written and illustrated by award-winning children’s author Marcia Williams and supported by Walker Books. An online Tudor exhibition exploring health, wellbeing and medicine, guest-curated by Horrible Histories’ illustrator, Martin Brown is also on the agenda.
Kids' Zone has curated online challenges for children to complete at home including drawing comic strips, writing poetry or enjoying retellings of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has uploaded over 400 free resources for teachers, students and families, including new step-by-step video tutorials.
