Notes from the Inkpot
Writing, teaching, creating - one ink-stained idea at a time.
My Favourite Shakespeare Plays for the Classroom (And How I Teach Them)
Shakespeare’s plays remain some of the most rewarding — and most challenging — texts to teach in the classroom. Rather than treating his work as a checklist of required plays, this post explores the Shakespeare plays that genuinely work in the classroom, focusing on discussion, interpretation, and moral complexity rather than memorisation. From tragedy and comedy to romance and sonnets, these are the texts that consistently engage students and reward close reading. Drawing on classroom experience, this guide groups Shakespeare plays for teaching around key themes such as power, identity, justice, love, and consequence. Each section explains why the play works, how it sparks discussion, and what students gain from studying it. Whether you’re choosing your next Shakespeare text or rethinking how you teach a familiar one, this post offers a thoughtful, practical starting point.
Why Macbeth Is the Only Shakespeare Play I’ll Never Get Sick Of (And Why It Works So Well in the Classroom)
Why is Macbeth still one of the most effective Shakespeare plays to teach? Because it refuses easy answers. Packed with ambition, power, guilt, and moral consequence, Macbeth invites students to interrogate responsibility, persuasion, and the slow erosion of ethical boundaries. Far from feeling dated, the play’s questions about decision-making and complicity remain deeply recognisable in modern classrooms. In this post, I explore why Macbeth continues to work so well with students, how its structure naturally invites debate and interpretation, and how creative and discussion-based approaches can deepen understanding without sacrificing rigour. I also share a free Macbeth classroom resource and explain how I use flexible, reusable teaching tools to support analysis, creative writing, and meaningful discussion across the play.
Why I Still Teach Romeo and Juliet (Even Though I Hate It) — And Why It Still Works in the Classroom
Why does Romeo and Juliet still earn its place in the English classroom, even when it’s so often misunderstood? This reflective teaching post explores why Shakespeare’s most over-romanticised play continues to work with students, examining impulsiveness, authority, and avoidable loss rather than idealised love. By reframing the play away from romance and towards consequence, Romeo and Juliet becomes far more relevant — and far more teachable. Drawing on classroom experience, this post explores how and why to teach Romeo and Juliet, from contextualising it within Shakespeare’s wider work to using discussion, creative writing, and debate to deepen understanding. It also shares classroom-tested strategies and resources designed to support meaningful engagement with the play across secondary English.