Yesterday, I put this prompt up on the board for my creative writing students:
Write a scene in which a character standing in an open courtyard filled with people she (or he) knows finds out s/he’s been stabbed in the back by his/her best friend.
After they asked, I told them the open courtyard could be any super public place and the backstabbing could be figurative or literal.
When time was up, I asked how many of them got my literary reference. Two hands went up, but then one student admitted that she only got it after the other student explained it.
So, only one student got the literary reference. One!
Then, I asked if any of them knew what the day was, and a student said, “The Ides of March.”
And I said, “That’s right! The Ides of March!”
And then I showed them the following memes/gifs:
Best five minutes of class ever.
The Englishist 
LOVE the GIFs! I put a new GIF on my board every day, and the kids love it. I think it’s so neat that you engaged your kiddos while still educating them on some Shakespeare!
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AWESOME! You had me at “nerding.” (Also that gif about coming together in groups is one of my favorites.)
I want to remember this for next year … (Our kids had a big pi day celebration in math, and the Ides just feel left out.)
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Fun class you came up with, but don’t they teach Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in high school anymore? It was the best, full of drama and reasons to pretend to stab a friend. Such a good way to channel teenage silliness.
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I think some of my students told me before that it’s not always Caesar in 10th grade; sometimes it’s another play (of course I can’t remember which one off the top of my head.)
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Oh, I’m sure things change. But I do distinctly remember Caesar and how much fun we kids had making fun of it. Maybe not what Willy Shakes had in mind, but then again… 😉
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Ha! What a fun class!
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Fun!! I always loved getting to share my nerdiness with my class. I remember referencing Waldo, and NONE of them knew what I was talking about. He was a fan favorite for the rest of the year.
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Fun! I especially appreciate these gifs and pictures because I always think about the Ides of March on March 15, but no one ever talks about it (I work with K-6). This post makes me feel like I’m not alone 🙂
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Well played, Akilah. With your guidance and good humor, I will no longer beware the Ides of March. I will embrace it (them?).
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Ha! Did you have a Caesar Salad for lunch? 😉
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Ew, no. Hahaha. But I would if I liked that type of thing.
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