A teacher at my school recently used a simulation, technology and a subject matter expert to bring deeper understanding to her students’ understanding of Shakespeare.

Ms. Galland’s Advanced Placement Language and Composition class read Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, analyzing how a moneylender named Shylock demands repayment from a debtor named Antonio. Shylock asks that Antonio repay him his 3000 ducats with a “pound of flesh,” as promised in the verbal contract they agreed on.

The AP students held a mock trial in class before George Galland, an attorney in Chicago. Mr. Galland played the role of judge over Skype. The plaintiffs used legal opinions, evidence from the Folger Shakespeare Library, and other websites and articles documenting the climate and laws in Elizabethan England to present and defend their cases. Mr. Galland favored the defendant but was impressed with the AP students’ preparation, presentations, textual citations, and courtroom performances.

 

Acknowledgment: Hilary Galland helped author this post.