I've been asked to 'overhaul' the (the implication is WRITE A NEW) 'Intro to Shakespeare' scheme.

(TL;DR? skip to the bottom)

The department's main aims:

- give them a grounding in the types of plots Shakespeare wrote about;

- avoid using Macbeth; R&J; RIII; Hamlet; The Dream; and Much Ado - which are the texts they might do later on. We firmly believe no-one should go through school having done only one play to death;

- get some basic understanding of how language has changed, how Shakespeare uses it, and a can-do attitude to deciphering it;

- begin to pick up some useful / interesting contextual information (context is worth 20% at GCSE);

- probably most importantly, do as much as possible to break down barriers to Shakespeare caused by the language and by the prejudices/previous learning experiences of their parents. We want them to have fun, and to approach Shakespeare with at least an open mind for as long as possible; and

- finally, we never buy stuff in - the department's philosophy is that we produce bespoke stuff tailored to our needs as a team of teachers, as a school, and of course the needs of our demographic of students (middle class, parochial, and rather entitled, to be completely honest).

I'm looking for another job (the school know this), and if I do this scheme, I intend it to be far less specific to my current students than previous ones I have written. I want something that will add real value in other places, and that I can pack up and take with me without too much amendment.

So, what would YOU want to see in it? (I'm happy to share it with anyone who suggests anything - if I can get inspired to do it)

Just a few ideas/principles so far:

- highly visual resources, using photos of Lego characters, with Lego 'Will' as a kind of ever-present guide;

- use 'Jabberwocky' to give them some skills in deciphering unfamiliar words (with older students I use A Clockwork Orange, and that works well)

- bearing in mind which plays they don't want me to use (which I might bend, as the scheme isn't just for them), I want to consider some other plays/scenes. Examples:

• the storm in The Tempest
• a patriotic speech from Henry V
• something from As You Like It, perhaps Rosalind meeting Orlando
• also a snapshot of hate from Othello; a bit of soliloquy from Julius Caesar; some comedy from Twelfth Night

If I veer away from the restrictions on which plays I can use, I'd quite like them to do things like writing spells in trochaic tetrameter, using Macbeth as a model*.*

- getting them to write a sonnet (I have a plan for this which usually works pretty well)

- diary or other creative writing about a visit to The Globe

- turning the classroom into a stage and acting scenes

- potentially some social media versions of key exchanges

- some basic analysis of Shakespeare's methods

- something to do with hanging drawing and quartering - because they absolutely LOVE it when I get someone to the front and demonstrate what's involved. I have a Y9 class who beg me to read them eye witness accounts of famous executions, when they've worked hard. And I do.

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TL;DR - although I might sound pretty enthused, I need inspiring to do this - I have fallen out of love with my school and feel I don't even owe them the steam off my piss at the moment. And schemes are very time intensive for me, because I'm a perfectionist. Can you light my fuse?