Final Assessment

This semester of Engaging Shakespeare has really been a ton of hard work, but well worth all the effort put in. I have learned a lot about people, Shakespeare, art, writing, and the social world that exists on the internet.
First of all I would like to say that our Engaging Shakespeare showcase was such a huge success! I am so proud of what we did. I look back and I am so blessed (that's the only word that describes it well enough) to have been in a class with such hard working and amazing people. I felt surrounded by amazing people who did and will do amazing things and I can only be grateful that I was a part of it. As part of the Less Matter, More Art group, first, I'd like to thank Erik Wells for being prepared with the materials it took to put our artwork up on the easels. Erik and Cassandra and Mason were also very good at making decisions and getting things done. They were our groups leaders. I think our project was a great success. We all accomplished everything we made a sure plan to do and we did it well. I am pleased with our outcomes. I have to say, it was a very interesting feeling to have my artwork on display and I feel very accomplished to have our lesson plans and artwork on the internet where everyone can access and use them. One very interesting thing that came to mind at the showcase was the fact that each of my group members had a very unique style and I found that mine was also unique. Learning this was intriguing because I also figured out that I like my style. Two things are the product of this final project. First, I learned that reading Hamlet a second time made it easier to understand and more interesting to analyze. I also have learned a lot in this class and since Hamlet was the first play we read, I didn't understand it as well as I did the second time. Second, I want to do it again. I want to be use the technique of making art to understand Shakespeare in the future when I read more Shakespeare. And one thing that I gained from the whole class in general was a love of Shakespeare and a wholehearted desire to read it for the rest of my life.

Learning Outcomes
Gain Shakespeare Literacy:
When talking to my sister, she brought up the Shakespeare ear concept. I believe that as this semester has progressed I have been better able to understand Shakespeare's writing and language because of all the exposure I've had to his works. I've read much more than I ever have before by studying Hamlet, Winter's Tale, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear. I also watched live performances of Winter's Tale and The Tempest and a movie version of Othello. Personally I studied Othello a little bit more closely, but I think that I gained a better understanding when I read Hamlet the second time for my final project and interpreted it through artwork.

Analyze Shakespeare Critically:
I think the most of this came as I applied this to my life, what I've learned in the past, and how I understand Shakespeare. As I came to understand Shakespeare's writing better I began to apply it to myself and to see connections to other things I've learned about. This helped me to understand what Shakespeare meant and I began to think more analytically. In blogging about King Lear I realized what other book I've read that helped me understand the theme better. I also decided to take a look more closely at the names in Othello and derive meanings from the themes and correlations of names in the play. I found that my understanding of characters was also increased and I recorded that in my Piece of Paper posts.

Engage Shakespeare Creatively:
I feel like the Art and Shakespeare final project was the epitome of creatively engaging Shakespeare. We applied our understanding of Shakespeare's themes and created lesson plans(this is just one of them) with artwork related to understanding those themes. We also made artwork based on what we saw and interpreted from rereading the play Hamlet. I also applied my knowledge (and love of) origami and art to understanding the character depth in Shakespeare in my Piece of Paper posts.

Share Shakespeare Meaningfully:
I have had such interesting conversations with people about Shakespeare and I learned that I like to do it. I like to talk about Shakespeare and what I'm learning. The other day I just sat down with my friend and told her all about my Piece of Paper blog post and I loved expressing what I learned with her and she was silent, listening. You can check out my Sarah and Sarah posts about a couple conversations I had. I also really enjoyed having our discussion groups. It was a starting point to get out thoughts about Shakespeare and a good environment to share ideas. The great part was, it was a discussion and not a blog so your opinion was refuted and argued and discussed.

The end of this semester of Shakespeare will not be the end of my Shakespeare Engaging. I have fallen in love with learning about Shakespeare and therefore I have a list of wonderful plays to read (all of them ;) and hopefully I can still have great discussions about Shakespeare with those I interact with. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity and experience this class has provided me.