Ancients and Shakespeare

Dusting off this draft post and hitting publish - literary purists may wish to ignore this post ☺

We're on our proposed journey to go through one of Shakespeare's plays each year for highschool.
And no Eliz, we have no plans to include Romeo and Juliet in that line-up :)

This year we've elected to go through portions of Julius Caesar, as the content ties in with the later end of our ancients study.

I'm sure others have a much more stream-lined, or classical approach, to studying Shakespeare but we're approaching this area of home educating in the same manner we seem to do everything else:
the way that seems to work best (better?) for the learning needs and preferences in our family. ☺

Start by watching this small Sparknotes clip
Bobs and Dn to watch this online version of National Geographic's documentary: Julius Caesar: The Roman Empire  (not for sensitive, or younger children).

After watching Sparknotes clip, above, view these youtube films of the play.
(recommend previewing before showing to your own students!) :

• Filmed Production 
• (watch and read) link updated May 2015

• BBC Animated Film (we watched this first for a quick overview, then the film above)
• pt1   
• pt2   
• pt3     

Included the Illustrated Classics comic as a go-along for Daisy.  Bobs has already read this :-)

Refer to portions of the focus activities and background from Glencoe Lit,  here .
I'm wanting to use Shakespeare's plays as visual productions, where possible, and then as discussion topics - not as a writing agenda.

Beneath is a tiny excerpt out of the book we are wanting to use, if it arrives in time -   No Fear Shakespear: Julius Caesar [1]   - or otherwise we'll go for the additional on line excerpts found  here 
 (Y, you may want to check for side panel content first?)

Act 1, Scene 1

Original Text
FLAVIUS
Hence! Home, you idle creatures get you home! 
Is this a holiday?
What, know you not, Being mechanical,
You ought not walk upon a laboring day without the sign
Of your profession?—Speak, what trade art thou?

CARPENTER
Why, sir, a carpenter.

Modern Text
FLAVIUS
Get out of here! Go home, you lazy men.
What, is today a holiday?
Don’t you know that working men aren’t supposed to walk around on a workday without wearing their work clothes? You there, speak up. What’s your occupation?

CARPENTER
I’m a carpenter, sir.

1: Citation: Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Julius Caesar.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.