Hamlet: Shakespeare Appreciated. Unabridged. Dramatised. Commentary Options. and teaching students.

As i stated before, I am listening to Hamlet through audio book format
Thus far I began by listening to the commentary version

I thought the intro was interesting
i would have preferred had the intro just been the history
rather than "well Shakespeare's father just died and we just missed Julius Caesar"

I continued to listen to the play with the commentary for the first scene
while i enjoyed what the lady has to say
i find the commentary distracting.
i had a hard time focusing on the plot and what was happening
also an extra three hours is a lot more time to dedicate to listening

perhaps a recap and interesting info blurb at the end
of the scene would be better for my mind

i do have to try really hard to focus on the play
otherwise my mind wanders
i am sure that following along with the text would be helpful

after i have listened to a scene
i like to read a summary on Sparknotes per say
so that i can solidify what i have read.

i think this is how i would like to teach my students Shakespeare:

1. give students a brief overview and background of the text
2. read aloud or listen to one scene at a time --perhaps focus on important scenes by listening and then reading/ acting aloud
3. read summary of the scene
4. discuss important information about the scene
5. repeat with each scene until the end 
6. reread the summary/ overview of the play 
7. discuss important facts of the play 

I think that this would instill a really good understanding of Shakespeare for students
It has the important aspect of scaffolding to harder content
and it also has multiple modalities for students of all learning types

its funny when you you come to a place in your major
when you start to look at everything through your "major eyes"

its okay
i love it.