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Do You Know Shakespeare?

Do You Know Shakespeare?

2-4 players • 30 min • 12 & up

Focus: Shakespeare

Regular price $38.00
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Increase your knowledge of Shakespeare and his literary works by playing this fun trivia game. Place your book pawns next to answers you believe are true. Receive a shilling for each positive point you earn by selecting a true answer. The player with the most shillings after five rounds wins.

Skills: Shakespeare Facts, Probability

Game Includes

  • 1 Display Tray
  • 60 Shakespeare Question & Answer Cards
  • 50 Shillings Tokens
  • 20 Book Pawns
  • Rules Booklet

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How to Play

Place your pawns next to the answers you think are true. Receive a shilling for every right answer, and the player with the most shillings at the end wins!

Educational Standards

Core Standard*: None

Skills

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players need look at or listen to the question and six possible answers on each turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Have Shakespeare's works available in the home for reading or reference.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
As students are studying Shakespeare, ask them to create questions that might be asked about each work.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players determine what answers they know and make educated guesses for the questions for which they don't know the answers.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When children are studying Shakespeare in school, ask them to talk about the characters and plot at meal times. Ask questions to prompt thinking or investigation.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
As students are studying Shakespeare, ask them to create questions that might be asked about each work.

>Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players compare their Book Pawns to the answer side of the Q & A Card to determine if they were correct or incorrect.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When playing the game, discuss answers and compare them to each other. Why did various players select their answers? This can help children remember the correct answers or build strategies for guessing more accurately.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
When playing the game, discuss answers and compare them to each other. Why did various players select their answers? This can help children remember the correct answers or build strategies for guessing more accurately.

Remember

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Do You Know Shakespeare? Is a memory game. Players who know more facts about Shakespeare and his work will likely do better in the game.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When children are studying Shakespeare in school, ask them to talk about the characters and plot at meal times. Ask questions to prompt thinking or investigation.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Educators can use any memory techniques, like pnuemonics, to help children remember key facts and content. Additionally, having children discuss the results after each turn will help them remember correct and incorrect answers.

Predict

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Each turn involves predicting correct answers. If players do not know the answer, they can observe other players and predict whether they may have correct responses. They can then imitate their responses.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Encourage children to look at the "bets" of the other players who place their Book Pawns first. The children can then think about which players they think know more about Shakespeare and use that to help make decisions on where to place their own Book Pawns.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Predicting involves considering different options and information in order to make the best estimate, guess or action. In Shakespeare, encourage children to look at the "bets" of the other players who place their Book Pawns first. The children can then think about which players they think know more about Shakespeare and use that to help make decisions on where to place their own Book Pawns. Educators may also expand children's predicitive thinking skills. When reading Shakespeare's plays ask students to predict what they will happen in the next act of the play. Make up stories about how the wrong answers would change the stories. This will encourage students to think about why the plays and sonnets, etc. are written the way they are.

Practice

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Repeated play of the game will teach players about Shakespeare by using and strengthening their memory skills, resulting in more accurate play in future games.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
No special adult support required other than to encourage children to play the game, especially when they are learning Shakespeare in school.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Play the game numerous times to promote thinking and memory. Review the Shakespearean text in between playing to encourage deeper thinking about the works.

Review

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
While not required, discussion of correct responses will enhance memory.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Talk about the answers in the game. Why was a response logical, but wrong?

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Review answers after each round and talk about responses and why some responses seemed logical, but were inaccurate.

Demonstrate

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players demonstrate knowledge (or logic or probability) through correct responses.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Ask players to explain how they knew or determined the correct answers.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Ask players to explain how they knew or determined the correct answers.


*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Special Needs

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
This is not an appropriate game for children with cognitive delays.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children do not need to communicate during the game, they just need to place their tokens by their selected answers.
Some children can communicate with an adaptive devise, such as a tablet or smartphone. If children can write, encourage them to do so and discuss their responses and comment on other players' answers.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
If children have fine motor problems that makes it difficult to place tokens accurately, have them point to the token they want to place and where they want it placed. Another player can place the tokens.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Do You Know Shakespeare? can be a challenging game, as very few players will know all or many of the answers. To help players who feel frustrated, all players can talk about the answers they missed. Ask players who were correct to share their knowledge or how they made a successful guess.
Children who cannot tolerate failure may find this game too difficult. It requires frequent guessing and, therefore, incorrect answers.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with vision problems may have difficulty reading the clues. A magnifying glass my help.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with hearing problems can play the game if they can rotate the board and see the alternative responses.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Autism

This game uses actions and/or content that may be challenging for a child on the spectrum as noted below.

Autism Special Considerations

Appears to ignore other's communication and/or has difficulty giving eye contact to a communication partner

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Children can play without talking or giving eye contact. They can focus on the answers on the board and the movement of their tokens.

Has difficulty understanding complex verbal directions

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? No

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
The directions for Do You Know Shakespeare? are complex, with book tokens carrying different meanings and scoring with different values for different colored tokens.

Uses vocabulary inaccurately or demonstrates echolalia (repeating another's speech)

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? No

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Not appropriate for children with this characteristic. This trait would confuse other players trying to concentrate on the meaning of the different responses on the board.

Gets stuck repeating a verbal topic or physical actions and/or has difficulty attending to others' actions or topic.

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Attention to others' moves is important, because play of light colored tokens in a space prohibits others from playing there. Players need to know which answers they are sure of and which they may guess on in order to determine where to place one or more of their tokens.

Has difficulty producing speech/communication

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Players can play without talking, but most players will want to discuss their thinking in placing their tokens. Encourage children to talk about why they placed their tokens in certain spots.

Has difficulty sequencing multi-step actions and/or doing complex abstract tasks

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? span >No

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Knowledge of Shakespeare is abstract. Unless the child with this autism trait has a good knowledge of Shakespeare, the game is not recommended.

Demonstrates difficulty initiating and maintaining social interactions

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Although the game can be played without social interaction, that is the fun part of the game. Players want to hear the reasoning behind others' choices. Ask questions of players about their choices.

Acts out or demonstrates avoidance behaviors when frustrated, overwhelmed, or needs more sensory input.

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? No>

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
This can be a frustrating game for children who want to always be "right." Guessing is bound to be involved for all but the highest level Shakespearian expert, and failure on any given turn is inevitable. Players can be given breaks to do something more physical or sensory, but the game may be too frustrating for most children with autism who get frustrated by being incorrect.

Has short attention span for non-preferred activities

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? No

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Unless literature in general and/or Shakespeare specifically is a preferred activity, this game is not recommended.

Needs sameness or consistent routines and/or has difficulty with transitions from one activity to another

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? Yes

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? Yes

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
The game is played in the same way each time, so it follows a predictable pattern. Because of the abstract nature of the game, however, motivating the child to want to play may be difficult.

Has difficulty understanding others' feelings, intentions, and the reasons for others' actions.

Is This Game Appropriate for Child with Characteristic? No

Can Child with Characteristic Play Game w/o Modification? No

Strategies for Developing Compensatory Skills:
Understanding Shakespeare requires understanding human motivations, relationships, interpersonal reasoning, and consequences of behavior. These skills are challenging for children with autism. For this reason, Do You Know Shakespeare? may not be a good choice of game.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Extended Play

Extra Ways to Play the Game
After having read or watched a work by Shakespeare, have children trace an Q & A Card on poster board and cut it out. Each child then makes up questions and answers on their cards. The cards are then placed on the Display Tray. If a card a player created comes up, they sit out that round. Make sure each player at the table has an opportunity for their card to be played.

Materials Needed
No new materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
This modification of Do You Know Shakespeare? involves children in analyzing, remembering details, and applying what they learned to the game format. Creative thinking and writing skills are practiced. Children will also benefit from determining how their questions were understood and answered. This will help children write clear, specific questions that can be answered with a verifiable response rather than opinion.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

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How to Play Video & Transcript

Today, we invite you to get in touch with your inner thespian as we ask the question Do you know Shakespeare?

Do you know Shakespeare? can be played with 2 to 4 players, and is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Every Do you know Shakespeare? game box contains all the “stage props” you need to demonstrate your knowledge or to learn your Shakespearian cues.

A large display tray is the base for the game that includes 60 Shakespeare Question and Answer Cards that test your knowledge of the Bard and his work.

On the front side of the card the question is displayed in the center and six possible answers are displayed around the outside. On the reverse side, players will find the question from the front side and the six answers highlighted as true or false.

Also in the box are 20 book pawns in 8 colors. The color value signifies the point value of an answer with the light-colored pawns worth 2 plus or minus and the darker colored pawns worth only 1 plus or minus

Finally, there are 50 shilling tokens that players receive for when they have positive scores at the end of a round. And yes, it is possible to have a negative score! More on that later…

Do you know Shakespeare? Combines facts about Shakespeare and his works while making connections to the present. What books of today use Shakespearian plots? What common phrases that we use today derive from the work of Shakespeare? Let’s see if you really do know Shakespere! Not so sure…then bring your probability skills into play as you bet on the answers you ‘think’ are right.

To set up the game, each player selects a set of five book pawns of the same color – 4 dark colors and 1 light.

Place the display tray in the center of the play area. Then shuffle the Q&A cards and draw five cards out. Place those five cards in the middle of the display tray, front side up (the dark side) as shown, and lock the cards in place by aligning the notche with the raised divider. Players arrange keep their book pawns in front of them but off the display tray , like this, and the game begins!

The game consists of 5 rounds, each played with the top Q&A card on the tray. During a round, each player gets one turn to place their book pawns in different answer sections next to answers they believe are true. Players may stop their turn at any time after placing their first pawn. When any player stops placing pawns, the turn is over and play continues with the next player.

Play begins with the last player that read a play by Shakespeare. TO START A ROUND the starting player must complete the following steps, rotating the tray as necessary so all players can see, then:

1) read the question out loud

2) read the six possible answers out loud

3) Place at least one pawn or more of your pawns on the answer tray during your turn, Only one of the players pawns may be in each answer section next to each answer he believes is TRUE.

4) In addition, only one players light colored book pawn may be in an individual answer section. So if another player has already placed their light colored book pawn in a section you may not then place yours there.

TO CONTINUE A ROUND the other players in turn, must place at least one pawn next to an answer. After the last player concludes his turn, the Q&A card is flipped over to reveal the true or false answers, and players are ready to score the round.

So, how do you score? By counting the value of the pawns next to the answers. Dark pawns are worth one point and light pawns are worth two. For each true answer, the player adds the value of the pawns for a positive score. But be careful! For each false answer, players must count the value negatively.

If a player’s total score at the end of the round is positive, he collects the corresponding number of shillings. If the player gets a negative score, he does not earn any shillings BUT he does not lose any from previous rounds either.

Once scoring for that round is complete, the top Q&A card is discarded, players retrieve their pawns from the tray and the player with the most shillings in the current round begins the next round.

The game ends after five rounds worth of Q&A cards have been played and removed from the tray. The player with the most shillings wins!

If you didn’t know Shakespeare before, you certainly will after you play. So get your ACTS together and have some Shakespearian fun while you prepare to answer YES to the question Do you know Shakespeare!