Reply To: Research Shakespeare’s Life – Help with a research question

[Jenny Toerien Keymaster]

Thanks Elizabeth – it’s always good to bat ideas around here as I’m sure Rachel’s not the only one considering a Shakespeare inquiry. However, as always, context is vital. The kinds of questions that might work for sixth form are not the same as those you might use with Year 3 so we need to know the age group. It also matters how long Rachel has to deliver the inquiry and whether there is any more subject context (are they studying a particular play, for example? What are the teacher’s learning objectives for the unit?). Emma did that super Masquerade inquiry based on Much Ado About Nothing last year, for example, showing how well a specifically context driven inquiry can work.

As an example, our Year 12 are doing a six week inquiry skills course at the moment (more on that another time) and as part of that they have each come up with a very simple inquiry question that they can practise their skills on over the six weeks. We only have half an hour’s teaching time and half an hour’s homework time each week and the purpose of the course is both to inspire a spirit of inquiry that can give them a boost as they step up into their A-level years, as well as equipping them with a range of key skills that will benefit them throughout their sixth form life, so realistically there isn’t a lot of time for them to spend on the actual inquiry. One of the students is interested in Shakespeare and has chosen ‘Were all of Shakespeare’s plays a success?’, which on one level is perhaps a simple yes-no question, but he is exploring how successful they were and how differently they were received over different eras and why, and it is turing into quite an interesting inquiry.

On a different level, depending on the play they are studying, it could be interesting to look at something like ‘How is Shakespeare’s life reflected in his plays?’ (or maybe even ‘Would Shakespeare’s audience regcognise themselves and their world in his plays?’). But a lot depends on the level of the class and the time they have – and whether they are studying a Tragedy, a Comedy or a History play! Do let us know if you have any more details.