Teacher Members enjoy access to two kinds of Folger professional development: upcoming live-streamed webinars full of real-time interaction, and webinars on demand, available for viewing anytime! From practical workshops that let you experience the Folger Method as your students would to provocative conversations with scholars and artists, join us for never-ending learning. Connect with like-minded teachers and the institution that is cheering you all on.
Weekend Intensives
Words, Words, Words: Exploring Shakespeare’s Language at the Folger Shakespeare Library
Friday, March 28 – Saturday, March 29
Join us for two jam-packed days of teaching and learning at the Folger. You’ll explore ways of engaging with Shakespeare’s language that will transform your classroom. You will also get the opportunity to explore highlights from the Folger’s collection, see the new exhibition halls, and watch a performance of A Room in the Castle in the Folger Theatre.
Registration opens in early December.
Summer Academy
Summer Academy 2025: The Magic of Macbeth
June 24th – June 28th, 2025
Transform the way you teach Macbeth, Shakespeare, or any complex text with the Folger Method. You’ll be amazed by what your students can do when you get them out of their seats and into the text.
Conduct your own research in the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Reading Room. You’ll explore treasures from the Folger Collection and discover ways to incorporate primary sources into your own classroom.
Learn with scholars of the Early Modern period. You’ll deepen your knowledge with the latest scholarship and nourish your brain with scintillating lectures and deep Q&A sessions.
Dive into the power of Shakespeare in performance. You’ll learn from working practitioners about embodying Shakespeare’s language and helpful tricks for working with students on putting Shakespeare into action.
Registration opens in early December.
Professional development on demand
Folger Education a growing library of archived professional development sessions just for teachers. Some of our favorites are below. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our entire library of professional development videos.
The Folger Method
Take a deep dive into the most effective method for teaching and learning any complex text.
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
Free resource
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Trailblazing Women Poets You’re Probably Not Teaching—And Practical Strategies for Teaching Them Now
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Teach Their Eyes Were Watching God with Rigor and Joy
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Master Class: Teaching Othello
Shakespeare and Performance
Meet the artists behind visionary productions.
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Directing Shakespeare: An Interview with Rosa Joshi
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Directing Julius Caesar: An Interview with Michael Tolaydo
Juicy Lessons!
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Juicy Lesson! Creating a Promptbook for Poet X (or ANY novel!)
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Juicy Lesson! Pre-reading: A 20-minute Hamlet
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech
Free resource
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
Juicy Lesson! Paired Texts: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing 2.1
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! The Monologue Project
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43
Juicy Lesson! Choral Reading Imtiaz Dharker’s “The Trick” and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43
Teaching Shakespeare Institute 2024
Shakespeare: Othello and The Taming of the Shrew in Conversation
July 7-July 19, 2024
Twenty-five middle and high school teachers came to Washington D.C. to with leading scholars, accomplished Folger classroom teachers, and Folger staff in the exploration of The Taming of the Shrew and Othello, texts that are considered Shakespeare’s signal treatments on race and gender. The institute included daily lectures from leading scholars, generative seminars, studio classes on performing Shakespeare’s characters, and curricular workshops knitting it all together.