Brandon recently read the story of Macbeth (an abridged version) as part of a history assignment, and here's what he had to say when asked to give a summary:
Macbeth wanted to be the king of Scotland. Three witches, called the weird sisters, told Macbeth he wouldn't be king.
So, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, decided to kill the king of Scotland. Their plan worked, and they blamed it on the servant. The youngest son ran away to Ireland. The eldest son's army attacked. Macbeth was killed by Macduff.
I really like this curriculum (it's History Odyssey by Pandia Press). I certainly don't remember reading Shakespeare in elementary school. After he finished his summary, we watched the animated version of the play. We stopped it occasionally to discuss the language (it was the original phrasing). The graphics were pretty old school, so I don't think they (Em watched, too) were terribly impressed, but Brandon did check out a graphic novel of The Twelfth Night from the library, so at least he's interested.
