1st Edition

Acting It Out Using Drama in the Classroom to Improve Student Engagement, Reading, and Critical Thinking

    140 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    140 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    140 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    In Acting It Out, you’ll discover how to use drama in your ELA and social studies classrooms to boost student participation and foster critical thinking. With years of experience supervising arts integration programs in Chicago Public Schools, authors Juliet Hart, Mark Onuscheck, and Mary T. Christel offer practical advice for teachers in middle and high schools. Inside, you’ll find…

      • Group activities to improve concentration, harness focus, and engage students of all abilities and learning styles in teamwork
      • Close reading exercises that encourage students to think critically and build personal relationships with the text
      • Strategies for integrating active approaches to dramatic literature, such as improvisation and scene work
      • Ideas for using dramatic literature as a springboard for studying history and interdisciplinary studies
      • Annotated reading lists that highlight each play’s content and recommended uses in ELA or social studies

    Throughout the book, you’ll also find handy tools such as reflection questions, handouts, and rubrics. By implementing the strategies in this book and allowing students to step into different roles from a text, you’ll improve reading comprehension and energize your classroom!

    Contents

    Meet the Authors

    Acknowledgements

    Chapter 1: Bringing Dramatic Literature to Life Through An Active Approach

    What Does "Acting It Out" Really Involve?

    Offering A Bit of Context: TimeLine Theatre Company and Chicago Public

    Schools Partnership

    Not Just in Drama Class: Using Active Approaches in Any Classroom

    Opportunity for Reflection

    Chapter 2: Engaging Students: The Key Ingredient

    Make the Connection: Engagement and Standards for Learning

    Empowering Learners: Long Term Outcomes

    Opportunity for Reflection

    Chapter 3: Opening Up the Classroom Actor’s Toolkit: Promoting Student Engagement

    How to Build an Ensemble

    Introducing Classroom Actor Basics

    Sharing Energy and Building Trust

    Making Body and Voice Connections

    Creating A New Approach to Bell Ringers and Redirection Strategies

    Beyond Bell Ringer Ensemble Building Activities: Exploring a Monologue

    Activity #6: Group Monologue Work

    Fostering "Buy In" and A Classroom that "Connects"

    Opportunity for Reflection

     

    Chapter 4: The Play’s the Thing: To Read or Not To Read Dramatic Literature

    Why Read a Play?

    Act One: Start by Addressing Accessible Literary Themes

    Act Two: Build Critical Thinking Around Social Issues

    Act Three: Create and Recreate Historical Perspective

    Opportunity for Reflection

     

    Chapter 5: Acting It Out: Applying Active Approaches to Scene Study

    Introducing the Play

    Selecting Scenes and Monologues

    Starting the Rehearsal Process

    More Body and Character Connections

    Casting the Scenes, Creating Rehearsal Groups

    Starting with a "Table Read"

    The Reader-Feeder Approach

    Moving with a Purpose: Blocking the Scene

    Showing Scenes

    Assessment: What Are My Students Learning? How Do They Want to

    Grow?

    Building Confidence, Fostering Success

    Opportunity for Reflection

    Handout: Self-Assessment: My Personal Goals

    Handout: Formative Assessment: Checklist for Meeting Rehearsal Objectives

    Rubric: Summative Assessment of Scene Showing

    Chapter 6: Discovering the World of the Play: Researching Complementary Nonfiction, Primary Sources, and Visual Texts

    What is a Dramaturg?

    Teacher as Dramaturg: Providing Students with Complementary Non-fiction Texts

    Students as Dramaturgs: Researching the World of the Play

    Seeing the World of the Play Through Visual Media Research

    The Play’s "Backstory": Creating a Dramaturgical Packet

    Step into the Play’s World: Creating a "Lobby Display" for the Classroom

    Opportunity for Reflection

    Handout: Brainstorming to Set a Research Agenda

    Chapter 7: It’s All Connected: Making Interdisciplinary Connections through Dramatic Texts

    Why Interdisciplinary Connections through Dramatic Texts?

    Excerpting a Play, Capturing a Crucial Moment in History

    Use History Plays Like Time Machines

    More Specifically: Unpack Social Issues

    Use Plays to Establish a Different Viewpoint on Segregation

    Use Plays to Gain a Different Viewpoint on Prejudice

    Use Plays to Study the Role of Harassment in Culture

    Use Plays to Expose the Stories of Internment and Genocide

    Opportunity for Reflection

     

    Chapter 8: Measuring Growth: Activities for Exploration, Reflection, and Assessment 

    Setting the Stage for Exploration: Previewing the Play, Its Issues, and Themes

    Character Development Activities for Deeper Exploration and as Formative

    Assessment Tools

    Capstone Writing Activities

    Bringing It All Together

    Opportunity for Reflection

    Handout: Character Dossier

    Handout: Coat of Arms Template

     

    Appendix A: Lesson Plans

    Appendix B: Recommended Plays

    Appendix C: Recommended Resources

    References

    Biography

    Juliet Hart is the Director of Education at TimeLine Theatre Company. She has presented workshops on active approaches to drama in the classroom for the Illinois Association of Teachers of English and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

    Mark Onuscheck is the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. He also serves as an adjunct professor at DePaul University.

    Mary T. Christel is a former teacher of world literature, media and film studies, and theater. Currently, she contributes teaching resources to TimeLine Theatre’s Living History Program and also reviews prospective lesson plans for the ReadWriteThink website.

    "I highly recommend this book. The most appealing features are, hands down, the teaching ideas, examples, and activity suggestions. I am always looking for new activities and lesson plans. This book would be great for first year as well as veteran teachers." – Denise Golubski, English Teacher and Department Chairperson, Holy Name High School, OH