Standards and Tech for the Drama Classroom
ISTE Standard 1.6 focuses on empowering students to become Creative Communicators. This standard encourages students to leverage technology to transform complex ideas into accessible formats. Specifically, I will explore Standard 1.6.b, which emphasizes creating original works or responsibly remixing digital resources. In my 6th-grade class, I will also incorporate the National Core Arts Standards, particularly TH.1.6.a, which involves adapting a drama/theater work and presenting it informally to an audience.
Our upcoming unit will delve into the history of theater, with a significant emphasis on Shakespeare. However, I’ve noticed that 6th graders often struggle with Shakespearean language. To combat this, I plan to use Theatre HD, an online performance platform that offers access to Shakespearean productions. We will watch clips from the Royal Shakespeare Company's Romeo and Juliet, allowing us to travel to England to experience one of the world's most iconic theater companies. After viewing the performance, students will utilize Quillbot to rewrite and reinterpret the Romeo and Juliet prologue. For example, they will take the phrase "Two households both alike in dignity" and use Quillbot to explore the phrase's meaning. This tech tool enables students to look up unfamiliar words and rephrase Shakespeare's writing into accessible language for 6th graders. Once they have interpreted the prologue in their own words, they will create their own live performance. This creative process will enable them to set the scene and express their interpretations through live performances.
This lesson plan employs the engagement strategy through a Gradual Release of Learning. First, students will watch a theater piece, and then dissect and interpret the text, culminating in their own performance. Enhancement is completed by personalizing a Shakespearean text. Students will engage in higher-order thinking, as outlined in Bloom's Taxonomy, by creating their own version of the material. According to Liz Kolb's Triple E Framework, the final component is extension, which allows students to build upon their knowledge. In this lesson, Role Playing serves as the extension strategy. This approach is essential for students to apply their understanding in a theater classroom. Acting out an adapted Shakespearean text requires a deep comprehension of their interpretation, as they must convincingly perform for their peers. While the presentation will be informal, it demands confidence and understanding. I hope students will gain not only a clearer grasp of Shakespeare's work but also the self-assurance that comes from creating and performing their own interpretations.
Triple E Framework. (2011). Instructional strategies. https://www.tripleeframework.com/instructionalstrategies.html
Hello Erica! I enjoyed reading your blog post! Your grade and field of teaching are completely different than mine, so it was nice to hear the standards, and a lesson used in a completely different way than I am used to. Your lesson and how it relates to Kolb's Triple E framework is very creative and something that would keep students engaged. I love your focus on increasing the student's confidence and understanding through your class activity of the presentation. There are so many aspects of learning and growth through this theatre production and presentation that students can achieve that I had not really been aware of until I read your post.
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ReplyDeleteI love this assignment. Having students perform Shalespeare requires them to truly understand the material rather than a surface level reading. When I have the opportunity to teach Freshmen, I usually have my students rewrite a scene from Romeo and Juliet and then perform it with a new setting such as the South in the US, the French Riviera, or New Jersey shore. They create a script, build costumes and props, and perform their scene for the class. I was surprised about the age group that you have reading Romeo and Juliet. I teach in a very conservative area of CA, and I think the parents in our 6th grade would not be happy with the topics discussed in Romeo and Juliet for their 11 and 12 year olds. Personally, I think we start Shakespeare too late in the US, and limit our students' ability to access the language.
Hello Erica. Thanks for sharing your lesson. I am an English teacher in Pennsylvania who teaches theatre courses. As a Technical Director, my courses focus on those aspects of the theater, but we still read and review various works. My 9th and 10th grade English students explore Shakespeare, as well as my Theater Technology students. My students also struggle with Shakespearean language, and I have found importance in showing them several productions and modern translations. At this time, the Orlando Bloom production is one of my favorite recorded productions of Romeo and Juliet. I use a website called Digital Theatre+, which sounds similar to Theatre HD. I like that your lesson focuses on the prologue of Romeo and Juliet first, which allows your students to truly grasp the language before diving into the entire play. Thanks again for sharing your resources; I look forward to checking out Quillbot.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to say how amazing I think it is that not only do you teach theater, but have been an active participant in it. I agree that children of that age have a hard time with Shakespeare (my middle school had the versions in old and new english, which was just as confusing since it was the same book). I like how you use technology in your classroom for this assignment, as I did not even know that website existed.
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