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

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!

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
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.

Review :
"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