Drama 8 & 9
Course Description:
Drama at the junior level is about learning to communicate honestly, to have fun, to act weird in public and to accept these normal behaviors as
opposed to suppress them. Creating a space in which students are free to behave however they want without fear of social stigma is tricky, but once achieved the end result is incredibly liberating, inclusive and enjoyable for students who in fact crave a space for childlike gameplay. The skills of "playing" and being creative, being collaborative, being emotionally in tune, and listening to and working with an ensemble of varied individuals form the backbone of serious acting; however these same skills are directly transferable to most work situations and every social situation. Therefore drama is not only a fun class, or an easy A, it is perhaps the most useful class a junior high student can take.
Course Goals:
Class Rules:
Grade Breakdown:
Disclaimer: Much of the marking in this class is invisible to students. They don't see the numbers or marks in conjunction with the feedback I give them. I find this leads to a much more internally motivated class, and a far less stressed out environment. Acting is stressful for some students and the last thing they want to feel is that I'm summatively marking their every move. That said I must assign grades and I should be clear about how I do it. If you are interested in "how your doing" and think that a number is the best indicator of "how your doing" and want to be shown on a more regular basis than report card time then please talk to me.
60 % Work Habits: This is the only class I teach where work habits form a component of the students' marks. There are three areas I divide the work habits into: Attitude, Contributions, Ensemble. Each area is given a mark out of ten every quarter. I will outline each area so students and parents know what specifically I am wanting. (This looks different for certain students based on personality)
Attitude: I would like to see, acceptance of activities and the dramatic process, enthusiastic effort, hard work, respect to me, showing up on time, participation that feels infectious, a positive disposition, kindness, readiness to join, a fun spirit.
Contributions: I would like to see creative suggestions, a willingness to "make offers", to alter the environment with your own creativity and personhood to endow others so they can succeed, to run with other people's ideas and elaborate on them, to bring a fresh perspective, to own the space, to become a teacher to others.
Ensemble: I would like to see strong collaboration, proper treatment towards others, self control, the ability to listen carefully to others, to be emotionally in-tune and in-step with a group, to fulfill a role or function within a drama. To be prepared and ready, to be good to your word on following through with things like line memorization, bringing props etcetera.
40% Acting Products: These can be tricky to mark, since during a play one student's role will be highly involved and another student will have played a more background role. Essentially every unit we do comes with its own culminating activity. Sometimes these are performance pieces and other times they are an in-class activity. Major performances are given marks from one to ten and minor performances one to five. Students recieve clear feedback from me and from their peers but the marks as stated before remain invisible.
Drama at the junior level is about learning to communicate honestly, to have fun, to act weird in public and to accept these normal behaviors as
opposed to suppress them. Creating a space in which students are free to behave however they want without fear of social stigma is tricky, but once achieved the end result is incredibly liberating, inclusive and enjoyable for students who in fact crave a space for childlike gameplay. The skills of "playing" and being creative, being collaborative, being emotionally in tune, and listening to and working with an ensemble of varied individuals form the backbone of serious acting; however these same skills are directly transferable to most work situations and every social situation. Therefore drama is not only a fun class, or an easy A, it is perhaps the most useful class a junior high student can take.
Course Goals:
- To create a safe place where you feel you can act like yourself.
- To have fun.
- To be emotionally honest.
- To listen to and include one another.
- To get comfortable acting strangely in front of others.
Class Rules:
- Talk to each other (not just to me) in a way that is orderly and respectful.
- Listen to each other.
- Always participate.
- Always contribute.
- Use appropriate touching and language.
- Recycle and throw garbage away.
- Don’t touch stuff that does not belong to you.
- Keep track of your own stuff.
- Talk to me about problems or concerns in private.
Grade Breakdown:
Disclaimer: Much of the marking in this class is invisible to students. They don't see the numbers or marks in conjunction with the feedback I give them. I find this leads to a much more internally motivated class, and a far less stressed out environment. Acting is stressful for some students and the last thing they want to feel is that I'm summatively marking their every move. That said I must assign grades and I should be clear about how I do it. If you are interested in "how your doing" and think that a number is the best indicator of "how your doing" and want to be shown on a more regular basis than report card time then please talk to me.
60 % Work Habits: This is the only class I teach where work habits form a component of the students' marks. There are three areas I divide the work habits into: Attitude, Contributions, Ensemble. Each area is given a mark out of ten every quarter. I will outline each area so students and parents know what specifically I am wanting. (This looks different for certain students based on personality)
Attitude: I would like to see, acceptance of activities and the dramatic process, enthusiastic effort, hard work, respect to me, showing up on time, participation that feels infectious, a positive disposition, kindness, readiness to join, a fun spirit.
Contributions: I would like to see creative suggestions, a willingness to "make offers", to alter the environment with your own creativity and personhood to endow others so they can succeed, to run with other people's ideas and elaborate on them, to bring a fresh perspective, to own the space, to become a teacher to others.
Ensemble: I would like to see strong collaboration, proper treatment towards others, self control, the ability to listen carefully to others, to be emotionally in-tune and in-step with a group, to fulfill a role or function within a drama. To be prepared and ready, to be good to your word on following through with things like line memorization, bringing props etcetera.
40% Acting Products: These can be tricky to mark, since during a play one student's role will be highly involved and another student will have played a more background role. Essentially every unit we do comes with its own culminating activity. Sometimes these are performance pieces and other times they are an in-class activity. Major performances are given marks from one to ten and minor performances one to five. Students recieve clear feedback from me and from their peers but the marks as stated before remain invisible.