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The Importance of a Drama Word Wall for Secondary Students

Let’s chat about the importance of a drams word wall for secondary students. When I was a child, I remember spelling word tests.

Education has changed a lot since then, thank goodness.

I’m a good speller and I give all the credit to Miss DeLong. She was my scary first grade teacher who nearly beat phonics into our brains. I still remember what she looked like. That’s how much of an impression she made on me!

One of her most useful tactics for learning was fear.

The Dog House–An Old School Teaching Method

Miss DeLong was an old school teacher. When we were learning how to spell our name and address, your name would placed in the “dog house” until you could spell it correctly. The dog house was a chalked picture of a dog house in the upper right corner of her blackboard. It confused me–the outside of the dog house had grass and flowers drawn around it. I suppose she wanted it to look non-threatening…..

I hated it.

It worked, though. I learned to spell my name and address very quickly.

Maybe you are wanting a word search puzzle. Here is a bundle of them: Word Search Puzzles Bundle

Now teachers use word walls instead. Oh, thank goodness.

It makes much more sense to me, you know?

A word wall is a terrific teaching method. High frequency words of your particular subject printed in large visible letters are posted on a wall, bulletin board or other display surface in a classroom. A student sees the words all the time and consequently the words become a part of the student vocabulary in a more natural and stress free manner.

Looking for posters, too? Here are some.

This is how to use word walls

Researching this post, I check out the readingrockets.com blog. Here are their suggestions:

Make words accessible by putting them where every student can see them. They should be written in large black letters using a variety of background colors to distinguish easily confused words.
Teachers and students should work together to determine which words should go on the word wall. Try to include words that children use most commonly in their writing. Words should be added gradually — a general guideline is five words per week.
Use the word wall daily to practice words, incorporating a variety of activities such as chanting, snapping, cheering, clapping, tracing, word guessing games as well as writing them.
Provide enough practice so that words are read and spelled automatically and make sure that words from the wall are always spelled correctly in the children’s daily writing.
New information should be added on a regular basis.
Use content-area material from the curriculum rather than randomly selected words.
Word walls should be referred to often so students come to understand and see their relevance.

What’s a Word Wall?

Several years ago, I taught drama until my retirement. I never had a word wall. Wow, it really would’ve helped!

You may wonder how to use Word Walls. Our secondary level students need word walls just as much as the primary level.

You can post the words just about anywhere. Some teachers add words to their wall generated by other words the students require. That makes loads of sense. Some teachers have particular words they expect their students to learn to spell–the words of the subject.

My suggestion is to begin with a few words which spring from whatever unit or lesson you are studying. Post the words, give the definitions and apply them. Switch out the words as the year progresses or merely add to the ones you have all ready displayed.

A drama class words include the components of theater–storytelling, tableau, set design, movement, chanting and so forth.

In addition, we have words and phrases which describe the stage–up center, down center, balancing the stage, entrance, exit, proscenium and thrust stage to name a few.

I created this product thinking of every grade level, because a teacher knows best what their students need. My product is a content area word wall.

You can find it here: Middle Grades and High School Drama Terms: Word Wall

Digital Task Cards Drama Vocabulary

Product Description of Resource

Need something for that pesky bulletin board? This is a set of 198 vocabulary word posters that highlight many of the content area words of a drama or creative dramatics class. In addition, the set includes suggested uses and word games. This word wall can be displayed all year long or the words can be displayed as they are being used throughout the year.

Although these were created for secondary classes, an elementary class could use these as well. The teacher is the expert as to which words their students should study.

Check out these posters.

The teacher has two color combinations to choose from: black and white only or multi-colored.

If you are thinking your middle grade students might think the word wall is babyish, I bet you are incorrect. Just because a student is out of elementary school doesn’t mean their learning challenges have vanished.

I’m pretty weak math student. It wasn’t until I was in my junior year of high school that my father hired a math tutor to help me. I really could have used that tutor way back in sixth grade.

I’m just here to help.

What experiences do you have with spelling? When our daughter were young, they practiced spelling words at the breakfast table on Friday mornings prior to the week’s test.

To this day, one daughter is a good speller (like me) and the other has a few challenges (like her father). It is genetic?

I wonder if anyone has studied that question?

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net I’ve love to hear from you.

Here’s a new product you might want for your bulletin boards. Growth Mindset Theater Artist Quotes

If you are interested in other teaching tools, check out: Your Secret Teaching Allies–Super Heroes

Striking a Balance with Students in Their Middle School Years

How do you display theatre vocabulary in your classroom? I’d love to know. Contact me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

Music Rehearsal for Willy Wonka, Jr. Apex Home School Enrichment Program 2014

Note: Recently, I wrote several pieces concerning reading and literacy for Litpick.com. This is a re-publish of the latest article.

I’m not a Wizard, but I can do Magic and so Can You!

Teaching has its up and downs, but one of the most rewarding experiences of teaching is seeing a student’s eyes light up once some learning connects with them. I like to teach “magically” if I can. I bet a lot of teachers do, too!

I don’t wear a wizard’s robe and pull out a magic wand —I have no idea how that is done. I mean when a student learns something when they don’t think they are doing anything, but having fun. Teaching and learning become effortless and almost enchanting!

I use many drama games and exercises in my classroom. I’m especially fond of Viola Spolin’s book Improvisation in the Classroom. But that’s not today’s subject…. (my right brained-ness kicked in there for a moment). Sorry.

I find that when I am teaching a concept that a student is focused upon and I am using a particular activity to demonstrate the concept, the learning becomes “like butter”—smooth, enriching and tasty. (Okay, I do have a fondness for butter I will admit, but you get the point.)

Drama Class and Reading

Reading skills can be strengthened through drama. No joke! Sometimes students don’t realize when they enroll in my classes that we will read aloud in class—that’s a given. And we read A LOT. Of course we read the occasional theatre textbook chapter, but mostly we read plays. I mean, obviously we read plays, right? Also, we perform the readings, so the words become memorized easily.

Families can do this at home, too! The benefits of reading plays aloud are varied, but suffice to say that if a group gets together and reads a play, a child’s reading skills will be honed.

Dialogue

Oh my gosh, play dialogue is so fun to read aloud! It’s far better to read a play aloud than to read it silently. That’s because it was created to be spoken. A playwright depends upon his characters’ dialogue to tell a story. That’s the whole point. Playwrights work for months, maybe years, to find and create just the right meaning in a sentence.

Presently, I am preparing to direct a summer youth theatre camp production of Tams Witmark’s Music Library version of The Wizard of Oz musical. Here is a tidbit of dialogue from the production:

WICKED WITCH:

They’re gone! The ruby slippers! What have you done with them?

Give them back to me, or I’ll—

GLINDA:

It’s too late! There they are, and there they’ll stay!

Awesome, don’t you think? The dialogue is precise, rhythmical and exciting. A playwright’s goal is to express a particular message, right? She wants the audience to continue listening to her play. Her dialogue must be excellent. There can be no excess words, very few challenging words or word pronunciations that an audience member must struggle to understand. Since theatre is live, it is essential that the play is engaging right from the first word. When one is not enjoying a book that she is reading, she can put the book down. But at a play? The confused person might just walk out of the performance. Eeek!

Form

Young readers love to read scripts aloud once they understand the form. It’s a little daunting, you must admit. There are no markers—no “he said” or “she yelled” In particular moments, emotions are written in for the actor to use. Generally, a playwright leaves it up to the director and actors to convey the required emotion. That’s more interesting for everyone involved. It allows the director to create her own concept of the play—sort of like painting a picture using her own thoughts about the story. That’s more interesting for everyone involved.

Usually, I read aloud the stage directions so that the students can create the atmosphere or plot in their minds. The plot of a play must be very clear to understand although surprises are always welcome. That’s what makes for excellent theatre, I think.

Once when my class of middle school students read aloud the “Tom Sawyer” play, I purposely stopped us at an exciting moment—scary Injun Joe hid behind a tree and overheard Tom and Huck discussing the big bag of money they found. Many of the students were reluctant readers. I heard groans of “Oh man, Mrs. B. can’t we continue reading?” But instead, I handed out paper and pencils and asked them to draw what they thought would occur next. I’m a tricky teacher….

Research

In researching this article, I came upon a tremendous website–Readingrockets.org. who says it much better than I can.

Listening to others read develops an appreciation for how a story is written and familiarity with book conventions, such as “once upon a time” and “happily ever after”.
Reading aloud demonstrates the relationship between the printed word and meaning – children understand that print tells a story or conveys information – and invites the listener into a conversation with the author.
Listening to others read develops key understanding and skills. Reading aloud demonstrates the relationship between the printed word and meaning – children understand that print tells a story or conveys information – and invites the listener into a conversation with the author (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000).
Reading aloud makes complex ideas more accessible and exposes children to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech. It exposes less able readers to the same rich and engaging books that fluent readers read on their own, and entices them to become better readers. (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996).

Libraries

How does a family select the right play to read together? I’d suggest checking out a public library. They have a fountain of plays to read including many versions of classics such as Anne of Green Gables, Peter Pan, Charlotte’s Web or Huckleberry Finn.

If reading an entire play script seems overwhelming, look into reader’s theatre scripts. They are short, concise, edited well and give the “nugget” of the story. They are a great stepping off point for young readers to pique their interest, giving them a feeling of success before they tackle the complete novel.

Reading Experts

Children’s literature consultant Susie Freeman states, “If you’re searching for a way to get your children reading aloud with comprehension, expression, fluency, and joy, reader’s theater is a miracle. Hand out a photocopied play script, assign a part to each child, and have them simply read the script aloud and act it out. That’s it. And then magic happens.”

Aaron Shephard

One of my favorite authors of reader’s theatre scripts is Aaron Shephard. Check him out at http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/. He has adapted a treasure trove of stories, many multicultural, including original ones of his own. I have used a host of his scripts including Legend of Lightning Larry with an ESL drama club, The Legend of Slappy Hooper with a creative dramatics class, and the beloved Casey at the Bat with an introduction to theatre class plus various other scripts.

So, the next time on a really hot summer day your family is stuck indoors and has exhausted every other avenue of entertainment or learning, pick up a play script! I promise you a magical and great time of reading.

Readingrocket.org