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Marcel Marceau

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

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Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

If you are like me, you like to make choices for yourself.  That’s one of the cool things about being an adult, don’t you think? We make a lot of choices for ourselves. However, our students don’t have the opportunity to make decisions for themselves very often.  Let’s help them learn how to do so while learning from the subjects that interested them.  Today I’m going talk about setting the Stage for Success: Middle School Drama Meets Choice Boards.

Middle School Students are the Best

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

Middle school students are my favorite grades to teach.  In particular, they are vibrant, still curious and resilient.  Personally, I believe that teaching  middle school theater is the door to nurturing young talents. I find they are intensely interested in many subjects at this age.  Plus, creativity knows no bounds, and their self-expression takes center stage.

Middle school students can be engaged far faster than high school students.  They are just young enough to remember their beloved elementary teachers who they trusted.  Consequently, they quickly trust you when you propose an concept to them. Read this post, if you’d like more of my reflections about middle school students: Striking a Balance with Students in Their Middle School Years

In the heart of this theatrical journey lies a powerful tool – choice boards. Imagine giving your students the freedom to explore and make decisions in their drama education. First, let’s dive into how these versatile tools can breathe life into your drama classroom.

Setting the Stage for Success: Middle School Drama Meets Choice Boards

What Are Choice Boards?

Choice boards are visual organizers that present students with a variety of options for how they can engage with and demonstrate their learning. Consequently, they empower students to take ownership of their education by allowing them to choose activities that resonate with their interests, learning styles, and abilities.

Why Do Teachers Use Choice Boards in Drama?

  1. Individualized Learning: Middle school students are at an age where they’re discovering their unique talents and interests. Choice boards offer a range of activities, catering to diverse learning styles and abilities.
  2. Enhanced Engagement: When students have a say in their learning, they’re more invested in the process. Drama is all about passion and expression, and choice boards can ignite that spark.
  3. Creativity Unleashed: Drama thrives on creativity. Choice boards encourage students to think outside the box, explore different aspects of theater, and come up with fresh ideas.
  4. Differentiated Instruction: Drama classrooms often have a mix of skill levels. Choice boards allow the teacher to provide activities that cater to both beginners and experienced performers. Additionally, it’s effortless for the teacher to do so.

Did you know I have the secret to boosting student engagement?  My new book, “We’re Live! Radio Theater #101” explains my journey to implementing this unique tool in the classroom. Check it out here

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

Benefits for Drama Students

Implementing choice boards in your middle school drama classroom can lead to:

  • Increased Confidence: Students gain confidence as they engage in activities that align with their interests and strengths. It is far easier to be successful when learning something new if you are interested in the subject.  What a plus!
  • Broadened Horizons: Exposure to a variety of drama aspects can help students discover new passions within the world of theater.  As a matter of fact, my Choice Board products receive many 5 star reviews. In addition, teachers express their excitement to have taught something unique to their students which they would not have the time to study in depth.
  • Ownership of Learning: Empowering students to make choices fosters a sense of ownership over their education. Here’s that choice thing again.  By making choices for themselves, students see themselves as independent and capable.  Aren’t those attributes we want for them?
  • Joy in Learning: Drama should be fun! Choice boards infuse a sense of joy and excitement into the classroom. I think we’d all agree it’s difficult to compete with fun, yes?

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

My Choice Board Resources

I have three choice board resources ready for you to use.  One pertains to theaters around the world.  This low prep- high student engagement lesson gives students an opportunity to learn about various theater companies such as Mummenschanz, Deaf West, Trestle Theatre, Kabuki Theater,Marcel Marceau or what is means to be a Foley Engineer. Additionally, they are excellent for gifted learners or students who need independent study or an alternative assignment.

Got some introverted students in your class?  Check out: Drama Games for the Introvertive Student 

The resource includes:

  • Teachers Letter
  • 9 Choices on a colorful board which can be displayed on a white board
  • 21 Questions–no sets of questions are alike
  • Teacher’s Key–hooray! (many possible answers are included for each clip)
  • Live Links– ready to go

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

Another choice board product concerns technical theater. This product is wildly popular!

This resource includes:

The third is brand new.  You know how your students become chatty when you are focused on a small group and their rehearsal?  This is the answer to your problem.  Students learn about virtually every aspect of play or musical production from designing poster, drawing a costume or creating a movement piece concerning one of the themes of the production.  Students can be assigned to complete every choice or only a few.

Play production choice board cover

This board has 16 engaging assignments to keep everyone interested and busy creating.  There is plenty of room for individuality and some group work, too.  You can find it at:  Drama Class Production Choice Board

Looking for something free?  Pick up this one.

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

An Alternative Choice Board Format

If your students do not have I-pads,  access to the computer or WIFI, a teacher can use these resources instead. They are basically the same as the Choice Boards, however a student receives the link from the teacher. These are excellent for a substitute to use, too.

Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action        Middle School Drama Success: Choice Boards in Action

Students could vote on the subject they’d like to learn about and view the video clips which pertain to that subject.  Accordingly,  students are assigned to watch the video clips on their own at home.  You will find these products here.

Incorporating choice boards in your middle school drama classroom is like handing the spotlight to your students. It allows them to explore, express, and create in ways that resonate with their unique personalities. So, go ahead and embrace this dynamic tool to ignite the passion for drama in your middle school students’ hearts. The stage is set, and the choice is theirs!

Have you used Choice Boards in your classroom?  I’d love to hear how you have used them.  Feel free to email me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com
Woman behind DramaMommaSpeaks

 

How Meaningful is Life Without Dance?

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How meaningful is life without dance?

This is a four part series.  Check out the other posts here:

https://dramamommaspeaks.com/2017/07/31/how-fulfilling-is-life-without-theatre/

https://dramamommaspeaks.com/2017/03/13/life-without-art-is-not-life-to-me/

https://dramamommaspeaks.com/2017/03/17/how-enriched-is-life-without-music/

https://dramamommaspeaks.com/2017/03/15/life-without-dance/

 

Life without dance

Whenever I awaken in the wee morning hours (and that’s a lot!) and can’t fall asleep again, I visualize ballet dancers dancing.  Sometimes I’m one of them which is pretty funny since I only attended ballet classes for one semester in college.

First, I see a lovely dance hall with large windows facing the south and east.  The walls of the room are a soft pink with white woodwork and of course a golden colored wood floor.  Then I hear music playing in the background.

It’s usually some classical piece of music I know well, such as Strauss’ “The Blue Danube Waltz” or Vivaldi’s  “The Four Seasons”. Maybe it’s something else such as  Beethoven’s “Sonata for Piano No. l”.

  I’ve discovered this method of relaxing works equally well if I’m needing an afternoon nap.  I search my IPad for the piece of music I like, play it, close my eyes and imagine my dancers.

In my mind’s eye, I see a ballerina in a lovely gown chasse’ across the floor diagonally from corner to corner.  Usually, a young man is follow along and catches her ever so often and lifts her into the air.  She floats serenely, landing softly on her precious toes.  Then up again, so forth and so on.

The next thing I know it’s morning.

I can’t imagine the world without dance. I bet many people can’t either.  Dance speaks to us.

Losing the art of  dance would be as terrible as losing your ability to express your emotions.  What if you simply could not express joy, fear, pride or sorrow?

Dance is a tremendous vehicle for expressing emotions.

Pantomime is movement with no words.  I was six years old when my family traveled to Europe.  In Paris, we were lucky enough to see Marcel Marceau perform.  Wow!  My most fond memories are of his mime, The Mask Maker. That was fifty-four years ago, but I remember the performance as if it was yesterday.

If you are thinking I’m some stuffy old lady, I’m not.  There are many current performers who sing marvelously.  In my opinion, one of the best is Bruno Mars.  Some of his lyrics are inappropriate for children, but what a talent.  And what great dancing!

A toddler dancing is one of the best testaments to the  joy of dance.  If you watch closely, you’ll notice they are in their own zone–somewhere else in their mind even with their eyes open. Children will free form it with no concerns about how they appear to others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGwJ8ftKdW4

This little girl knows the answer to “How meaningful is life without dance?” without even knowing it.  Our sweet, perfect granddaughter is always moving.  She adores music, too.  She’s still a baby, but I think she will express herself through dance, too.  I can’t wait!  Maybe we’ll have our own video of her boogying.  If she’s anything like her momma or auntie, our DVD shelves will be lined with her videos.

I don’t know how humans would cope if we didn’t have the dance.  I think I agree with this quote, “Stifling an urge to dance is bad for your health — it rusts your spirit and your hips. ~Terri Guillemets”. 

See?  Life without dance? I hope not.

I must close now.  I feel a dance coming on…

Eighteen Ways to Make Your Directing Experience Less Stressful, Part Two

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actors singing.jpg

Eighteen Ways to Make Your Directing Experience Less Stressful, Part Two

This is a continuation of my second post about my experiences in directing. Click here for my first post:

Eighteen Ways To Make Your Directing Experience Less Stressful, Part One

If I have learned anything over these thirty-eight years of directing it is that directing is stressful.  Hopefully, my lessons learned can help you!

9.  I begin and end rehearsal on the prearranged time. There is nothing worse than being told, “rehearsals will be from 7:00 to 9:00 pm” and then the rehearsal times change to three hours each night. Ugh.

10. Glib lines between weeks of the show. Glibbing lines is a way to rehearse the lines of the show in a quick and focused manner. Generally, I have my actors sit in a circle and run the lines, but other directors ask their casts to practice the blocking as well.

11. I announce a deadline for the off book date and stick to it. This is a biggie with me. Deadlines are deadlines. If I think a cast needs more time with their scripts in hand, I’ll adjust the schedule. But one can’t really “act” until her hands are free. The first rehearsal off book is usually laborious, if not excruciating. I bode up when I know it’s off book night, but the deadline is a necessary evil.

12.. Use rehearsal props and tape the floor to the set’s measurements. There are people who are tactile learners and all of us are visual learners. Using a rehearsal prop benefits the actor in several ways. Showing the set’s measurements, parameters, steps. window, etc. is hugely helpful.

13. I suggest to a cast, but don’t require, that they rehearse in the shoes they plan to wear for the show. It’s amazing how much an actor’s posture and gait will change once they don their shoes. Long skirts are necessary on ladies as well. We have become a very relaxed dress society. Some women have trouble carrying off the poise that they need once they put on heeled shoes and a long skirt.

DSC_0144.JPG

14. I always have two dress rehearsals.

15. I make time for a read thru of the script before my first blocking rehearsal. This gives me an opportunity to answer questions right from the beginning of the project. Everyone has a better idea of where I stand on everything.

16. I discourage an actor’s personal drama in rehearsals, encouraging them to leave it at the stage door. Enough said…

17. I  substitute swear words only  if I think the audience’s demographics can not tolerate them or the particular actor requests it of me.  If I think an audience is going to spend their whole evening shocked by a swear word, like the dirty four letter F word, then I’ll cut it. If I have an actor who is very religious and is uncomfortable when using the Lord’s name in vain, I’ll adjust the verbiage to something that will give the same feeling, but won’t upset him.

18. I teach novice and student actors the correct way to rehearse accepting that some will have their own method to rehearse.

19. I close my rehearsals to anyone outside the production staff or cast. There is nothing worse than having a surprise guest to rehearsals. It distracts me and my cast members.

W

( When I was six years old, I had  the opportunity to see Marcel Marceau in person in Paris, France. 

 I will NEVER forget it.)

20. I expect moments of frustration and euphoria in every rehearsal process. A little frustration isn’t going to hurt anyone, so long as it isn’t prolonged stress. And there is nothing more rewarding than a moment of “Oh my gosh, we did it!”

  I love to direct, I honestly do.  My resume is proof of that. If you’d like to hear my opinion about directing the Music Man musical, go to:  My Musical Recommendation and Why 

Next time, I’ll talk about my protagonist in Bumbling Bea, Beatrice Brace.

To purchase my book, Bumbling Bea, go to Amazon at Bumbling Bea

Contact me at Dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net

woman behind DramaMommaSpeaks