Can school performance be measured fairly? The Room for Debate blog asks nine experts this question, and we’ve suggested ways students can engage with it through role-playing. Go to related Room for Debate post »We’re declaring this week Drama Week on the Learning Network, and each day we’ll show you some easy ways that teachers across subject areas can use simple theater exercises to spur discussion and thinking about current events.
We’ve asked David Kener, a teacher and former executive director of the American Place Theater Literature to Life Program, to help, and together we’ll bring you a technique or resource every day this week.
The two exercises we’ve chosen first are related to a technique we often use inlessons on this blog — “four corners” strategy. These are variations on that idea, but take it further.
Having all three in your repertoire might be especially helpful given the Common Core emphasis on argument and evidence, since all ask students to form and defend their opinions, or experiment with other points of view on a topic.
Come back every day this week to find even more — and, as always, let us know what you think.
Cross the Room
Directions:
Students stand in a line on one side of the room, while the teacher reads out lines that all begin with “Cross the room if…”
For example:
…if you live more than a half-hour from school.
…if you have stage fright.
…if you play an instrument.
…if you have traveled abroad.
Why and How Could I Use It?
Teachers might use this exercise as an ice breaker, as a way to assess background knowledge on, or experience with, a topic before studying it or as a way to gauge students’ opinions after they have learned about an issue.
Though it can be used with sensitive topics, keep in mind that, since it requires every student to participate, you might offer students the option of “crossing the room” to a special spot if they are not sure how to answer a question or are uncomfortable doing so.
Times Example:
One way to use this activity is as a warm-up before reading a Times article on a topic about which you know students will have experience and opinions.
For instance, you might use the 2011 Bits blog post, “Teenagers Tell Researchers It’s a Cruel, Cruel Online World” as part of a lesson around cyberbullying. You could ask students to cross the room if…
…they have a profile on Facebook.
…they’ve asked their friends for advice about how to handle a situation online.
…they’ve ever lied about their age to access a site off-limits to someone their age at the time.
…someone has been mean to them online.
…they’ve written something online that has been taken a different way than they intended.
…their parents check up on their online activities.
If you had students answer these questions before they saw the blog post, they would realize as soon as they started reading that all of the questions refer to information in the piece. The activity, then, acts as a kind of “anticipation guide” or “activation of schema” that many literacy experts suggest can act as scaffolding to help students understand informational text.
Spectrogram
Directions:
Participants are told that the room is split into three categories: Yes, No and Maybe.
As questions are asked, students answer by moving to one part of the room or another depending on their point of view. Questions should start off general, then gradually get more specific. Students should move in silence; discussion is saved for later. The last question should be the most provocative, or the one that gets most closely to the issue you’d like them to wrestle with. For example, a final question in a series of questions on climate change could be, “Who thinks global warming is a hoax?”
Once students move for this final question, there will be two or three distinct groups that share the same opinion. Have the students in each group discuss their points of view, and select a representative who will speak on their behalf. Have them take turns stating their case, making sure first that they accurately represent the views of their groups.
Why and How Could I Use This?
Like “Cross the Room,” this exercise could be used either as a warm-up or as a way to have students grapple with something they have just learned. It might also serve as an alternative to doing a class debate.
To take the activity further, you might have students do the exercise in the role of a character, historical figure or as a member of a different demographic. For instance, for the climate change example, they might be assigned the roles of particular political figures, scientists or other stakeholders who might have nuanced thoughts on the topic.
You might also invite students to switch roles at least once during the exercise so that they have a chance to experience another point of view — a basic tenet of role-playing.
Times Examples:
You can use this idea with content in any subject area — whether you’re teaching about plagiarism in the digital era, the value of algebra, the presidential election or a work of literature.
One way to find useful topics for this exercise is to scan the Room for Debate blog to find issues that interest or affect your students.
For instance, in a recent post, nine people weigh in on the question Can School Performance Be Measured Fairly?, a topic that certainly affects students’ lives.
You could draw questions from the posts like “Should teachers be evaluated based on how their students do on standardized tests?” or “Have the standardized tests you’ve taken been a fair measure of what you know and can do?” and have students react to and discuss them.
To take the exercise still further, you could invite students to take the points of view of different stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, parents, politicians, etc.), and repeat the exercise. How did their answers change?
