Open Forum

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad

At our middle school, instrumental music, vocal music, and theatre are compulsory for 6th graders.  I technically see all of the sixth graders all year long, however, not on all days.  We have an A/B schedule.  So on an "A" Day a given sixth grader would be in band or strings and then on a "B" Day he or she would be in theatre or choir or musical theatre (my choir choir colleague's class and my class combined as we end the 6th grade year with a musical).  

It's great to meet all the kids in the school--really helps with recruitment and retention for 7th and 8th grade (many kids who would have never identified themselves as performers otherwise get involved), but it's also nice not to have to see them every day of the year.  A year-long sixth grade class that meets every day does sound like a lot.  Even in seventh and eighth grade most of my classes are semester-long, with the exception of my top 8th grade class.

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Ryan Moore
Theatre Teacher and Forensics Coach
Royal Oak MI

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2016 06:36
From: Jennifer Simmons
Subject: Middle School courses

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad

We offer the "Wheel". For second semester, the 6th grade is split into sections and rotate every 5 weeks to another area of electives. We have choir, theater, art, and FFA. Band is year round. We have found it works best to separate boys and girls. It helps them to sing and act better without worrying about what the opposite sex thinks.  Last year we had two sections of each. This year we have a boy section and a girl section. It gives them a taste of all the options they can take while in 7th & 8th grades. It has helped to build my theater program.  My first year I had 19 in JH Theater class and this year I have 28.

------------------------------
Daniel Barrett
Theater Director
Faith West Academy
Katy, TX

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2016 06:36
From: Jennifer Simmons
Subject: Middle School courses

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad

Our middle school is made up of 6th & 7th grades.  Currently, Drama is only offered in the 7th grade as a semester class.  We fill this allows us to serve more kids while controlling the number of kids in my classroom each period.  I've proposed adding a 6th grade class for years, but it hasn't been supported by my administration for various reasons.  If I were to teach a 6th grade class for a semester I would have to do things differently so that kids that take Drama in 7th grade don't get a lot of the same things.  There's a book out there called "Middle Mania" by Maureen Betty Johnson.  It has a number of creative projects that would help get the kids in 6th grade to be active participants while teaching them some fundamentals of theatre.  6th grade should consist of more creative drama activities in order to get their feet wet and get them excited about the performing arts.  There are other books out there worth checking out as well..."Drama Projects for the MIddle School Classroom" by Rebecca Young and "Teaching Drama, the Essential Handbook" by Denver Casado. Plus a slew of theatre game books to keep the kids engaged.  All of these are just resources, I would obviously put my own spin on things and create lessons that fit the needs of my students. 

I wish you the best.  I think you're on the right track in attempting to make it a semester class. At our school the 6th graders are also on a "wheel" rotation that lasts only 12 weeks. Just enough time to get them excited about a class which they could explore further in the following years.

------------------------------
Danny Hobson
7th Grade Theatre Arts
Hellstern Middle School
Springdale, Arkansas
dhobson@sdale.org

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2016 06:36
From: Jennifer Simmons
Subject: Middle School courses

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad

I have been teaching theatre to children and to adults for over 30 years.  I now teach at a charter school grades K-8 that is called the School of Arts and Sciences but it is not a magnet school.  My middle school daily drama class is made up of students from all three grades of 6,7, and 8 and runs through the year.  We are a part of the county public system not a private school and must adhere to County and State standards.

We still offer middle school students a choice of two "special areas" every year.  This year, full year classes in music, art, gardening, dance, and theatre.   I know many of you do not have that full year opportunity but I urge you to hang on to it if you do.  The students still have a "wheel" of sorts that they choose from each year and it offers them more than just time to briefly sample the subject.

Teaching in a multiple grade setting is a challenge for both the teacher and the students but one that I have come to find as important to both of us.  

Through the years, as well as in my current situation, I have found that within this mixed age group, their grade alone has not reflected their level of creativity nor maturity nor critical thinking.  My Grandma used to say "whatever your expectations are, your children will know and fulfill them."  Good, bad, low, high.  I apply that to teaching my students in this setting as well.   I have sixth graders who grasp one concept more quickly and display more maturity than 8th graders and vice versa.  I have several levels of challenges among my ESE students and none have failed to participate in each part of the course.  I have yet to find any student that is really bored but, of course, I deal with teenage behavior issues like all of us do.

Other post-ers have offered some very helpful advice on sources of teaching materials.   I also locate and develop material for teaching an introduction to theatre that strays far away from anything that talks down to students, has no challenge, or is led by inappropriate age ranges in roles. 

As I develop my course of teaching, I look at the school year as teaching a Theatre wheel of sorts, dividing semesters into types of content each year. Things like- From Storytelling to the Stage;Technical Theatre; Adaptations of Literature to Plays, Scriptwriting; Producing a play (from selection criteria to costs to jobs associated with doing a play to the production of a play selected by the students based on the criteria),etc.

The subject of theatre is broad enough that it could fill more time that I could ever have to teach - as do other so-called "core" classes.  I consider theatre, music, dance, visual art, as much a "core" class as any other.  Yeah, I know, that has been a tough nut to sell Legislature by Legislature around the country but, we still try.

You and I know that the skills and knowledge gained in these courses not only lead to successful careers in the arts but also successful careers in many other fields. We tell people that don't understand why Theatre should be taught at all that just the communication exercises, the scripted introduction to people with different points of view, situations, and journeys through life are exceptionally important in a world that is losing the ability to find ways to communicate person to person, culture to culture.  We all know that the techniques taught, from vocal to physical, analysis to visualization are necessary to a student's success at any level in any field.  I believe middle school is THE most important age to teach the subject of theatre.

This post is meant to encourage us all as teachers to seek more not less time with our students as we introduce some students to, or, expand the knowledge of theatre to other students.  It has been my experience that once you give away the time to a Wheel, you will have a hard time getting it back. Combining your classes temporarily with music and dance to introduce musical theatre is a fine collaboration as long as the theatre element is still an equal focus and not just someone's pretext to put on a singing and dancing concert as I see happening in many high schools.      

In our county, since the Wheel began,the infusion of arts rather than stand alone classes was introduced, and the STEM focus followed fewer and fewer middle school students have the option of studying theatre/drama at all. If they do it is in an after-school setting.  

I admire what all of you do in your own challenging unique situations and just wanted to add my two cents (or a dollar in the case of this long winded post) to you who still have the option of not going to a Wheel approach. Those of you For Whom The Wheel Works, hats off to you.  And thank you all for your more concise posts than I have achieved here.  

------------------------------
Peggy Brady
Drama Teacher
Tallahassee FL

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2016 06:36
From: Jennifer Simmons
Subject: Middle School courses

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad

"Through the years, as well as in my current situation, I have found that within this mixed age group, their grade alone has not reflected their level of creativity nor maturity nor critical thinking.  My Grandma used to say "whatever your expectations are, your children will know and fulfill them."  Good, bad, low, high.  I apply that to teaching my students in this setting as well."

I would just like to say "amen" to this.  Before I became a MS teacher I was a high school teacher.  I teach the same things I did before.  Sure, there are different approaches that sometimes work better in MS or HS, and obviously there are plays/materials/subject matters suitable for HS students that are not appropriate for MS students, and it's harder to get MS actors to kiss in a play and a few other challenges unique to the age, but I have found they can be just as capable in the core areas of theatre, whether that is acting or writing or directing.  The only approach guaranteed not to produce good results in students is to tackle MS drama as a "dumbed down" version of HS drama. 

------------------------------
Jeff Westbrook
Downers Grove IL

Original Message:
Sent: 04-23-2016 12:51
From: Peggy Brady
Subject: Middle School courses

I have been teaching theatre to children and to adults for over 30 years.  I now teach at a charter school grades K-8 that is called the School of Arts and Sciences but it is not a magnet school.  My middle school daily drama class is made up of students from all three grades of 6,7, and 8 and runs through the year.  We are a part of the county public system not a private school and must adhere to County and State standards.

We still offer middle school students a choice of two "special areas" every year.  This year, full year classes in music, art, gardening, dance, and theatre.   I know many of you do not have that full year opportunity but I urge you to hang on to it if you do.  The students still have a "wheel" of sorts that they choose from each year and it offers them more than just time to briefly sample the subject.

Teaching in a multiple grade setting is a challenge for both the teacher and the students but one that I have come to find as important to both of us.  

Through the years, as well as in my current situation, I have found that within this mixed age group, their grade alone has not reflected their level of creativity nor maturity nor critical thinking.  My Grandma used to say "whatever your expectations are, your children will know and fulfill them."  Good, bad, low, high.  I apply that to teaching my students in this setting as well.   I have sixth graders who grasp one concept more quickly and display more maturity than 8th graders and vice versa.  I have several levels of challenges among my ESE students and none have failed to participate in each part of the course.  I have yet to find any student that is really bored but, of course, I deal with teenage behavior issues like all of us do.

Other post-ers have offered some very helpful advice on sources of teaching materials.   I also locate and develop material for teaching an introduction to theatre that strays far away from anything that talks down to students, has no challenge, or is led by inappropriate age ranges in roles. 

As I develop my course of teaching, I look at the school year as teaching a Theatre wheel of sorts, dividing semesters into types of content each year. Things like- From Storytelling to the Stage;Technical Theatre; Adaptations of Literature to Plays, Scriptwriting; Producing a play (from selection criteria to costs to jobs associated with doing a play to the production of a play selected by the students based on the criteria),etc.

The subject of theatre is broad enough that it could fill more time that I could ever have to teach - as do other so-called "core" classes.  I consider theatre, music, dance, visual art, as much a "core" class as any other.  Yeah, I know, that has been a tough nut to sell Legislature by Legislature around the country but, we still try.

You and I know that the skills and knowledge gained in these courses not only lead to successful careers in the arts but also successful careers in many other fields. We tell people that don't understand why Theatre should be taught at all that just the communication exercises, the scripted introduction to people with different points of view, situations, and journeys through life are exceptionally important in a world that is losing the ability to find ways to communicate person to person, culture to culture.  We all know that the techniques taught, from vocal to physical, analysis to visualization are necessary to a student's success at any level in any field.  I believe middle school is THE most important age to teach the subject of theatre.

This post is meant to encourage us all as teachers to seek more not less time with our students as we introduce some students to, or, expand the knowledge of theatre to other students.  It has been my experience that once you give away the time to a Wheel, you will have a hard time getting it back. Combining your classes temporarily with music and dance to introduce musical theatre is a fine collaboration as long as the theatre element is still an equal focus and not just someone's pretext to put on a singing and dancing concert as I see happening in many high schools.      

In our county, since the Wheel began,the infusion of arts rather than stand alone classes was introduced, and the STEM focus followed fewer and fewer middle school students have the option of studying theatre/drama at all. If they do it is in an after-school setting.  

I admire what all of you do in your own challenging unique situations and just wanted to add my two cents (or a dollar in the case of this long winded post) to you who still have the option of not going to a Wheel approach. Those of you For Whom The Wheel Works, hats off to you.  And thank you all for your more concise posts than I have achieved here.  

------------------------------
Peggy Brady
Drama Teacher
Tallahassee FL

I teach 4-8 Drama at a private school for bright and gifted kids.  All students rotate between art, music and drama, taking each for a third of the year, 5 out of every 7 days.  In a nutshell, here are the basic units of each grade.

Gr. 4 - Intro to theatre (mostly games and activities focusing on various skills, particularly acting), playmaking (each class creates and performs their own play), improvisation (culminating in a theatre sports type show), and animation (no art talent required, as we use goanimate.com).

Gr. 5 (in my school, the beginning of Middle School) - A more focused introduction to acting, focusing on physical performance.  Each student performs a solo pantomime and a duet "pantomime" with a partner.  Students can use gibberish for the second project.

Gr. 6 - Students are introduced to playwriting by creating a scene. Students explore characterization and perform a monologue and a scene with a partner.

Gr. 7 - Students write, direct, design, and perform silent and sound movies.

Gr. 8 - Students write, direct, design, and perform 10 minute plays.

As you can see, my focus is on hands-on theatre experiences usually based on student-generated work. 

  

------------------------------
Jeff Westbrook
Downers Grove IL

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2016 06:36
From: Jennifer Simmons
Subject: Middle School courses

Hi! I teach at the middle school level. At our school, theatre is a year long course, in every grade, 6-8. The dance program is, too. Both of us are looking at proposing 6th grade as a more exploratory year, with semester options only. We are finding that 6th graders are getting into our classes, not really knowing what it is they are getting into. They think "wow, I haven't had drama/dance, this looks like fun/playtime". They do not realize that there is actual work involved. We are starting to think that for 6th grade, a whole year is too much to commit to something.

I would like to know:
What is the format for courses for your middle school?
What works about it, what doesn't?
Additional thoughts about this topic


We are just gathering info/insight for now. This change wouldn't go into effect of course until the next year.

Sent from my iPad