The handy thing about this standard is that it opens the door for requiring your theatre students to attend at least one of each of your yearly performances. You can then assign whatever length and type of written critique you feel is appropriate. It also fulfils often required literacy standards.
It also gives you a chance to petition administration for theatre viewing field trips to see live theatre. You can ask your students to make verbal presentations. For both verbal and written critiques, I ask students to write what they saw, what they heard, what the media was about, and what they liked and didn't like. Students may not simply state that they liked or didn't like it, they must list reasons why. For instance, a student can't say simply " I didn't like the costumes." They must phrase the statement " I didn't like the costumes because..." and finish the statement with an honest critique like "I didn't like the costumes because they weren't true to the time period of the play."
Guided round table discussions are also part of the process. In debating opposing viewpoints, students are able to practice Socratic debate. It's an excellent way to learn critical thinking, and to defend ones opinion.Bottom line, the standard gives you a way to defend theatre viewing to administrators who often do not understand the importance of viewing theatre in a theatre class.
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Rebecca Fahning
Desert Pines High School Theatre/ Tech Director
ITS Troupe 6125, Troupe Director
Las Vegas NV
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-13-2018 13:13
From: Chris Wollman
Subject: Teaching to a Standard
Hello!
I'm in the process of preparing lessons based on specific standards and I was hoping to hear from educators who have experience needing to do this in a drama setting. Specifically, I'm curious how you might approach the following standard when designing a lesson, what activities you feel would be supportive etc. keeping in mind materials are fairly limited:
"Aesthetic Valuing
Responding to, Analyzing, and Critiquing Theatrical Experiences. Students critique and derive meaning from works of theatre, film/video, electronic media, and theatrical artists on the basis of aesthetic qualities.
Derivation of Meaning from Works of Theatre
4.2 Describe devices actors use to convey meaning or intent in commercials on television."
Thank you very much for your time.