This week I chose Chapter 8, “Goals and Limits in Student Performance of Shakespeare.” This chapter talked about adding “more use of student performance in teaching both Shakespeare and drama in general” (96). I feel it would be beneficial to use student performance while using Shakespeare. Performance can create a better understanding and allow students to use their creativity. Frey states, “One reason to use student performance in teaching drama is to help students see differences between dramatic and nondramatic forms. Most drama is designed for performance, and students need to understand what that means” (96).
I can remember in high school using the stage to perform a small scene of a Shakespearean play for my tenth grade English class. We had to prepare everything from props, costumes, what the script meant, memorizing the script, actions, and expression to use, etc. I was a little nervous about doing this, but once we started I felt much more comfortable with what we were doing. It ended up being one of my favorite things we did that year. Everyone thought it was fun and different from anything we had done. I was unsure how to “act out” Shakespeare, but that is what my teacher had taught us. She taught us the basics and how to read into Shakespeare. Frey even talks about teachers incorporating the basics. On page 96, “if a teacher is going to devote three or four weeks or more to a play, he or she should be able to teach basic literary analysis and divide the class into groups asked to work up a small part of the script for a memorized and blocked performance.” This is what my teacher did.
You may wonder about the ones who are nervous and shy, or do not want to do it. I was one of those students at first, but after I knew exactly what we were doing I felt more comfortable. Our teacher did not grade on our acting skills alone, but we had to try our best and be prepared which made me less nervous. Frey made a good connection that I never really thought about. He compared it to a speech. Every student has a speech or some sort of presentation where they have to stand up in front of the class, so why not incorporate plays? As teachers, we need to expose our students to these sorts of things or they may get bored with the same things that go on. If we present our students with our expectations, our focus, the information they need to know to succeed, etc, then our students should feel excited about performing a scene. If students are having trouble understanding what to do or if a teacher wants another resource to use, you can tie in different films that model excellent acting skills the students can gain from.
On page 97-98, “it does promote collaborative learning. And it helps students to reappropriate and refashion a piece of their culture in a responsible way, to choose and to create instead of to consume. But it teaches students more about the meaning of a play and about the nature and functions of drama than they can learn through any other method I know.” I feel what Frey said is very important. When students are able to be hands-on and collaborate, they are able to learn more and gain a better understanding.
I found the following website very helpful on how to incorporate Shakespeare into your classroom in many various ways. It also provides some great resources to use too.
One of my best friends in high school was absolutely horrified of public speaking. In my 11th grade English class, we had to present a satire that we wrote. It gets to her, and she bursts into tears before even speaking a word. My teacher let her sit back down, relax, and about 15 minutes later she went up again. Instead of facing us, she faced the blackboard and was able to give her presentation. I think it's certainly important to take that into consideration, like you said.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, my 10th grade English teacher always made the point that everyone was going to have a turn. It made me less nervous because you knew that everyone had to go through it. Also, we practiced in small groups first before performing in front of the class. This would allow for students to be relaxed and learn the part.
ReplyDeleteI loved this article and agree with the approach taken to learning. Since we're discussing public speaking, I can recall I never did any form of it except for a play reenactment in the 10th grade on the Peloponnesian Wars, and then flash-forward to my senior project where I had to give a 20+ minute presentation without any prior experience with delivering a speech. Fortunately it wasn't that bad. However, now that I'm in college, even my gen ed classes have me giving a small presentation, usually. So I definitely think it's a good option for teachers to choose to have their students start getting acclimated to public speaking as it can benefit them in many paths they may consider in their life.
ReplyDelete"You may wonder about the ones who are nervous and shy, or do not want to do it."
ReplyDeleteI do indeed worry about this. Acting can be awkward, for any of us, and especially the age group that is our target audience. But it is also awkward for our age group, and we just witnessed a couple of student groups act out some linguistically adapted versions of Romeo and Juliet last week, and they were excellent. I think that the technique of calling volunteers up to initiate the activity - and inevitably those who are less shy will volunteer - will get us around this obstacle. Eventually, all of the students will be having a great time, and they will be less reluctant to come up and join in. I think, too, that your point about feeling more secure once you understood what you were doing is a sound one. Enacting Shakespeare should be an activity conducted after careful and thorough preparation, so that students feel in command of the material, and even those who are shy are comfortable enough with the material that they are not swallowed by fear. Too, the grading should reflect that some students are shy - as your article suggested. Students who are painfully shy may opt to play a small part, but their work behind the scenes, in preparation, may have been enormous.