Tale as old as time...

Beauty & the Beast...


Another one of my favourite lessons that really stood out to me, was one about Beauty and the Beast! This presentation was done by Christina, Vivian, Maria and Kelly. These four used the strategies of storyboard, graffiti, alter-ego and mirrors. The two that really stood out to me, which I think I could use in the future were alter-ego and mirrors.

STRATEGIES

Alter-Ego

In this strategy, students will work in pairs. One student will be the "role" and the other will be that roles' thoughts. One student will be expected to play out the action and the dialogue of the character, while the other student plays the alter-ego of that character - expressing their inner thoughts and feelings. Using the theme of Beauty and the Beast, one pair had to demonstrate Belle entering the West Wing (which is the Beast's 'secret area' of the castle - Bella had been forbidden to go there!). The partner who was the role had to act as Belle acted in this situation, she seemed speechless and tried to reason herself out of the situation by apologizing repeatedly to the Beast. On the other hand, the partner, who played the role of the alter-ego, who was Belle's thoughts, demonstrated the fear that really engulfed Belle's mind. The alter-ego said things like "Oh no! The Beast is so mad! What will I do.. He's so terrifying when he's mad like this. Quick, Belle, think think think.." or other comments like "Well, if he really didn't want me to be here, he shouldn't have told me about the forbidden West Wing - it's his own fault that I grew curious and wanted to explore this part of the castle!"

I think that this tool would be effective, again for Language (it's interesting, how connected drama and language really are!). This meets a lot of the language curriculum, especially regarding expectations like oral communication - understanding by connected oral texts to their own knowledge and experiences. By drawing off of their own ideas about what Belle would be feeling in this situation, the alter-ego was able to portray an accurate possibility of what Belle was thinking during this confrontation. Again, this strategy could be used when teaching life skills such as: bullying, self-regulation, leadership, responsibility and integrity. 

Mirroring

In this activity, students worked in pairs as well. One student had to do an action and their partner was expected to mirror them - to do exactly as the other. With my partner, we were to act as Belle, who was picking up the enchanted rose in the West Wing of the Beast's castle. My partner was Belle, and I was her mirror image - I had to copy her and to do exactly as she did, at the exact same time that she did it. It was not an easy task, but it was fun! It was a challenge to time your body movements so that they were perfectly in sync with another person! I really enjoyed this activity, though and thought that it was fun to see how partners worked together. Students got the chance to work on and develop a variety of skills including: leadership skills, following skills, right and left brain cross-processing and coordination through this activity.

Because it covered such a range of skills, mirroring can be used in a variety of subjects. I also think that this could be used at a wide range of age levels. Some may think mirroring would be too difficult for younger ages, but I would have to disagree! Young children primarily experience the world and learn from it, through their 5 senses and through interacting with their environment. Mirroring, while it does take a lot of coordination, it can be done (maybe less perfectly) by younger students as well as older ones! I also think this would be an extremely relevant tool in Phys Ed classes, specifically in the aspect of dance, as mirroring really has you connecting with and being aware of your body movements and timing.

Theory

The theory that was introduced in today's lesson was Blooms Taxonomy. This is a classification of different learning objectives that educators set for their students.

Starting at the top and working our way down, these are what the 6 learning strategies are:

Creating focuses on designing, inventing and reworking.

Evaluating focuses on deconstructing, comparing & contrasting and critiquing. 

Analyzing focuses on elaborating, making connections and infering.

Application focuses on writing, drawing or illustrating and presenting.

Understanding focuses on showing, describing and explaining.

Remembering focuses on retelling, sharing, listening, pointing out, labelling and being able to recall information.

Final Reflection...

I have truly learned a lot in few short weeks of drama. While I was extremely hesitant at first, and still quite reserved about getting involved, I learned that drama is a critical aspect of children's lives and that it is essential for the learning process. I look at the way I respond to drama and I think, wow - if I had the courage and if I was comfortable enough with myself, I would love to get involved just as much as the rest of the class is. I can't help but think, if drama had been an integral part of my educational experience as a child, then I am sure my response to it now would be very different. It saddens me to see just how timid I become around the word drama - I close up, hide in my shell and don't want to come out until it's over. It would absolutely break my heart to see my students respond to drama in this way in 10-15 years from now. I would wish, for their sake, that I could take them back in time and revamp their schooling experience by incorporating drama and dance into their daily life. I look at dancers and artists and I crave their creativity and their ability to express themselves through their body. I wish I could be more creative.
The saddest part, for me, is that I used to sing and dance. I danced for YEARS and I wish that I had never, ever stopped. I truly would love to reconnect with my artistic self - my ability to express through movements and through my body, without feeling as though I was being judged and that people were critically analysing my every move. 

Through this course, I have not only gained a huge inventory of dramatic strategies, and realized ways in which I could tweak them depending upon the grade level and group of students as well as curriculum... but I have also learned how crucial creative expression is in the learning process. Some students just cannot sit there and read or write. They need to DO! They want to BE. They want to LIVE by movement, through expression and by touching, speaking, seeing, smelling and tasting. Drama is a way for students to come alive!

I never thought I would say this, but, I actually have learned to love drama... So thank you.