Secondary Student Teaching
Ages Served: 6th-8th Grade
Location: Upper East Side, Manhattan
Organizational/School Mission: “Live to Learn. Dare to Care”
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Facilities and Materials for Learning:
- Smart board with laptop connection
- Chairs arranged around the edges of the room
- Seating charts to avoid disruption/talking between friends
- Cubes used for various set needs in scenes
GOTE Character Analysis for Scene Study Unit
In this character analysis unit, students got the chance to dive deeper into the characters for their larger scene study unit. We focused on learning about our character's goals, obstacles, tactics and expectations all while connecting it to our body and our voice.
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I did the same unit for both seventh and eighth grade classes but adjusted based on the class and the level. Below you will see powerpoint presentations for both along with some of the student work done throughout the unit.
7th Grade GOTE Character Analysis
Each lesson consisted of a writing warm-up, a video connecting to the lesson with discussion, a physical activity, and then a chance to work with their scene partners to fill out their worksheet and rehearse some of their ideas. The goal of this unit was to create connection between our body and voice when analyzing characters for a scene.
Diagnostic Assessment
Students started each lesson with two sticky notes. They were instructed to write a goal for themselves on one sticky note, and a goal for their character on the other sticky note. For lesson 2 we did the same for obstacles, lesson 3 for tactics and lesson 4 for expectations. We then discussed similarities and differences we found between ourselves and our characters.
Formative Assessment
For each lesson, students worked with their scene partner to add on to their GOTE worksheet. The purpose of this worksheet was part a check for understanding but also a chance for students to write down ideas for their character's body language and vocal expression as it connects to their goals, obstacles, tactics and expectations.
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Additionally, throughout each lesson, students participated in discussion in the form of "turn and talk" and large group discussion as well as a dramatic activity to further their understanding of the concepts being taught.
Summative Assessment
To end the unit, students performed their scenes and then watched them back to complete a self assessment. Students were asked to assess themselves on what they felt they did well, what they would like to improve on and any discoveries made about their character in body language, vocal expression and overall. I found that throughout the unit students became more confident in using their body and voice during performance and gradually used the vocabulary I introduced to them while completing their worksheets and self assessments.
8th Grade GOTE Character Analysis
The 8th grade classes had a very similar structure to 7th grade with a couple changes.
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For the diagnostic assessment, instead of giving them sticky notes to write individually, I had them work in small groups so they had a chance to discuss their goals, obstacles, tactics and expectations. I felt as though the 8th grade classes would find discussion in small groups more meaningful than the 7th grade.
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Additionally, I added a different physical activity for them for lesson 3 that allowed them to explore and dive deeper into their character's vocal expression.
Stand Alone Lesson: Pantomime
This was a stand alone lesson I created which was done during the 7th grade superhero monologue unit. In this unit, students create their own superhero character starting with a backstory and eventually writing a monologue to perform. For this lesson, the students reviewed pantomime and were asked to create a short pantomime of their monologue character's backstory.