Incorporating Drama as a Teaching and Learning Strategy
AnaMaria Correa Arts & Education Coordinator, Henry St. Settlement


Overview

Drama and theater are fun tools that teachers can use to reinforce lessons by helping students put themselves into the shoes of historical actors. In this case, we designed the warm-up to simulate the atmosphere of Jim Crow by having teachers experience discrimination first hand for a unit on Civil Rights.

 

Suggested time frame- 4-5 class periods.

A. Warm-up Strategy. "The World in the Classroom: Discrimination and Discomfort"
An effective way to warm up and engage students in the world they are about to study is to conduct an exercise that causes them to physically experience a condition, a rule, or a feeling that represents the target historical period. A 10-15 minute exercise that engages students viscerally is a powerful tool in providing students a point of departure and preparing them to learn.

Issue students a number that corresponds to a particular table.

At each table, establish a condition that members of the table must adhere to. We used the following: males at this table must sit on the floor; people with black tops may not speak; people with glasses or contacts may not eat (Hershey's Kisses were on this table); married people must sit with their hands under the table; if your shoe size is larger than a size 8 please remain standing.

After a few minutes, ask participants to write down what they felt and to share their responses.

Workshop: "The Talk Show"
The talk show format provides an opportunity for students to learn and synthesize information about a historical topic, and to construct and articulate reasoned arguments.

Divide into four groups.
a) Have each group work with a particular packet of information you have given them on one topic, e.g.
housing, jobs, equal education, bulk garbage pick-up, sit-ins, and protest organizing.
b) Groups distill from the information packets a minimum of five facts for their guest expert to discuss on the show. Teams choose photos and other previously presented visual aids as "clips" to augment their talk show appearance.
c) Groups choose one team member to serve as the guest expert on the talk show and decide on the
character the expert will play. Experts might be types of people (e.g. lawyer, community leader, policeman) or they might be specific historical characters who emerge from the resource material. Experts are then primed for the show by their fellow team members.
d) Define in advance some method for choosing one talk show host, and depending on the scale of your role-play, other production roles as well. For example, a production manager can oversee production staff, organize the set (placement of chairs), indicate commercial breaks (…and now a word from our sponsor), introduce news flashes, and control the timing of the show. Other roles might include commercial and news flash announcers, technical crew, etc.
e) Students can be given a list of Production Rules which might include, for example, no inappropriate
language, no physical violence, and no inappropriate subject matter. Other pertinent rules, given the
particular exercise, could also be included here.
f) Convene the talk show. Remaining team members arrange themselves as the talk show audience. The talk show proceeds, with the host moderating expert discussion and inviting questions from the audience.
g) Following the talk show, conduct a reflection session.