The unit begins with the game “To Tell the Truth.” This game allows students to share ideas with one another. It is necessary to open lines of communication and to alleviate anxiety. Both of these objectives can be met through this activity. In the game, three students are asked to tell a story about themselves. Only one of the three stories told is actually true. The students meet beforehand to decide which of them will speak the truth. Their task is to mislead the class into believing that one of the false stories is the truth. The class, after listening to the stories, is allowed to ask questions. Finally the class votes on which story they feel is true. The truth is then revealed. Students should be asked to give their reasons for choosing a particular story. What qualities seemed to make one story more believable than the others?
In a variation of this game, each student tells the same story. The story being told happened to only one of the three students. That student has given the details of the incident to the other two contestants before they begin. Each tries to convince the class that the incident being described actually happened to them. Once again, the class votes for the person they feel in telling the truth. Tone of voice, details, and sincerity should be discussed following the presentations. Why did students choose correctly or incorrectly? How did they judge?
The second activity within this section deals with the language of the students. Within any classroom it is soon obvious that a great deal of the vocabulary used by the students is indeed unique. “To Tell the Truth” allowed students to share personal stories with one another. In this activity students are asked to share phrases used in conversations with friends. Not only is what children say important, but equally important is the choice of vocabulary. Later in developing written drama the vocabulary compiled in this activity will be incorporated in the scripts. Recently, a high school in Raleigh, North Carolina developed a test based on the street language used by the students at the school. The test was administered to employees of the McGraw-Hill Co., who prepared standardized tests, and none of the eight employees who took the test scored higher than a “C.” The differences in language are worth exploring.
Students, in this activity, are asked to describe current phrases used by students in talking with one another. These metaphors, or figures of speech, are usually analogies which take a literal meaning of one object and transfer it to another to suggest a likeness. The term “Home boy” for example is currently used to describe a best friend. Certainly the relationship to the home and the security of a best friend are analogous. As each metaphorical phrase is given it should be listed on the blackboard. The meaning of each term should be stated as well. Children should be questioned as to the origin of each phrase. What is their significance?
Having now compiled a current vocabulary, the students will find that the use of improvisation will help to answer these questions. Improvisation is, in simple terms, a play without a script. While later in this unit, various scripts will be studied, it is for the time being better to improvise. Improvisation does not depend on memorizing lines and it is spontaneous. Opportunities for discussion and insight into the areas of importance for students are readily available through this technique. At first, topics for improvisation should be related to the current vocabulary developed in the previous activity. Three or four members of the class are asked to act out the origin or meaning of a particular phrase. The objective of each group in this activity is to use the phrase within a skit to show its meaning. The participants may agree to play themselves in these performances or they may decide to assume the role of someone else and change the setting. Stories or scripts may later be compiled in Section III to further highlight the student vocabulary and to serve as a theme for student writing within this unit.
From this point the teacher will introduce the idea of personal conflict. The following may serve as an example. Imagine one student, Rick, who is angry with his friend, Jerry, for using his bike without asking. The situation escalates until Jerry and Rick along with other students are involved in a locker room fight. Could the situation have been avoided? A series of steps can be used to help frame the scene and to show the progression in action which will be necessary later in the development of student situations. The following diagram is a part of the unit
Choices
:
A Unit on Conflict and Nuclear War
printed by the National Education Association in 1982.
(figure available in print form)
While assisting in setting up improvisational scenes, the steps point out the need to think before acting as a means of curbing escalation and seeking alternative choices. The terms negotiation and compromise may be introduced. What reactions were made at each step causing the situation to escalate to its eventual outcome? As a homework activity, students should be asked to describe a scene they would like to see performed. The use of steps will assist in helping to show the nature of the conflict and its eventual outcome. Once completed the writer will choose class members to play each role. No dialogue is necessary at this point although the best of these improvisations may later be used as a part of the student’s original work in Section III. At that time the student vocabulary developed earlier in this section will also be incorporated.
The final activity in Section I takes the unit in a different direction. Until now, the idea of a script has been non-existent. The emphasis has been on sharing experiences and on creating a positive atmosphere. Areas of concern for students have been discussed as well as student behavior and language. Students may feel that although they now feel comfortable in the area of improvisation they are in no way ready to write a script. To alleviate fears and to move into the study of existing drama the following group writing activity is proposed.
This activity is, in essence, another form of improvisation. The teacher may later find other uses for this activity, but initially its objectives are to have fun, begin to write, and to add new episodes in our continuing soap opera. Have the class select four characters at random. These characters should be familiar to everyone in the class. They may be fictional super heroes, famous characters in history, or members of the school community. Once having determined the characters, the class is divided into groups of four. Each group is told that they will, as a group, be developing a script to be performed before the other groups. What follows is a bit confusing at first, but will become much more familiar with practice. The results are worth the effort.
Each student is given a sheet of paper. On each sheet is written the following opening line.
_____ “Oh, no!”
_____“ ”
Each student on their own sheet of paper then selects the Character from the four agreed upon by the class to say the opening line. It is possible for each of the four students to select a different character for the opening since all of this is done without the other members of the group being aware of what is being written. After writing the opening line of dialogue, the student aids a second line and the name of the new speaker. The following is a sample of what one student might have written.
Wonder Woman
“Oh, no!”
Mickey Mouse
“Yes, we must close Disney World.”
Each group will now have four entirely different beginnings from which to expand. On a pass signal, after about one minute, the group members each pass their sheet to the person on their right. The group member receiving the new sheet now adds a third line of dialogue as well as the name of the new speaker. The pass signal is repeated and the scripts are once again passed to the right. The process continues for about fifteen minutes with the four scripts for each group continuing to pass from one group member to another. The group is writing four completely different scenes at the same time. Each scene is being written by the entire group and is completely independent of the other three scripts. Once a sufficient number of passes have been made the teacher should allow a definite number of final passes necessary for students to conclude each scene.
After the scenes are complete, group members are asked to read individually the four scripts and to grade each script from one to four with four being the highest. They should record the scores on the reverse side of the sheet and pass the scripts around until each member of the group has read and graded the four scripts. Students should not look at the grades others have recorded until they have determined the score they feel is fair. This is to avoid being influenced by others in the group. The script with the highest total score will then be performed by the group after a sufficient amount of time to rehearse. The group will decide who will play each role.
Looking at the scenes developed by each group offers the opportunity to discuss the components of a good scene. Why was one particular piece chosen for performance over the others? What were the strengths and weaknesses of each selection? Also, what question did each of the scripts address—what was the conflict? Was the conflict resolved? This type of an activity may be repeated with a different opening line and a different set of characters. It serves three very important functions. First, students are writing and do not feel threatened. Second, the finished products offer examples to study and from which to expand. Finally, it’s fun.
