Act One

Margaret Watson

Introduction

The Central School is an alternative school in the Red Clay Consolidated School District serving grades 6-12, where all students receive free lunch and, all are classified Special Education Students with Individual Educational Plans (IEP’S). The Central School is in a unique transition- and is a Special School devoted to only Spec. Ed. students. It is not even mentioned on the Delaware Department of Education website. Unfortunately, the school will be closing this year and all of the students will be transitioned out into their feeder patter schools in an all-inclusive setting. Beginning in the 2011–12 school years, Red Clay started a three year process of planning and preparing for a districtwide shift toward more inclusive education. That means opening up traditional schools to students who are currently limited to attending separate, special buildings just because they have disabilities or language needs.

Why inclusion? Red Clay Consolidated School Districts’ core belief is that all schools should have the capacity to deliver a full continuum of services to students with disabilities in addition to English language learners, and all students should have the option to attend schools close to home, with opportunities to learn and grow in inclusive settings alongside peers from their own neighborhoods. With this in mind, Red Clay Consolidated School District designed a plan that will not only bring the district in line with federal law and research-based best practices, but will also offer Red Clay students new options, more equitable access to the core curriculum, and a richer educational experience overall—all while continuing the same dedicated services and supports they are receiving now.

My students have great difficulty communicating socially, can’t read or comprehend text, and severely lack self-confidence. That being said, these students will all leave a protected environment with no skills necessary yet to be in their feeder pattern school.

I will be using drama to give my students an opportunity to engage in a dramatic enactment of a story which research has shown to improve their overall understanding of the story. Drama can also be an effective method to develop and improve the quality of children’s narrative writing. Dramatic arts activities promote growth in positive social skills, including self-confidence, self-control, conflict resolution, collaboration, empathy and social tolerance. Research evidence demonstrates these benefits apply to all students, not just the gifted and talented. Dramatic arts can play a key role in developing social

competencies among educationally or economically disadvantaged youth, who are at greatest risk of not successfully completing their education:

Background

I am a Reading Specialist at The Central School. I teach ELA and do intensive remediation and intervention in small groups. All of my students are exposed to the 6th, 7th and 8th grade curriculum with one ELA teacher. Later in the day, they receive instruction in my class on the same standards being addressed in their ELA class as well as reading instruction. The students I teach have varying abilities related to reading and comprehension. School wide reading diagnostic testing was done by me in May 2014. Out of 160 students enrolled, 152 students are reading at a 3rd grade level or below. Some are as low as Primer level.

Demographics

Red Clay Consolidated School District Data Comprehensive Schools vs. the Central School (Separate School)

The middle school’s average enrollment in the district is 578 students, and the High school average enrollment is 880 students, compared to Central’s School’s enrollment (middle school and high school) of 160 students. The Middle school’s average class size is 25+ students; the High school average class size is 28+, whereas Central School’s Average class size is 8 students. The Middle school’s average Spec Ed population is 10%, and the High school average Spec. Ed. population 14%, as compared to Central School’s 100% Special Education population. In the district, 60% of middle schools meet AYP, and 80% of the high schools meet AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). At the Central School, 0% of the students are meeting AYP. At the high school level, 47 AP courses are offered; Central School offers 0. The Central School has 0% AP honors classes and 0% extracurricular classes/activities.

Rationale

I fell in love with acting as a kindergartner and storytelling when I was 12 years old. In 6th grade I entered a story telling contest and won! That award made me feel like people “saw” me, I was recognized! I felt special, smart, and more confident in my abilities, motivated and proud. With this unit, I know I can give those feelings to my students. I want that badly for them!

While working as a Reading Specialist in the Appoquinomink School District three years ago, I taught a Talent Development Class called “Act I” where the students would perform and recite monologues of their choice in a “Wax Museum fashion” during our Talent Showcase. (Students would freeze, but come to life and perform when they were touched). Acting out stories and storytelling is one of the finest ways to get all students engaged and collaborating. I feel that by way of creating this curriculum unit, the students

that usually don’t engage with their peers will finally feel safe enough with the content to become more involved with the lesson! Without a reason of a doubt, I know that creating this curriculum unit will enable my students who usually don’t shine- to shine!

By employing the Delaware State Content Standards Listening and Speaking Standards, strategies will be used that encouraging comprehension, retention, expression and understanding of story literary elements such as tone and mood, authors purpose and reasoning, and inference. Students analyze dramatic works in the context of the culture, time and place in which they originated, compare and contrast different genres of theatre, etc. This will give rise to, and capitalize on the students strengths and elicit a smooth transition to improve another area of weakness: responding to text in written form.

I chose this focus area based upon the district initiative to move to an all-inclusive setting, we hope with this new model to improve student engagement and thus academic growth by incorporating inclusive instructional, collaborative and engaging strategies for all learners. Infusing some music, drama and some type of creative art into this curriculum unit and aligning it to the Common Core State Standards in conjunction with certain reading strategies and skills will allow me to help move my students closer to become ready to attend their neighborhood schools next year.

Unit Overview

The focus area for this curriculum is using inclusive instructional strategies to stimulate and foster self-expression and retention, comprehension, and reading/speaking/listening skills. By using a modality of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, students will use sensory learning to portray scenes, and students will improve and learn in ways that are identifiably distinctive. The broad spectrum of students - and perhaps society as a whole - would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a number of ways and learning could be assessed through a variety of means.i

As a special education teacher and Reading Specialist at The Central School, I have gotten used to many of my heterogeneous classes of kids. I have been taken aback by my classes that consisted of two 10th grade classes and one 6, 7, and one 8th, with mild to severe disabilities of various kinds. I had students with: emotional disturbance from broken homes, students with Dyslexia struggling to meet their curious needs, a student with ADHD so severe he could not stay inside the classroom, students on the Autism Spectrum, a student with mild Mental Retardation, and students with other severe learning disabilities. As children do not learn in the same way, they cannot be assessed in a uniform fashion. Therefore, it is important that a teacher create an "intelligence profiles" for each student. Knowing how each student learns will allow the teacher to properly assess the child's progress.ii

This vast variety of disabilities, backgrounds, and age not only affected my teaching and the students’ learning, but also affected the way they communicated with one

another. Students’ friendships are unstable in the classroom, and chemistry among peers is always changing. Bullies would get bullied, and then bully again; the vicious cycle of trying to build a positive classroom community at the beginning of each day and each week continued to stress me out.

According to IDEA, students with disabilities should have access to the general curriculum to the greatest extent possible. Instruction that promotes self-determination and self-directed learning has been found to promote students’ success in the general education curriculum. In addition, self-determination skills have been found to positively predict student engagement in the curriculum, and decrease competing behaviors.iii

Content

I chose to present my information to the students in a way that they will use their multiple intelligence strengths and understand the dramatic structure. By using the strategy of dramatic structure and employing Joseph Campbell’s theory and instructional strategies to stimulate and foster self-expression and retention, comprehension, and reading/speaking/listening skills. How does transformation of a character affect in a story affect a student? How do they internalize it? How can it help them to improve their own communication?iv

I would also like to explore the similarities of how Joseph Campbell wrote his analytical essay with the content of some fairy tales such as Cinderella. In seminar, we learned how Joseph Campbell’s characters were transformed at the end of each story. Specifically,

His mythical heroes begin their journey after a call to adventure, which always implies that the hero leaves the environment in which he or she grew up. The hero typically then faces a first obstacle in the journey, which once faced usually with the help of a mentor or spiritual guide, allows entry into a more spiritual world, generally represented by for example a dark forest, a desert, a cave or even a mysterious island etc. At this point the hero undergoes in this new environment a series of tests allowing one to surpass the mentor and finally reach the object of the quest, which often is a reconciliation of the father, a sacred union, or a grand finale, that symbolically represents a kind of liberation. The hero then returns home completely transformed by the experience of his initiatory journey. v

According to the “The Hero’s Journey”, there is a pattern of Joseph Campbell interpretations that appears in drama, storytelling, and myths. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and” achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.” vi

The stages of the contemporary model of Dramatic Structure and Joseph Campbell’s arrangement of his stories somewhat mimic each other. Joseph Campbell explains that there are many stages to his stories. The first stage is the “the ordinary world” the hero lives in. This is when the hero is introduced. Most notably, the hero feels out of place in his own environment. There is usually some type of divergence of his/hers life’s struggles pulling at the hero from different sides causing the hero even more distress. The second stage represents something that agitates whatever the situation is due to some kind of burden within the hero or outside stressors that begin to slowly transform the hero. The third stage is the fear of the mysterious catalyst; the hero’s first thought is to run away…briefly. The next stage is when the hero comes across someone who aids him with knowledge, guidance, or coaching that helps the hero on his journey. The fifth stage is when the hero crosses into the unknown world and is on the verge of becoming acquainted with the unknown. During next stage the hero is established and separates and identifies where his loyalties lie. During the sixth stage is when the hero’s strength is tested and assessed. After, the hero’s methodology is examined along with his approach to the unknown battle. Stage eight is at about the middle of the story where the hero faces his biggest obstacle, or even his own death. Out of this stage the hero takes ownership of his prize and can sometimes face his demise again. The tenth stage sees the hero on his way back to his other world with a sense of urgency usually coupled with another dangerous and anxiety provoking pursuit at his heels. Finally, at the pinnacle of the story, there is a rebirth; yet the hero is again put through more suffering and distress. At the end, the hero has finally arrived back to his world as a changed a changed and altered individual.vii

Campbell talks about stories and characters experiencing a dislocation. There are many correlations between fairytales and Joseph Campbell’s theories. In fairy tales, you get the same stories, however things are transformed, characters see themselves in a different way. i.e. a new you.

In Harold and the Purple Crayon, as we discussed in seminar, Harold goes to Mars and sees monsters. It’s a lot about these monsters and it is terrifying. This story and myths is how we wrestle with fundamental discord. Harold goes from self-absorption to self-possession giving the message in the story is that “you can do anything”. Even the story of Sir Isaac Newton shows that he was a heroic figure who hailed from a dysfunctional family and as well had a transformation.viii

In seminar we talked about how these same arguments, facts and themes are in so many stories, myths, and fairytales across culture and even in the Bible. The bible is filled with stories not particular to tradition; and we often see the same type of characters. These stories provoke our awareness of necessary order in the world. They explain how society is protected due to the

natural pecking order of the universe. So that society is ensured to learn these rules. Contemporary stories are embraced akin to spirituality and these stories resonate. For example, like Noah’s Ark. It goes across culture and across the world. Many different cultures have the same story with the same content. ix

Dramatic structure takes a story and, takes it across culture and elicits certain kinds of responses from children and adults. With myths and fables we can reinvent ourselves through these stories. As we talked about in seminar, stories such as Scrooge, Hunger Games and even The Lottery are different genres of stories, yet they fit the stages that Joseph Campbell discusses as well as the criteria of the Contemporary Model of Dramatic Structure.x

The structure of a story is the unfolding of conflict. In the introduction, the conflict of the text is introduced. The Inciting Incident is when you know the conflict is in action. The three is the stage of the Rising Action in which most of the play falls. It is constantly keeping the reader on edge wondering what will happen next. Followed by the Crisis of the story- it can’t possibly rise even more. Within the climax, this is the point the reader or viewer has been waiting for the whole time! And finally, there is the resolution which is the self-actualization of the story, the end.xi

As well as identifying the elements of a story, I want to extend that expectation further in my unit. I have three main goals in producing a unit on the cross-cultural aspect of Cinderella. First, I want to show how the concept of storytelling, whether it is in literature or films, is an art composed of basic elements. Second, I want students to be able to recognize the common attributes of a fairy tale. We will be using the Cinderella story as a means of accomplishing that. This will be a literature-based unit.xii

Third, and most importantly, I want to explore the influence of the particular country's culture on the story itself. I want students to appreciate the specific objects or mores that make each variant unique to that culture, while preserving the basic theme of the story.

I believe that my seventh and eighth graders will enjoy this unit. They love to read "sequels" to the books I read aloud in class like Bunnicula and the Chronicles of Narnia. They usually ask the school librarian if there is a "next book." So, they will have lots of different versions of Cinderella to read on their own. I would also like to extend the same story with writing and skills development.

Our anthology stories are designed to last one week. Since I will be using only one story for the entire week, this will provide that continuity.

Content

I have chosen to teach dramatic structure by using Cinderella cross culturally for my unit because it is an exceptional story that we want to experience over and over. I will be focusing on just three versions in my unit: the African Cinderella, the French Cinderella, and the Mexican Cinderella. I want to extend that expectation further in my unit. I have three main goals in producing a unit on the cross-cultural aspect of Cinderella. First, I want to show how the concept of storytelling and acting out the stories. Second, I want students to be able to recognize the common attributes of a fairy tale. We will be using the Cinderella story as a means of

accomplishing that. Third, and most importantly, I want to explore the influence of the particular country's culture on the story itself. I want students to appreciate the specific objects that make each variant unique to that culture, while preserving the basic theme of the story. Almost every culture seems to have its own version of Cinderella. Another benefit of using the Cinderella stories in my unit is that the stories and language of fairy tales are often easier to read than the require anthology. This makes students more enthusiastic about reading, which increases comprehension. Because I am using picture books with such wonderful illustrations, students are allowed to inspect illustrations and make meaning or connections with the text.xiii

The Mexican Cinderella

The storyline generally follows the traditional Cinderella where the mother dies at birth and soon after the father. Adelita is left with a wicked step-mother and two evil step-sisters. The one major difference is in the "magic" of the fairy god-mother - there isn't one. Instead of the magical fairy god-mother, there is a little old care-taker named Esperanza that shows Adelita where her mom's dress is so she can wear it to the fiesta and then takes her in her cart. There are no magical elements like a pumpkin turning into a carriage. In fact, Adelita makes a reference at the fiesta of being in disguise and calls herself "Cenicienta - or Cinderella" and in the end, Javier says "and just like Cenicienta and her Principe - Prince - we shall live...happily ever after-too!" These references make this story seem more believable.xiv

The French Cinderella

There was a gentleman who married a second wife. She was the proudest and haughty women that were ever seen. The wife had a former husband with 2 young daughters. Her daughters were everything like her. The man also had a wife with a young girl. The man's daughters were their maid and she had to sleep in the kitchen on a wretched straw bed. The girl was bore it all with patiently and dared not to tell her father. After she is done with work she would go to the chimney and sit down in cinder and ashes. So now her name is cinderwench for what she did. The younger sister was not rude and uncivil so she called her Cinderella. Cinderella was a hundred times more beautiful although they were dressed rich. The king's son gave ball and invited people that are all fashion. Cinderella had to iron her sister’s clothes and linen and pleated their ruffles. Her sisters talked all day of how they should get dressed. Cinderella wore a red velvet suit with a French trimming. Cinderella said that she is going to let the younger wear her usual petticoat. They sent the best hairdresser to do their hair from Mademoiselle da le poche. Her sisters consulted Cinderella in this matter therefore she had excellent ideas and her advice was good. She even offered her services to fix their hair which they willingly accepted. While she was doing that they said "Cinderella, would you not like to go to the ball?" Cinderella said "alas" then said "you jeer me; it is not far such as I am to go to such a place." Cinderella dressed her hair awry and she made them good and perfectly well. Her sisters were so excited that hadn’t eaten anything for over 2 days. As the step sisters and the mother went to the court Cinderewench watched until they were out of sight. A Godmother saw her tears and asked her what the matter is. She couldn’t speak she only mumbled. Then the God-mother said "You wish that you could go to the ball”. Cinderella said "Yes" .As the God-mother waved her wand Cinderella went to get the finest things. The God-mother poofed her wand and made a ride for cinderwench. After that her God-mother touched her wand and gave Cinderella a glass slipper with fine clothing. She promised her God-mother to be home by 12 sharp. Once she was there everyone was looking with blushing

eyes the king saw her himself. Prince charming led the lovely girl to an honorable seat. Cinderella went and sat with her sisters and showed them her jewels. As she was amusing her sisters she heard the clock strike 12 and she had to go in a rush. As she arrived she went to seek for her God-mother to say thanks. She was eagerly telling her God-mother everything. The next day the sisters were at the ball with Cinderella but dressed more magnificently. Once the clock stricken 12 again she jumped and ran but the prince followed. She left behind her glass slipper. The next day she bent down and wore the glass slipper it fitted her and was taken by the prince.xv

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

This story takes place in southern Africa (present-day Zimbabwe). A man named Mufaro had two beautiful daughters named Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara was very jealous of her sister's kind spirit. Despite the way she was treated, Nyasha tended to her little garden plot and worked hard. She was befriended by a little garden snake. Of course, Nyasha's father was oblivious to the way her sister treated her. One day a messenger came saying the king would choose a wife from the most worthy and beautiful girls in the village. The two sisters were supposed to travel to the city together, but greedy Manyara left the night before. On the way, a hungry boy appeared in the path, but Manyara would not share her food with him. Then, she came across an old woman who gave her advice. However, Manyara did not heed the advice and kept on going. Meanwhile, Nyasha and her wedding party traveled through the forest. When she saw the same hungry boy, Nyasha gave him the only food she had brought. When the old woman appeared, Nyasha was gracious and followed her directions. When the wedding party came into the beautiful city, they encountered Nyasha coming out in hysterics. She begged Nyasha not to enter the king's chamber because there was a monstrous snake there. However, Nyasha went in and found her own little garden snake, which changed into the king before her eyes. Because of her kindnesses, he made her his wife. Manyara became a servant in her sister's household.xvi

Dramatic Structure

What are the 6 parts of dramatic structure that are included in every version of Cinderella? We can break the stories all down and we recognize 6 basic parts of the traditional dramatic structure plot:

The Introduction

The Inciting Incident

The Rising Action

The Crisis

The Climax

The Resolutionxvii

The 6 parts include the inciting action and rising action which then promotes the ‘excitement’ or ‘tension’ section known as the Crisis. In all three of the versions of Cinderella, the dramatic structure is virtually the same. Here are the components of dramatic structure using the most popular American version.

Introduction: Once upon a time there was a girl. Mom was dead. Dad remarried. Dad died. Girl abused by stepmother and stepsisters. How sad.

Inciting Event: Then, one day the prince of the land decided to host a ball (perhaps seeking a wife?)

Rising Action (Complicating Events): An invitation came to the house… Cinderella could not go, she had no dress… Fairy Godmother… Nifty dress and pumps… Must be home by midnight…

The Crisis: She loses something important (Glass Slipper)

Climax: Cinderella goes to the ball, the prince falls in love, but she must flee (the glass slipper left behind).

Falling Action: The Prince is in love, but does not know who. Travels the kingdom seeking the mystery girl (using the glass slipper; whoever fits it is his love)

Resolution: Cinderella is called and the slipper fits! They get married and live happily ever after.

Objectives

With my students, a differentiated approach to curriculum and instruction makes learning more accessible for a diverse student body. Differentiation can take many forms in the classroom, as content, process and product are designed to offer multiple levels of learning for students. Students learn best when their school experiences reflect their personal interests and lived cultures .As student teachers complete formal needs assessments on our students, they also learn to gather as much information as possible on their students’ out-of-school lives upon which they build upon throughout the semester. Acquiring knowledge of students’ backgrounds and lived experiences is not only essential to teachers’ cultural competence but also to differentiating instruction.

A crucial aspect for ensuring success for our students with various learning differences was to find multiple, concrete ways for them to experience conceptual content as much as possible. I found that students could more easily understand concepts when we combined verbal/linguistic modes with more hands-on experiences utilizing one or more sensory functions. For example, an abstract concept might be presented verbally, visually, tactilely, kinesthetically, and even dramatically, while students could use any or all of these modes for responding and demonstrating their understanding of the concept. This method of teaching and learning, which builds on students’ strengths and employs multiple intelligences and learning styles, helps to motivate even the most challenged or resistant student.xviii

In one instance, my frustration with a group of my middle schoolers, constant restlessness during lessons compelled me to look to my teaching methods. Referring to I devised ways to channel and utilize students’ “hyper” energy through positive teaching

strategies. I incorporated more kinesthetic experiences into lessons as we explored the essential question: What are methods we can employ to help students use their own bodies and kinesthetic sense as conduits to cognition?

Kinesthetic, multisensory ways of experiencing instruction make learning more stimulating and enjoyable for all, but may be particularly effective in addressing the special learning needs of diverse students.xix

Cultural Influence

How much does the culture of a place influence a story from that place? The storyteller, or author, gives us a snapshot of the food, festivals, clothing, and traditions of the area. Because there are so many different versions of Cinderella from around the world, we are privy to those cultures through the story. For example, in The Persian Cinderella we find that the women and girls are confined to a certain section of the house. They also have to cover their faces when they go out to shop so strangers cannot look at them. In Yeh-Shen we learn that some people of southern China used to live in caves. Also, there was a spring festival during the T'ang dynasty where young people socialized in preparation for marrying. In Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters we are told that a king in southern Africa would send word to villages for girls to appear before him so he could choose a wife. We also learn that yams were eaten in that part of Africa.

Students will

Identify the elements of a story, analyze settings and dramatic structure in myths and traditional folktales and provide text evidence, make inference, draw conclusions about the structure and elements of drama (plot, character) presented through dialogue in scripts that are read, viewed, written, or performed.

Explore the influence of the particular country's culture on the story itself.

Paraphrase the themes and details of fables, legends, myths, or stories.

Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose supported with text evidence by choral reading to develop fluency, differentiate between the readings of statements and questions, practice phrasing, pacing, reading dialogue, and to show how a characters emotion is captured through voice stress and intonation.

Orally read to build fluency and increase competency and confidence when presenting to a group; and rehearse to recall and recite assigned lines for a theater piece.

Enduring understanding:

Students will understand that:

By comparing and contrasting fables analyzing theme, setting and plot from Fables, Folktales, and Myths will this increase their understanding of the stories?

By retelling fables, folktales and myths it will help us to pass down the stories of different cultures, and we can connect the author’s message, lesson or moral to our own lives, and sometimes we have to notice the key details in order to figure out the author’s message.

By comparing and contrasting fables analyzing theme, setting and plot from Fables, Folktales, and Myths, thus will increase their understanding of the stories.

By retelling fables, folktales and myths it will help us to pass down the stories of different cultures, and we can connect the author’s message, lesson or moral to our own lives, and sometimes we have to notice the key details in order to figure out the author’s messages.

Essential questions:

How can you determine the central message, lesson, or moral of a literary text?

How does the use of drama help us to better understand ourselves and others?

How are the mind, body, and voice used to communicate character?

Strategiesxx

“Drama strategies - also known as drama techniques or drama conventions - are the everyday tools of the drama teacher. They help to develop enquiry skills, to encourage negotiation, understanding and creativity. They can enhance performance skills such as character development and storytelling and be used across the curriculum to actively involve students in their own learning.”xxi

Role on the Wall

The outline of a body is drawn on a large sheet of paper, which is later stuck onto the wall. This can be done by carefully drawing around one of the participants. Words or phrases describing the character are then written directly onto the drawing or stuck on with post-its. This drama technique can be carried out as a group activity or by individuals writing about their own character. You can include known facts such as physical appearance, age, gender, location and occupation, as well as subjective ideas such as likes/dislikes, friends/enemies, attitudes, motivations, secrets and dreams. You can vary the approach, for example known facts can be written around the silhouette, and thoughts and feelings inside. Key lines spoken by the character can be added. The class can return to add more ideas, thoughts and feelings as they discover more about the character over time. Role on the wall can be used as a way to develop ideas for improvisation or rehearsal. The approach can be used for historical characters too.

Flashbacks and Flash Forwards

Performers in a scene are asked to improvise scenes which take place seconds, minutes, days or years before or after a dramatic moment. This enables the exploration of characters' backgrounds, motivations and the consequences of their actions.

The method can be used to quickly bring depth to activities involving still images or improvised drama. Adding Flashbacks or Flash Forwards creates a context – it shows what led up to a particular moment, how it might be resolved or how it may lead onto additional challenges. The technique helps to flesh out a dramatic moment or create the beginnings of a story.

With a group that has created a still image, explain that when you clap your hands, you would like them to move silently in slow-motion to where their character was a few moments before. When they are frozen still in the new image, you can use thought-tracking to explore character motivation.

Now ask them to move back to their original image - which is the present moment. Then you can use Flash Forwards - participants move in slow-motion to indicate where their characters might be a short time after this moment. In this way you have created an episode with a beginning, middle and end and can develop it in any number of ways.

Hot Seating

A character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation. The method may be used for developing a role in the drama lesson or rehearsals, or analysing a play post-performance. Even done without preparation, it is a great way of fleshing out a character. Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or small groups. The technique is additionally useful for developing questioning skills with the rest of the group.

The traditional approach is for the student playing the character to sit on a chair in front of the group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characters may be hot-seated in pairs or groups. It is helpful if the teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions. To help students begin you can try hot-seating children in pairs (e.g. a pair of street urchins) or in groups (e.g. environmental protesters, refugees).

If the background of the character is familiar to the pupils, then it may not be necessary for those playing the characters to do much preparation. It will be a surprise at how much detail students can add from their own imaginations. It is important that the rest of the group are primed to ask pertinent questions. Don’t get bogged down in facts during hot seating, but concentrate on personal feelings and observations instead.

Examples: Characters to hot seat include fairy tale characters like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.

Soundscape

The leader or one member of the group acts as conductor, whilst the rest of the group is the 'orchestra'. Using their voices (and body percussion if appropriate!), the group paints a soundscape of a particular theme or mood, for example the seaside, a city, a jungle. The leader can control the shape of the piece by raising her hand to increase the volume or bringing it to touch the floor for silence.

Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the simplest and perhaps most compelling forms of dramatic and imaginative activity. A good place to start is by telling stories to your pupils and encouraging them to share stories with one another. All of us can become engaging storytellers with a little practice. There may also be members of staff who are particularly skilled at telling stories, or you could invite a professional storyteller (such as Hugh Lupton in the video below) into the school. Listen to each other, watch videos of storytelling and encourage the children to identify techniques they could use in their own stories.

Open and Close

This is a simple and effective way for using still images to tell a story. It also mimics the technique of blackouts on stage - with no technical equipment required! Divide the class into small groups and give them the task of telling a story using a specific number of still images - between three and five images is a good number. Now they must work out the story and practice moving from image to image. When the time comes for sharing the work, the teacher, or one person in each group, should take responsibility for saying 'Open' and 'Close'.

The audience should close their eyes while the first group gets into position. When the group has its first image ready, the designated person says 'Open'. The audience opens their eyes for a few moments and look at the scene. Now the same person says 'Close' and the audience close their eyes again. Quickly, the group moves into the second position and the audience are asked to open their eyes when the group is ready. The process is repeated until all the still images have been shown. The technique has a similar effect to watching a series of photographs or a flickering film.

Forum Theatre

During the scene any member of the audience ('spect-actor') is allowed to shout 'Stop!’ step forward and take the place of one of the characters, showing how they could change the situation to enable a different outcome. Several alternatives may be explored by

different spect-actors. The other actors remain in character, improvising their responses. A facilitator (Joker) is necessary to enable communication between the players and the audience.

The strategy breaks through the barrier between the students, putting them on an equal footing. It enables participants to try out courses of action which could be applicable to their everyday lives.

Teacher in Role

Teacher in role (TiR) is an invaluable technique for shaping the dramatic process. Simply put, the teacher assumes a role in relation to the pupils. This may be as a leader, a peer, or a subservient role - whatever is useful in the development of the lesson. The teacher may ask questions of the students, perhaps putting them into role as members of a specific group and encouraging them to hot-seat her in return.

Teacher in Role does not require great acting skills. A role can be adopted quite simply to communicate the key attitudes and emotions of a particular character. A token piece of costume, a hand prop or special chair can be useful to denote when the teacher steps into and out of role.

If you are unsure how to begin, try hot-seating first. This will give you valuable experience of assuming a role in relation to the students and responding to their comments and questions. You can progress to teacher in role by encouraging the students to participate and becoming more active as the character. Reply to their questions as though they are also in role and encourage them to become involved in occupational mime activities.

Introduce Reciprocal Teaching

Students can also be asked to help each other understand text. Some teachers ask learners to engage in “reciprocal teaching” Reciprocal teaching is essentially a dialogue that takes place between teachers and students. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue.xxii

Once students are comfortable with the strategies, they are invited to become “the teacher” and conduct reciprocal teaching dialogues with new material. At this point the teacher’s role shifts from providing direct instruction to facilitating student interaction, monitoring progress, and providing feedback. As students become more skilled with the strategy, they can work in pairs or small groups to coach one another, ask questions, summarize, predict, clarify, and think aloud about what they are reading.

All students, but particularly those with learning disabilities may need to see this strategy modeled more than once. Since students with L.D are typically quite visual, the

teacher may consider taking a video of a reciprocal teaching lesson and sending the clip home for viewing.

Graphic Organizers to Teach Drama

Reciprocal Notes are when a student uses the note-taking page which prompts students to think about a text or topic first at the surface level, then at a deeper level; students are also prompted to use evidence to support their interpretations.

Summary Notes

A note-taking page to summarize a reading with before, during, and after reading reminders listed in the left-hand margin.

Text Connections

A graphic organizer (3 pages) that helps students make text-to-self, text-to-world, and world-to-self connections to think deeply about an essential question (includes a direction page).

Text Response Journal Entries

A two journal entry pages that prompt students to make connections between specific textual references and their own ideas/experience.

Venn diagram (2-way)

A traditional two-way Venn diagram with space for synthesizing conclusions, making connections, or posing questions.

Venn diagram (3-way)

A traditional three-way Venn diagram to compare and contrast three ideas, characters, events, etc.

Vocabulary Squares

A graphic organizer that can be used to help students understand important vocabulary words or concepts, including space for the etymology of the word, antonyms and synonyms, the definition, a symbolic representation of the word, and space for using it in a sentence.

Checking out the Framework

This strategy provides students with suggestions for previewing texts of different genre in order to read strategically based on their purposes for reading the text.

Inferential Reading

The inferential reading strategy provides a list of the various types of inferences that readers make while reading even seemingly straightforward text; recognizing that there are different types of inferences helps students to analyze text more consciously and strategically.

Vocabulary

Drama activities that promote vocabulary development vary The benefits of drama in language teaching are as follows, the acquisition of meaningful, fluent interaction in the target language; the assimilation of a whole range of pronunciation and prosodic features in a fully contextualized and interactional manner; the fully contextualized acquisition of new vocabulary and structure; an improved sense of confidence in the student in his or her ability to learn the target language.xxiii

Drama puts the teacher in the role of supporter in the learning process and the students can take more responsibility for their own learning. Ideally, the teacher will take a less dominant role in the language class and let the students explore the language activities. In the student centered classroom, every student is a potential teacher for the group.xxiv Drama for second language learners can provide an opportunity to develop the imagination of the students. The students can go beyond the here and now and even 'walk in the shoes' of another. It provides an opportunity for independent thinking Students are encouraged to express their own ideas and contribute to the whole. Creative drama will offer exercises in critical thinking and the chance for the students to be creative. A good example of this is role-plays in small groups The ESL/EFL group will have many situations where they can develop their own ideas as well as skills of cooperation when interacting with classmates. The group work builds social awareness and understanding as we walk in the 'shoes of another'. Drama gives an excellent method for studying human nature and working in harmony.

"Creating a memorable event" is recommended when introducing new vocabulary. There are several activities to activate. For instance, while children are getting ready for the class, teachers might say, "Ok, it's time to do some work. Take your cat, rock your desk, and start to write about the trees on the ceiling." Students are likely to respond with "what?" or "that doesn't make any sense." Teachers can continue this "game" until everybody pays attention and looks puzzled. Teachers then respond with "I'm sorry. I am being incoherent. So, what do you think incoherent means?" xxv

To reinforce and extend comprehension, I can read students stories that contain the new vocabulary words. I can also ask students to act out the corresponding action or have them draw a word card out of the new vocabulary box, and act out the definition for other children to guess. For older children, teachers can ask them to create a skit illustrating the

meaning of a vocabulary term. Teachers should help students to understand vocabulary in the context of literature by providing relevant literature pieces. I can also list several new vocabulary items and have students write short stories using them.xxvi

Classroom Activities

Cinderella stories and graphic organizers help students with their reading, comprehension, and oral presentation skills. Graphic Organizers are used in this lesson to help students to organize information from books that are read, and facts that are learned. Graphic Organizers are a good way to help students participate visually and orally. As students advance in their learning they are able to use graphic organizers on their own, as well as with a group to show their knowledge and understanding of information. Graphic Organizers are also a great way to help integrate the arts with other subjects by using reading and writing to understand content area topics.

Lesson 1: Cinderella – France

Anticipatory Set: Show students the book: The Three Little Pigs by James Christensen or some other picture from a book cover that shows people reading. Talk about what they notice in the picture. What does it look like the people and animals in the picture are doing? They are listening to a tale. Another name for a story is a tale. This picture is showing people, some real and some pretend, listening to a tale. People all over the world like to listen to stories and there are lots of different stories, but every story has four important parts: character, setting, problem, and resolution. Refer students to the Story Elements Graphic Organizer that you will be using later in the lesson. Teach students the following chant:

Who were the characters (put your hands by your face as you move your head from side to side)? What was the setting (Hands above your head like you are making the roof of a house)? What was the problem (Make two fists, like you are ready to fight)? What’s the resolution or how was the problem solved (whisper to your neighbor with your hand on their shoulder)?

Objectives: Students will listen and respond to the story Cinderella by Charles Perrault. Students will be able to locate France on the world map. The students will be able to identify the characters, setting, and plot of the story. The students will create a story map showing the characters, setting, and the plot.

Materials: Cinderella by Charles Perrault, A story map best suited for your students showing characters, setting, and plot.

Procedure: Introduce the story Cinderella told by Charles Perrault. Tell the children this story was written in France more than 300 years ago and takes place in France. Together find France on a world map. Activate any knowledge of France with students by using photographs and discussing famous French landmarks such as the Eiffel tower

and/or French foods such as croissants. Then read the story aloud to the children. After reading the story Cinderella told by Charles Perrault. Ask the students several questions about the story. Some questions you might ask are: Who are the main characters? What kind of person was Cinderella? What problem did she face? How was it solved? How did her godmother help? How did the Prince find Cinderella? Then have the students complete a story map for Cinderella told by Charles Perrault. The map should show the characters, setting, and plot.xxvii

Lesson 2 Cinderella – Africa

Anticipatory set: Build Background Write this question on a large poster pad: What is beauty? Call on volunteers to share their conceptions of beauty. Make a list of students' ideas. Explain that the book students will read is titled Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. Ask students to note how beauty is treated in this story.

Preview the Cover Hold up the book so both the front and back covers are visible. Tell students that the covers show Mufaro's two daughters. Ask students to study the illustrations and then comment on the girls. Ask: What is each one doing? What expressions do they have on their faces? What preliminary conclusions might students make about the girls from these pictures?

Locate the Setting on a globe or world map, help students locate Africa. Tell students that the story comes from an African country called Zimbabwe. Have a volunteer find Zimbabwe. Then locate the city of Nyanda. Explain that the story takes place just south of Nyanda in and near the walled city of Great Zimbabwe. Explain that the modern nation is named after this ancient city.

Objectives: The students will be able to listen and respond to the story Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale written and illustrated by John Steptoe. The students will be able to locate Africa on the world map. The students will be able to make predictions. The students will be able to identify the characters, setting, and plot in the story. The students will create a story map to show the characters, setting, and plot.

Materials: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe A story map best suited for your students showing characters, setting, and plot.

Procedure: Introduce the story Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale written and illustrated by John Steptoe. Tell the children this story is an African tale that takes place in an African rainforest. Together find Africa on a world map. Explain to the students that this version of Cinderella is a little different than the others. For example it takes place in an African rainforest. Show the students pictures of Africa, specifically of African rainforests. Ask the students how to predict what this version of Cinderella might be like. Then read the story aloud to the children. Confirm any accurate predictions made.

Stop throughout the reading for students to point out similarities and/or differences from the previously read versions of Cinderella.

Lesson 3- The Mexican Cinderellaxxviii

Anticipatory set: Review the elements of a fairy tale. Listen to variants of Cinderella Stories from other cultures around the world

Materials: "Adelita, A Mexican Cinderella Story." Tomie de Pao, Paper, pencils, crayons or markers.

Pre-read: Questions to tap prior knowledge. Before reading, utilize a KWL chart with the class: - K = What you know, W= What you want to know L=What you might learn (Done on big board with whole class) Discuss the setting of the Cinderella story takes place

Procedures: Pre-read a different fairy tale and ask questions to tap prior knowledge of the genre, and then introduce book, author and title, along with the illustrator. You will then read aloud to students

Activities: Guided Practice/Literary Skills – Post reading: Identify Characters in the story describe them and their relationship to each other. Then whole group sequence events in the story when the reading is done and use a folded piece of paper for a visual of the sequencing. Point out to students the transition words like: First, next, and last.

Introduce Concept Vocabulary (What does this word mean or imply?) As students read identify key vocabulary words and use a Freyer model for the more difficult to understand words.

Explain text structure and identify that Cinderella is a Problem/Solutions structure. Identify the problem, and tell how it was solved

Independent Practice and/or Teacher Led: Over the course of these reading of the various Cinderella stories one of the activities below will be used to reinforce reading, writing, and understanding skills and practice.

(1) Story Board - Students will create a storyboard with teacher led questions recorded on chart paper to reinforce objectives.

Literary Elements: Who were the characters in this story? Sequencing the story, using (or sheet of paper folded in three) Beginning – Middle – End - with an illustration for each and a name, word or sentence to describe each illustration.

Word Webs – Teacher led at board or chart paper, teacher creates a web of characters or events in the story. Then, illustrate and name your favorite character in the story.

Recalling Characters in the story: Three fold – Each student uses a sheet of paper, folds it in three, and on each panel they illustrate a character in the story, writing the name for each one.

Picture Word Writing: Distribute the picture to the students. Ask students to examine the picture individually for a few minutes, jotting down on a piece of scratch paper or in their writer's notebooks any features or details that they notice. Consulting their notes as necessary, students brainstorm about the possible events and characters this picture illustrates. As students share their ideas, place the words or phrases under headings such as Character, Setting, Situation, and Vocabulary (see example). This is especially helpful for nonnative speakers, who may need help with vocabulary and spelling. Of course, this step may be only oral for native speakers.

Ask students to write from one character's point of view. They may write about the character's feelings and thoughts, tell the story that leads up to the picture, or narrate the events that follow. Encourage students not only to describe the picture but to invent an original story related to the event illustrated

Lesson 4- Readers Theatre

Anticipatory set: Introduce students to another version of the Cinderella story with Readers Theatre

Objectives: Readers Theatre is a highly motivational strategy that connects oral reading, literature, and drama in the classroom. Using only their voices, facial expressions, and bodies, they interpret the emotions, beliefs, attitudes, and motives of the characters. A narrator conveys the story’s setting and action and provides the commentary necessary for transition between scenes.

Procedure: Distribute a copy of the script to each student. Read the title of the script and its author together with the students. Encourage students to make predictions about the story, characters, etc. Read the script aloud to the students as they follow along. Ask for feedback: How did you like the story? Did this story remind you of another story? What about our predictions? With student input, generate a list of vocabulary words from the script. Write the words on the board or on large sheets of paper, and keep the list posted for the duration of the project. Refer to the list daily, focusing on the words’ pronunciation and meaning.

Divide the class into pairs. Assign a number of pages to be read -- longer scripts can be divided into several parts -- and a time limit for paired reading. Students should take turns reading every other entry in the script; this ensures that they will all have the same amount of material to read. Pairs can reread the pages again if they finish before the end of the assigned reading time.

While the students are reading the script, circulate among them to offer assistance in the correct pronunciation of words, reading with feeling and emotion, and reading at an appropriate rate and volume. Close the session by doing a group read-around of the script or by assigning roles and having students perform a segment of the script. Continue the paired reading and circulating and modeling, until the entire script has been read by all students. Once the students become familiar with the script, they can begin working in groups of three or four, with each group member reading an assigned role or roles.

The element of drama enables students to realize that reading is an activity that permits experimentation -- they can try reading words in different ways to produce different meanings. Using volume, pitch, stress, and intonation, readers delve into the Readers Theatre text, making printed words come alive and giving their characters life. As they practice their roles, readers are also given the opportunity to reflect on the text and to evaluate and revise how they interact with it

Appendix A

Delaware’s Common Core State Standards

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

The goal of using this standard is so that through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students will gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades. Students also acquire the habits of reading independently and closely, which are essential to their future success.

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

My students will retell and summarize familiar stories, including key details to demonstrate understanding of their central message or lessons while recounting stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures. This standard will help my students

to determine the story’s central message, lesson, or moral and to identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.6 Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

By describing the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action; my students will be able to explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types. Students will learn to acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.xxix

Notes

____________________________

Annotated Bibliography

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Accessed November 17, 2014. http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp." 3. McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K–12 Education Addresses 14 Content Areas.

A.S, Palinscar. Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-fostering and Comprehension-monitoring Activities. Vol. 1. 1, 117-175.

Alber, S. R., and C. R. Foil. "Drama Activities That Promote And Extend Your Students' Vocabulary Proficiency." Intervention in School and Clinic 39 (2003): 22-29.

"Conscience Alley." Drama Strategies. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://dramaresource.com/strategies.

DePaola, Tomie. Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2002.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)." Http://www.apa.org. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/disability/idea.aspx.

Lesson Plan Library. Listening and Speaking Strategies. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/listening-and-speaking-strategies.cfm.

Milord, S. (1999). Hands Around The World: 365 Creative Ways to Build Cultural Awareness and Global Respect. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens.

McClintock, Barbara, and Charles Perrault. Cinderella. New York: Scholastic Press, 2005.

Palinscar, Annemarie Sullivan. Reciprocal Teaching Working within the Zone of Proximal Development. Alexandria, Va.: ERIC Reports, 1984.

Perrault, Charles, and Marcia Brown. Cinderella, Or, The Little Glass Slipper. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1954.

Perrault, Charles, and Michael Hague. Cinderella, and Other Tales from Perrault. New York: H. Holt, 1989.

Reidel, Leslie "The essays of Joseph Campbell." Lecture, from University of Delaware, Newark, DE., May 15, 2014.

Saxon, Wolfgang , Joseph Campbell Biography." Http://www.egs.edu/library/. Accessed November 18, 2014. http://www.egs.edu/library/joseph-campbell/biography.

Seven Ways of Teaching: The Artistry of Teaching with Multiple Intelligences." ERIC ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 382, no. 374.

Steptoe, John, John Steptoe, and Lee Lothrop. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1987.

Teaching Reading in Mathematics,: Second Edition A Supplement to Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who?(Brief Article)(Book Review)." Teaching Children Mathematics, March 1, 2004.

The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (1990). editor Phil Cousineau. Harper & Row 1991 paperback: ISBN 0-06-250171-2. Element Books 1999

The Heroes Journey." Campbell. Accessed November 9, 2014. http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) by Joseph Campbell(Jul 28, 2008)

Wessels, Charlyn. Drama. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.