Reflection

This close-reading lesson centers around students analyzing Chapter 15, “Who The Hell Are These Guys?” of the memoir It’s Always Loud In The Balcony: A Life in Black Theater, from Harlem to Hollywood and Back by Richard Wesley.

Students will use sentence starters to set goals and expectations for their time in class. What do they expect to learn? What do they expect from their classmates? What is the purpose of drama class? Have students fill out an expectations and goals form at the beginning of the year and you can use it to compare and contrast their work at the end of the year.

Students will use sentence starters to self-assess and reflect on what they’ve done in drama class over the past year. What was their favourite unit? How do they compare their skills now to the beginning of the year? What were their personal goals for the class and how did they achieve them?

The objective of this lesson is for your current students to reflect upon their experiences and new knowledge at the end of a school/class production. Then they will use that information to create a useful document for future drama students, such as a “drama transition manual” or a “what to expect during your production” document.

Learning to deal with rejection and turn rejection into a positive motivator is a lifelong skill. In this multi-class lesson, students will reflect on and discuss their views on rejection, theatricalize that view through movement, research someone who has found success only after rejection and failure, and theatricalize that information.

Students will read, annotate, and reflect on an article about the Black Arts Movement. By participating in the annotation exercise, students will obtain background knowledge which will lead to a mini research project and presentation.

Writing a play review is an excellent way for students to apply critical thinking skills. A review is a subjective but educated response to a play. The reviewer gives an opinion and supports it with thoughtful analysis. What are the parts of a well
written review? What should a student do before, during, and after a performance?

The culminating exercise involves students writing a review of a show. Use this lesson as a precursor to students seeing a performance (i.e. a school production, a community play, or a touring show).

A review is a subjective but educated response. The reviewer gives an opinion, then supports it with thoughtful analysis.

Students will examine existing reviews, identify the elements of a review, compare and contrast reviews, and practice supporting their opinions (i.e. not just “I like this” or “I don’t like that,” but explain the “why” behind their response).