Teaching strategy
This module will focus heavily on active learning. Few things are so discouraging, and contrary to the goal of instilling a love of learning in our students, than sitting at their desks and hearing someone talk at them about what they’re supposed to be learning. No matter how interesting or talented of a speaker you are, you’re bound to start losing attention after a certain amount of time. As an old professor of mine said, “the mind can only take in as much as the seat can take.” For this reason, this unit will largely focus on ways for students to engage directly with the material and act upon it. Examples will include reading first hand accounts from playwrights and actors, reading selections from various plays and other works, and analyzing manuscripts for clarity and meaning.
There are, however, going to be times in which a more lecturing style may be the most effective or efficient method of getting information across to students. In these situations, I encourage teachers using this module to practice a little theater of their own in their method of presentation. Remember that the larger part of history is “story”, and use that fact to your advantage. When dates must be mentioned for context or clarity, feel free to be general (Pre-Civil War, Post-war, During the depression, etc.) Rather than dates and timelines, focus on the people, performers, playwrights, and others from all races that have woven the tapestry of American theater into the vibrant thing it is today, often while fighting off significant resistance from both within and outside of their communities.
Comparative reading will be a useful skill to practice and develop for both teachers and students. In the context of this unit, several sections will call for it. Instructors should choose an excerpt passages from both texts, for example Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, or In the Heights and Raisin in the Sun, and have the students read both passages. Then, in small groups, they can discuss how the passages relate to one another. In some cases, ease of readability will be an obvious difference, but other texts may show differences in viewpoints on social issues and other details. This exercise is not one with hard and fast right answers, and instructors should encourage whatever comments students come up with, while also ensuring that certain aspects are mentioned as relevant to the lesson.
After the students have been introduced to the scripts, live readings are another useful activity. Students can, either onstage or from their seats, read from the scripts to personally engage with the material, which may lead to additional insights, or at least more personal engagement, with the texts. These are not intended to be directed or done in a particular way, but are primarily to encourage that engagement from the students. If possible, allow different students to read for each role, in order to start discussion about different ways one might play the same character, and the different motivations one can bring out based on the text and the relationships within it.
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