Milestones
Grade 1
English- 1st graders should be able to ask questions and provide answers when asked a question. They should be able to listen to a simple book while sitting and listening. If asked, they should be able to point to words they know and say them out loud, and be able to start to sound out words they don't know. They should be able to make up spellings of words they understand. They should also be able to verbally tell a story about their day.
In Grade by Grade Learning from PBS.com it states "First grade is traditionally thought of as the level where children learn to read. Not all children become fluent readers by the end of the first grade, but most take their first solid steps toward fluid reading." Scholastic.com's article Guide To First Grade says " More specifically, research has shown that the most effective and successful 1st grade classrooms are those which are very positive places, encourage reading and writing, and convey the message “You can be a reader” to students."
Drama- Students should be able to play "pretend" using cues they have learned from their regular lives during free play, things like playing house, doctor, etc. In structured drama time, they should be able to listen to simple instructions and do what the teacher says. They should be able to have enough imagination to "become" different animal or characters such as dogs, lions, princesses, pirates, etc. With storytelling, they should be able to make up a short story, something that is imaginary or pretend, and say that story out loud. It does not need to have a conflict, just a pretend narrative.
Grade 5
English- 5th graders should be able to write in paragraph form, with correct basic MLA sentence structure. They should write simple reports about non-fiction, or the observable, and also create fiction or creative writing. They need to be able to read chapter books, and summarize the content of those books to prove that they understand what they are reading, either out loud or through writing. They should have basic verbal skills to be able to stand up in front of the classroom and talk about a topic for 1 minute.
Grade By Grade Learning from PBS.com says "They are asked to edit their writing, using what they have learned about the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. As in reading, they should be encouraged to explore writing for personal expression, putting their often intense feelings onto paper through poetry, stories, and song writing." Scholastic.com says "Most of the 5th grade reading curriculum focuses on teaching students to understand the texts they read and to develop ideas about what they read and learn."
Drama- Students should be able to read a play, and understand the basic structure of how a play is written. They should be able to identify who the characters are, what the setting is, what the main conflict of the show is, and how it is resolved. They should also be able to write a simple play. They need to be able to create a character using their voice and body, and be able to show an audience that character. They should memorize at least a few lines, and be able to perform those lines in front of an audience. An understanding of vocabulary like stage directions, SL,SR,US ect, curtains, backstage, proscenium arch, playwrite, director, stage manager, actor, music director should all be able to be identified. They should start to be able to play structured improv games, and be able to think on their feet to tell a story or play a game.
8th Grade
English- By the 8th grade students should have the skills to write a full paper, using introduction, thesis, supporting facts, and conclusion paragraphs. They should also be able to defend an idea verbally in a similar structure. Creative writing wise, they should be versed in a variety of different texts, such as poetry, scripts, musical lyrics, short fiction, and novels. They should be reading many of these texts and summarizing them verbally and through writing.
According to Scholastic.com "In 8th grade, students continue to practice many of the skills they learned in earlier grades, specifically paying attention to details like text evidence, language, and cross-text comparisons in different genres of text". Corestandards.com says 8th graders should "Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences."
Drama- At this level students should be able to read and analyze complex plays. There should be a basic understanding theater history and knowledge about the important milestones in theater development. They should be able to memorize an entire role in a show and develop the character they are doing to play, and be able to perform an entire show in front of an audience. They should able to write a 10 minute play on their own, with a developed arch of intro, conflict, development and resolution. They should have basic skills in set and costume design and stage management, and be able to showcase these skills through a visual project. They should be able to play more complex and competitive improv games, thinking quickly to come up with new ideas and riff off of an idea without thinking too much ahead.
GAMES
Grade 1- The Lion King's Court (from childdrama.com)
"Everyone knows the Lion is King of the Jungle. But every good King needs a court. A King needs to have people around him who are his friends, whom he can trust and upon whom he can rely. These people are called courtiers. What qualities should courtiers possess?" We discuss this question. Students usually come up with "strong," and "brave," and "helpful." With a little coaching they are usually able to add "kind," and "loyal," and "clever." After the group accepts each new adjective, I ask them to think about which animals exemplify each quality. (For example, elephants are strong and helpful, dogs are helpful and brave, cats are clever and brave, horses are loyal and helpful, etc.) We discuss the sort of animals who would make good courtiers until a fairly sizable list has been generated.
Playing the Game
Next, students will now act out the selection of the King's court. Each student chooses an animal to portray. (It need not necessarily be one that was mentioned earlier, although of course most will be.) The teacher, in role as the King, calls each "animal" forward. "You, animal. Come forward into the presence of the King." The animal moves forward. "What sort of animal are you?" The student announces what animal he or she is portraying. With older students I usually want them to use an appropriate animal voice. "Why should I have a (blank) in my court?"
The student then describes the qualities of her/his animal that make that animal good courtier material. The King responds, "Wonderful! You may join my court."Obviously everyone must be invited to join-even snakes.
I usually end this session by having a parade of the King's court, with each animal moving according to its way. Then the whole group "roars"-each according to species-to announce the presence of the greatest Royal court in the land.
This is a great game to get students to first analyze a question about animals and how they behave. It also gives "human" qualities to animals, so the students start to think creatively about the world around them. It then gives them the chance to create characters as an animal of their choice, both physically and vocally. They have to answer questions as their character, so they are putting themselves in a different character's frame of mind.
Grade 5- From dramatoolkit.co.uk
Start in a Drama circle.
Explain that you everyone will eventually count up to 20 together and as you count you will move through different emotions showing it in your voice and bodies.
Start with the Happy numbers of 1 - 5, and then introduce the Sad numbers and so on:
1 - 5 - Happy
6 - 10 - Angry
10 - 15 - Sad
15 - 20 - Happy
I like this exercise for 5th graders because it helps them identify different emotions, but in a non-threatening group setting. They get to explore how their body and voices changes with the different emotions, while they are also observing what their other classmates are doing.
8th Grade- improvencyclopedia.org
Character Swap
2 players improvise a scene, and make distinct strong physical and vocal choices. Scene is played until we know the characters. Then the roles are reversed, and every player plays the other's character, in the same scene, same location.
The exercise trains listening and physical observation, and is a great way to get players to break away from their stock characters.
This is a good game for 8th graders because it hits on a few more complex ideas. First they need to be able to improv a scene with a partner, creating a characters and a situation. They must be multi-tasking at the same time, observing what their scene partner is doing so they can replicate the scene playing the other character.
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