Big Idea: Voice.

Inquiry Question: How is student voice amplified through the Arts?

The Story of Our Project: 

Students brainstormed themes for two plays ('The Case of the Lingering Water Bottle', and an untitled spy drama). The students then began crafting the scripts via character sketches on their “wants”,  “needs” and deepest desires.  Character’s victories, obstacles, tactics, and expectations were formed, although these terms were not always used directly to define each action. Students began writing the play at its beginning, but then I suggested that we start writing backward as a murder mystery is all about revelations. In one instance,  we began working our way backward and met in the middle of the script. Melanie and I were just ‘side coaching’ the students, and our feedback was very much based in a ‘yes and…’  improvisational philosophy. As in any play development, not all ideas make it to the page, but the students had such an overwhelming sense of creativity, that a lack of ideas was never a problem.

 As the two plays developed, students improvised scenes (acted them out/ read through them) and kept a journal of running notes on the script as to plot.

Our Approach to Online Teaching: 

 We were 'lucky' as many plays had moved to online presentations, so we were right in the loop. Students joined via Google Meets twice a week for Drama Club.  

Cultural Capital: 

"Cultural capital functions as a social relation within an economy of practices (i.e., system of exchange), and includes the accumulated cultural knowledge that confers social status and power. It comprises all of the material and symbolic goods, without distinction, that society considers rare and worth seeking. " 

Student's voice was valued and leveraged constantly in this class. The culture of the student, their accumulated knowledge of both social status and power is exhibited in both plays. 

Academic Standards/SEL Standards.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.A

Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.B

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.C

Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.D

Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.E

Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

Months were spent crafting each play. 'The Case of the Lingering Water Bottle' received an entire play table read in front of CAPE staff and invited guests. Students then began recording parts of the play via Google Meets and Imovie. 

Students created a trailer for the play: 'The Case of the Lingering Water Bottle'.