~ Joseph Bergeron
English Teacher, International Department
~ Joseph Bergeron
English Teacher, International Department
Embedded Files
English Teacher, International Department
Audience, please be seated. The show is about to begin! For the final project in grade four, students got a chance to be creative and work together to write a dramatic play. In groups, students developed realistic and interesting characters, then wrote a plot and lines of dialogue to show these characters solving realistic problems that kids might encounter. The end result was a fun drama script with several scenes which was presented as a stage play in class!
★ A Dramatic Style
★ A Dramatic Style
We began by referencing dramas we previously read in English class: “A Gift from the Heart” and “Pushing up the Sky”. We focused on dramatic writing structures, and noted how the characters’ lines are written in a “back-and-forth” nature. Students noticed how engrossing it is to read natural lines of dialogue and back-and-forth arguments between characters. Readers see the characters shine through this writing style.
Now that we understood the purpose of writing a play with a dramatic style, we started to plan our plots and characters. We limited our ideas to realistic problems that children face. That way students would be able to write dialogue based on their experiences. Using realistic story elements also let students write the way they speak, and adjust words to match the characters’ personalities. Most of the time, students write paragraphs and prose, not dramatic dialogue. So one of the project goals was to let students experiment with writing dialogue, including character’s reactions, stage directions, and more.
★ Characterization
★ Characterization
Before you can write lines that a character will say, it is critical to build the character’s personality. To do this, students examined the main characters in “A Gift from the Heart,” taking notes and drawing conclusions about six character traits: appearance, emotions, opinions, actions, sayings, and personality. They considered questions such as “What does this character wear? What do they often say? Do they have opinions about their school? How angry will they get when something goes wrong?” Answering these questions taught them more about writing interesting characters.
Students worked with their friends to design a character for their dramas. To do this, group members used the “yes, and…” approach. That means that all realistic suggestions were accepted to build a long description of the character, with equal input from everyone. At the end of the activity, the students knew so much about a person they had just met!
★ Natural Writing
★ Natural Writing
Wow, who knew a three-scene script could be written so fast?! One of the most rewarding parts of this project for students is that once the characters were developed, the scripts were fun and easy to write! They enjoyed writing about realistic problems featuring the deep characters they developed. They were able to focus so well and the lines of dialogue just flowed out of their pencils effortlessly.
It’s always so great to see students having so much fun while writing. They gave each other a lot of encouragement and support while planning scenes and characters as a group, then had a great time flexing their creativity writing the other scenes individually. So much teamwork and collaboration enhanced their final written product.
Finally, at the end of the school year, it was show time! Students shared their drama scripts with their friends, chose one, and performed it for the class! Seeing the students use their own original writing definitely gave all of us a sense of accomplishment. Check out some of their original scenes below!
The Drama Project
The Drama Project
Nightmares at StarLight School
★ Siersha Hung 洪萱 404
SCENE 1
Narrator: Everyone was happy at the school, but this year was different. Two weeks into the new school year, Hunter created a gang of trouble-makers who called themselves Nightmares.
(Hunter and three members of Nightmares enter, they surround a kid with round glasses.)
Hunter: Hi nerd! Are you trying to look smart, holding a book? Well I’ll say you look stupid, who wears glasses anyway?
(The Nightmares laugh, and the kid cries.)
Hunter: Are you crying? Ha ha! Bye-bye crybaby, I have some more important things to do!
(Hunter and the Nightmares leave. Lily, Hazel, and Amaura walk in)
Lily: Hi, I’m Lily. Are you ok? Do you need help? What’s your name?
Narrator: Lily asked a bunch of questions, but the kid just stared at her and kept crying.
Hazel: Let's guess. Maybe you got bad grades?
(The kid keeps shaking his head at Hazel’s questions.)
Lily: Maybe it’s bullying?
(He finally nods and stops crying. The stage clears.)
Bee with Trouble
★ YenYen Liao 廖芊硯 407
SCENE 1
Narrator: One sunny day, a first grade class decided to play hide and seek in the whole school. The person who had to find others was Reina, who was smart and helpful. But when she was looking for others, she heard a sound…
Reina: Who is calling? (she runs around in the school’s little garden)
Amma: Me! HELP!
Reina: What is going on?
Amma: Roy told me to climb on the tree, but now I don’t know how to climb down! I’m stuck!
Amma: And the worst problem is, there is a beehive!
Reina: I see, but why does this tree smell so sweet?
Amma: I don’t know.
(one bee flies on Amma’s head)
Amma: Ahh! OH! NO!!
Reina: Calm down! If you shout, the bees will be scared!
(Amma is still shouting, so the bees attack Amma!)
Amma: Help!
Reina: Ok, I will get you down, then we will get rid of the bees, but be calm.
Amma: Ok!
(Roy comes)
Roy: Ha! Ha! Ha! You are so cute, I like it.
Reina: This is not funny! Don’t laugh at her!
(Reina helps Amma down and puts some honey on a stick to make the bees go away)
A Lesson on Honesty and Lying
★ Jacqueline Huang 黃羽緁 401
SCENE 1
Narrator: One rainy morning, Mia walked to school. Suddenly, a fancy car drove past her. Sindy leaned out the window and waved to Mia. Then, Sindy’s car drove away.
Mia: (stomping her feet) I hate her! I need to walk on this rainy day when she is sitting in her comfortable, cozy car! (shouting) It is so unfair! Just because Sindy’s parents have a lot of money, and my parents only have a little, and can’t be like her! She always gets 100% on everything. It is not because she is smart, it’s because her parents send her to a good cram school! (shouting to the air) The world is so UNFAIR!
Narrator: When it was time for class to start, all the students were working on their own things quietly. Suddenly, someone broke the silence…
Sindy: My most precious notebook is gone! (crying and shouting) That is very expensive!
Teacher: It’s ok! (she looks at her watch) Right now we don’t have any important things to do, so everyone can help Sindy find her notebook!
Sindy: No need! That will be wasting everyone's time!
Teacher: It’s ok. After all, that is your favorite notebook!
Narrator: Everyone begins to search. Suddenly, Mia saw the pretty notebook under her desk.
Mia: (talking to herself) This must be hers. I will go to find Sindy and tell her this good news! (standing up) Wait! But if I hide it, nobody will find it, and I can keep it! (she puts it in her drawer) Sindy is very sad, but I love this notebook! WHAT DO I DO?!
Let’s Be Friends!
★ Audrey Chiang 蔣珵熙 405
SCENE 2
Narrator: The next day, Zoe went to talk to the three girls on the playground.
Zoe: (in a shy voice) Can I play with you?
The three girls: No! You can go to play with other girls or boys.
Zoe: I really want to play with you.
(to herself) No matter how I ask them to play with me, they will say no. (she starts to cry)
Narrator: The next day, she asks the girls again.
Zoe: Can I have fun with you?
Annabelle: Do you know why no one wants to play with you?
Taffy: Because you always speak badly to others.
Patty: Yeah! That's why you don’t have friends.
(Zoe starts to cry again)
Zoe: But I really want to play with you. I know what is wrong with me. I promise not to say anything bad. If I do that, would you play with me?
The three girls: OK, if you don’t say bad things we can become friends.
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