Monday, September 28, 2015

Middle School Theatre Arts: Teach Every Procedure

Let's face it: middle school is tough.  It's tough on the students, parents, and teachers alike.  It really does take a special person to reach out to these kids and be their champion.  How can you make life easier in your middle school classroom?  Teach every procedure!

I use CHAMPS, as most schools do these days, from Safe and Civil Schools.  Students need to know exactly what to do, down to every specific detail.  Take the entire first week of school to go over your procedures.  I know, it's exhausting going through this seven times a day, but they really need it and going over these procedures will help your classroom run smoothly so you have time to focus on individuals in your classes.

I created CHAMP posters for 4 classroom situations in my theatre room.

1. Instruction CHAMP. For those days when I'm teaching and they are note-taking.

2. Group Work CHAMP. Most of my curriculum is group-based, so we spend most of our time working in groups.

3. Rehearsal CHAMP. Middle school students do not know what it means to practice, especially theatre.  This will help you teach what rehearsal should look and sound like.  I also use activity rubrics as daily grades to make sure they are following this CHAMP.

4. Performance CHAMP. Audience etiquette!!  Super important for in-class performances, also for outside of class!

I use interactive notebooks, so I had them write the CHAMP poster for rehearsal in their notebooks.  Now, when I say, "Rehearse your monologue" they know what they should be doing.

I added these documents to my TeachersPayTeachers page: Ms Korth's Theatre Arts Classroom

I'm also going to upload these files in Theatrefest Friends on Facebook.

Remember to display them in your room and refer to them before you start.  It also helps to stop a lesson midway through and "Champ it out" if it gets out of control.  I use these procedures to document discipline, as well.  If a student habitually disobeys one of the CHAMPS, then I start them on the discipline track.

Cheers and happy CHAMPing!

1 comment:

Ornella said...

Hi!!! It's my first year teaching and I'm utterly...lost in life. �� I was hoping you might be able to give me some tips and tricks to lesson prepping/ planning for the year and maybe classroom layout ideas and management? Also, I wasn't able to get your champs posters!