Town Hall & Reflection Alley:
Description:
Using the roles that the students have embodied during statue(ing) and the group tableau the teacher is going to facilitate a town hall style meeting of the characters. Using a problem from the text you are dramatizing the teacher will serve as the mayor of the town and choose 3-5 students to serve as town council (odd numbers work better for voting purposes). The teacher will open up the meeting with the proposition or problem to address and invite the students to come to the podium in role and argue their case to the town council. After all the students have had a chance to present their arguments then the town council will vote to decide on the outcome of the problem for the characters. Once the verdict is handed down the town council has to be held accountable for their decision. This accountability will come through in the form of a reflection alley. The town’s people will form two rows to create an alley for the council to walk down. As the council members walk by the town’s people will express their feelings about the decision made by the council. This makes sure that the town council members know that they will have to answer to the people for their final decision.
Application:
A great way to further embody characters and have a chance to play in role. This role playing really furthers a connection to the text. In the end the connections made through character development and the dramatization in the town council should help with students comprehension of the text and possibly further the students recognition of themes and other content within the text. This is a great way to allow students to demonstrate different ways of knowing. A student who may struggle to express the same information through writing could find a really strong way to express it through drama. This also creates some context for those who may struggle with reading but can understand and assess the narrative through the drama that is created.
Variations:
Notes:
Will Whitten 