History on the stage : children make plays from historical novels / Edna Conrad & Mary Van Dyke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Conrad, Edna.

Van Dyke, Mary, author.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drama in education.

History--Study and teaching.

History.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

128 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., [1971]

Summary:

From the Blurb: Making plays in school is a teaching technique that is as much fun for students as any extracurricular activity, but is a genuine part of the academic curriculum-and many teachers and students will say, the best part. The authors have used the technique primarily to teach American history; it would work as well with any social-studies subject. Students not only become interested in the subject matter-they live it, are completely absorbed by it, work with it and make it their own. Improvisation to develop a script has become a traditional exercise in drama classes. Historical novels are also traditional as background reading in history and English classes. But, perhaps because of the compartmentalization of most secondary-school curricula, combining historical novels with dramatic projects is a new thing. It takes a little care and planning. It is always rewarding, but not always as easy as following an established lesson plan. So here the authors answer the questions other teachers would ask, from "Why do it all?" to "How do you get the students to settle down once the performance is over?" In between is solid advice on every phase: choosing and reading the book, getting the students to derive the script from the book and from their improvisations, costuming and making stage sets, casting and directing, rehearsing and performing. The authors have done it themselves, and they know what problems will occur and how to solve them. And they have illustrated their book with photographs taken during the course of an actual project-photographs that show education happening.

Contents:

Preface / Jean Murray

Prologue: Why do it at all?

Step One: Teacher Chooses The Book To Be Dramatized:

A: Why not let the children do it?

B: What do you have to look for in a book to be dramatized?

Step Two: Reading The Book Aloud In Class:

A: Why bother to read the book aloud?

B: Who reads it aloud?

C: When can you get time to read it to the whole group?

D: What about youngsters who read the book ahead of the others?

Step Three: Using The Stage To Get The Script:

A: How do you choose which children should do the writing, and how do you get them started?

B: You can't use the whole book, how do you select scenes?

C: How do you teach them to write dialogue?

D: What is meant by "improvisation" at this point?

E: What about music?

F: What about art?

G: How do you maintain classroom order during this process?

Step Four: Choosing Children For Parts:

A: When do you the final casting?

B: How can you tell which children will be good in a part?

C: When several children want to play a part, what do you do?

Step Five: Directing And Producing:

A: How do you get a characterization from a child once the parts are assigned?

B: How can you get every child involved?

C: What is different now that you are "just rehearsing"?

D: What does the director do if there is a slump in interest?

Step Six: Final Rehearsals:

A: During rehearsals, when do you start using scenery, costumes, and properties?

B: Who does the physical work necessary for this kind of production?

C: When do you expect the children to learn the lines?

Step Seven: Scenery, Costumes, And Properties:

A: Must you have scenery, costumes, and properties?

B: How much scenery do you have to have?

C: Where do you get scenery, costumes, and properties?

D: How can you get all this done in school time?

Step Eight: Performance:

A: Can you rely on this method to get a performance that interests the whole high school as much as you can by a more usual method?

B: How do you keep children from being nervous before an audience?

C: Why bother with this time-consuming method?

D: When the performance is over, how do you get them to settle down to regular classroom routines?

Our script for show boat

Suggested novels and reference books

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 124-127).

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket (torn along top edge and at back) retained.

Other Format:

Online version: Conrad, Edna. History on the stage.

OCLC:

211712