Day 26: What's the answer to Spring Fever?!? Projects!

Prompt 26: Engagement/lesson/tips tricks ideas for spring fever- age specific.

Welcome to spring: when the weather gets warm, allergies kick into high gear, hormones go crazy (especially for those of us teaching High School) and the last place kids want to be is sitting in a classroom. For some of us the school year will be ending in just a few weeks.  For others, like me, we go until the end of June.  My last teaching day, before final exams start in June 15th.  So how do I keep 160 teenagers engaged for the next 6 weeks? Projects!  Big ones.

For theatre (9th grade) we are currently reading A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller.  I start this unit with a readers theatre version of Oedipus I have been using for a few years now, integrating all the things they have learned about dramatic narrative structure, Aristotle's Poetics and playwriting to make connections between the two plays.  I see the kids 5 times over two weeks- so it's a little tricky- but we are pushing through.

After we read AVFTB  the final unit of the year is theatrical design. Students break into groups, each assigned a decade from the 20th century, and they have to create, sound, set, prop and costume designs for their decade.  We culminate is a poster session, arranged by decade of course.  It's a great unit.

It's creative, it employs all the research and presentation skills we have worked on this semester and year as well as collaboration, a central aspect of theatrical collaboration. Oh, and the kids love it.  

Counting down!