Role-play, poetry and

performance: extending primary

school students in language arts

Zita Horton

Photo removed for privacy purposes

Objectives of this presentation • What are ‘the language

arts’?

• Theory - why is

extension important in

these areas?

• Poetry

• Performance

• Role-play

• Practicalities

• Take aways

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Language Arts What do we mean by ‘gifted in Language Arts’?

Language Arts is a term that is out of regular use in some areas

of Australia, and for the purposes of this workshop it is defined

as:

the areas of education that aim to develop a student’s

understanding and capacity for use of written and oral

language.

So this includes listening, reading, speaking, presenting and

writing.

The ideas in this presentation are to support differentiation in

these areas and to supplement curriculum content, not to replace

it.

Gifted students – many different domains of

giftedness. (Gagne, 2009)

One of these domains is Gifted Creative

Creativity

• difficult to define

• general consensus - a process of fluid,

flexible, divergent thinking that results in a

problem being solved or an original and

valued product being created (Torrance, 1966;

Guilford, 1967; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Sternberg & Lubart, 1991;

VanTassel-Baska, 2004).

Link between creativity and

critical thinking Critical thinking is a crucial skill, and can be developed at

school through creative arts, including language arts (Nilson,

Fetherston, McMurray and Fetherston, 2013)

Critical thinking “fosters the ability to be creative and

constructive—to generate possible explanations for findings,

think of implications, and apply new knowledge to a broad

range of social and personal problems.” (Wade and Tavris,1993)

However, this cannot happen unless there is a belief that all

people have the potential to be creative (Treffinger, 2009).

Sternberg and Lubart (1995) emphasize that

once the choice has been made to be creative,

then, with hard work and critical thinking,

creativity can be developed.

According to Csikszentmihalyi (1996),

nurturing creativity is the basis of the future

well-being of the human species.

How do we nurture Creativity

and Critical Thinking?

Students who are gifted in language arts need

instruction in techniques that allow them to fully

involve their imaginative talents and analytical

minds, as well as opportunities to respond through

their own original products.

There is an integral role played by the creative

processes of role-play, poetry writing, dramatization

and performance in developing higher-level thinking

skills of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation

(Smutny, 2002).

Differentiation

• Ideal - all gifted students have their needs met in

the regular classroom through an appropriately

differentiated curriculum.

• Reality - most gifted children are in regular

classrooms.

• Practicality – all teachers need to feel confident

and empowered to differentiate.

Differentiation includes multiple approaches to

content, process, product and learning environment (Tomlinson, 2005).

These ideas for extension in the language arts

work well in ‘pull-out’ or withdrawal

programs, but can be implemented as part of

differentiation in the regular classroom.

ALL, SOME, FEW

Response to Intervention (RtI)

Response to Intervention (RtI)

triangle.

For those unfamiliar:

• RtI is an approach to academic

and behavioural intervention;

• widely used to differentiate for

students needing extra support;

• three layers or tiers of support.

Image sourced from Tyndale Christian School Special Education

http://tyndale.sa.edu.au/our-school/special-education

RtI for Gifted students RtI – used to plan differentiated

lessons for gifted students in the

regular classroom – could look

like this diagram.

So the ideas in this presentation

start as whole class core

instruction (ALL), and then

become part of extra instruction

for small interest groups (SOME)

and then small

group/pairs/individual contracts

(FEW) where gifted students can

work independently with the ideas

and higher order thinking

concepts. Image sourced from the Minnesota RtI Centre http://www.scred.k12.mn.us/rt_i/minnesota_rti_center

Poetry Commencing with this because it includes listening,

reading, writing, speaking and leads into performance

opportunities.

Exposes all students to a wider vocabulary and creative use of language.

• ‘Poem a day’ – listen to poems being read

• listen to rhythm and discuss rhyme pattern (if any)

• discuss meaning of poem

• look at poetic devices

• class reading of poetry in ‘choral’ form

Poetry - All

• class writing of poems

• use structured formats and

templates to assist (eg. I Am…

template)

Poetry Writing Templates

I Am… poetry writing template I am (two special characteristics you have)

I wonder ( something you are curious about)

I hear ( an imaginary sound)

I see ( an imaginary sight)

I want (an actual desire)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

I pretend (something you pretend to do)

I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)

I touch (an imaginary touch)

I worry (something that really bothers you)

I cry (something that makes you very sad)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

I understand (something you know is true)

I say (something you believe)

I dream (something you dream about)

I try (something you make an effort about)

I hope (something you hope for)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

I am a caring girl who loves to act.

I wonder how I could be a spoilt brat?

I hear the shouts of the director.

I see the bright stage lights suddenly on.

I want to run out and turn into someone else!

I am a caring girl who loves to act.

I pretend to be someone else.

I feel nervous as I’m pushed on stage..

I touch the audiences’ hearts.

I worry that I will mess up the play.

I cry when I am a girl whose dad just died.

I am a caring girl who loves to act.

I understand what the character must feel.

I say my lines confidently.

I dream that one day I’ll be famous.

I try to show my love of acting.

I hope that I will never lose my talent.

I am a caring girl who loves to act.

Daisy aged 10

Small group

• collaboration in selecting poetry

to read to the class or to each

other for enjoyment

• use favourite poems as models

to write poetry in a similar style

• observe the world with all

senses

• play with language of emotions

• allow mistakes

• encourage revision

Poetry - Some

I Am… poetry writing template (extension student responding to the book

‘In Flanders Fields’ by Norman Jorgensen)

I am a bird, saved from a fence.

I wonder if the soldier will treat me nicely.

I hear hushed voices,

I see soft hands,

I want freedom in the world.

I am a bird, saved from a fence.

I pretend I am snug at home

I feel warm in many hands

I touch man’s firm fingers

I worry that the wind will be cruel to me

I cry because I am afraid.

I am a bird, saved from a fence.

I understand I may die with this soldier.

I say the man will set me free

I dream I am free, flying around.

I try to struggle free

I hope I will find safety.

I am a bird, saved from a fence.

Abby aged 9

Students who are gifted in language arts:

• read a wider variety of poetry

• analyse and discuss

• evaluate poetry; ask ‘Why’?

• write poems in many forms including

rhymed and non-rhymed

• write incorporating poetic devices

• competitions – writing for a reason and

for personal challenge

Poetry - Few ANZAC Day

A day of grief,

a day of belief.

It’s a day of pain

when we remember their names.

As the soldiers marched on

from dusk to dawn,

the Australians fought

even though they thought

that they may lose,

but they didn’t choose

to stop or be gone.

They just fought on.

With courage so strong

they fought for so long.

They lost a lot

on that small land plot.

Gallipoli shows

what everyone knows …

the seriousness of war.

We don’t want to have more.

Tiaan aged 10

Teachers – facilitate by keeping a competition register:

• takes time but is worthwhile

• what to look for – encouraging; certificates; might send judges’

comments to students; prizes, money or being published; small and

genuine;

• what to avoid – competitions that want you to buy a book where every

child’s poem is published!

Poetry - Few

Example of a Writing Competition Register Name of competition Website/ address Conditions Age group Closing date

Laura Literary

Awards https://rockyriverriters.club/com

petitions/

Original poetry up to 60 lines;

open subject

Section 8 – JUNIOR (9-12 yrs)

Section 9 – JUNIOR PRIMARY (5-8

yrs)

Closes 24th

March 2017

Henry Lawson

Festival http://www.henrylawsonfestival

.com.au/ Class 5 - any theme;

Australian – poem (48 lines

max)

Class 3 - any theme;

Australian – short story (2000

words max)

Primary school students

Closed 31st

March 2016

Bundaberg Poets

Society Bush

Lantern Award

http://www.abpa.org.au/events.

html

Or write to:

Bush Lantern Award,

Bundaberg Poets’ Society Inc.,

PO Box 4281,

Bundaberg South 4670

Bush poetry (rhyme and

rhythm)

Maximum 24 lines

Primary school students Closed 20th May

2016

Broken Ski Award http://peakfestival.com.au/poetr

y/ Closed 5th June

2016

Dorothea Mackellar

Poetry Awards http://www.dorothea.com.au/ Submit online. Cost $25 for 30

entries; $50 for over 30 per

school

Lower primary (years K – 3)

Upper primary (years 4 – 6, inc. Year 7

in SA)

Closed 30th June

2016

Little Swaggies

Poetry http://www.bronzeswagman.inf

o/ 4-20 lines Traditional rhyming

verse with Australian theme.

Must have rhyme and rhythm

Years 1 – 6

Closed 31st July

2016

Performance Why performance within the classroom?

• teaches useful skills

• leads into discussion and reflection

• future education – much of secondary/university assessment is oral

presentation

• life skill - interviews, etc. in business world; confidence

• part of Australian Curriculum

• fun!

Australian Curriculum - Years 3 and 4 Achievement Standard

• By the end of Year 4, students describe and discuss similarities and differences between drama they make, perform

and view. They discuss how they and others organise the elements of drama in their drama.

• Students use relationships, tension, time and place and narrative structure when improvising and performing devised

and scripted drama. They collaborate to plan, make and perform drama that communicates ideas.

Performance - All

Using drama games in the regular class room to teach:

• group cooperation, give and take, accepting ‘offers’

• social skills – empathy, understanding, manners

• group reflection

• non-verbals, body language

• narrative writing – ‘show, don’t tell’

• oral presentation skills – vocal projection, gestures, eye-contact, etc.

• self-confidence

• audience awareness

What games and performance activities can be used in a general

classroom easily?

• ‘Everyone who’ – discuss that we have things in common with others,

and also differences;

• ‘Emotional hitchhiker’ very effective introduction to discussion about

expectations and stress, and following peers;

• Kung-fu Punctuation & Contraction Surgery – work in with grammar

and punctuation.

Let’s have a go!

Kung Fu Punctuation – inspired by Phil Beadle.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3633548/Punching-home-the-art-of-punctuation.html

Kung Fu Punctuation

Capital Letter: stand up straight

with your feet together and both

arms straight above your head.

Make the noise, So!

Full stop: throw a short, right

handed punch at the air in front of

you. Make the noise, Ha!

Comma: with your right arm bent

so that your hand is in front of

your face, make a short twisting

motion at the wrist to signify the

comma shape. Make

the noise, Shi!

Question mark: separate the curly

bit into three cutting movements

with the hand: one horizontal left to

right, one curved around, and one

vertical coming from the bottom of

the curved one. Then at the bottom

of the shape you have just drawn in

the air, throw in a full-stop punch.

Make the noises, Shi! Shi! Shi! Ha!

Exclamation mark: a long vertical

slash, from top to bottom, followed

by a full stop. Make the noises,

Shiiiiii! Ha!

Speech marks: stand on one leg,

extend your arms diagonally to the

skies and wiggle your index and

middle fingers in an approximation

of speech marks. Make the noise,

Haeeeee!

Apostrophe: with

your right arm

fully extended to

the air, wiggle your

index finger. Make

the noise,

Blubalubaluba!

Emotional Hitchhiker:

• Place four chairs at the front to represent four seats in a car.

• Three students start in the car (one driver, and two passengers) and they are going

somewhere. They must imagine they are friends driving along the motorway and create

a simple storyline on the spot for why they are in the car together and where they are

going.

• A “hitchhiker” stands up and puts their thumb out. The hitchhiker has a very strong

emotion or characteristic, such as very upset, annoyed, joyful, calm and peaceful, etc.

• One of the passengers will say “look, hitchhiker” and they will pull over to pick the

hitchhiker up.

• The hitchhiker enters the front passenger seat. As soon as the hitchhiker enters the car,

all the passengers and driver take on the hitchhiker’s emotions immediately and to the

extreme.

• They continue dialogue until a new hitchhiker comes on. Then the driver leaves the car,

the passengers rotate, and they all imitate the strong emotions of the new hitchhiker.

It is helpful with younger students to brainstorm a list of emotions first.

Reflection afterwards – how often do we pick up on other’s emotions and go along with

them? Is this useful? Why or why not?

Can use as an introduction to discussion about expectations and stress, and following peers.

Performance - Some Small group:

• developing presentation skills though more formal situations including

performance poetry and debating;

• interest driven

• Reader’s Theatre

• developing and performing presentations for assembly

Performance - Few Students who are gifted in language arts:

• writing plays and formal and informal

performance pieces;

• directing others;

• designing scenes, costumes and props;

• incorporating their understanding of manners

and body language into presentations;

• individual and group performances of poems

Poetry performance is a compact method of

incorporating drama performance into a classroom.

Entire plays can be a bit long sometimes, poetry is

achievable in a short time-frame. Performance poetry is

not just reading a poem, but developing an understanding

of rhyme, rhythm, poetic language, poetic devices, and

how these assist a performer to engage an audience.

Role-play Role play and simulations are forms of experiential

learning (Russell & Shepherd, 2010). Extended role-play

can be used as an immersive learning experience in

classrooms. It assists all students with critical thinking

skills and develops an awareness of ‘point of view’.

Role-play - All Explain and discuss gold-mining role play (Year 5 History) – went for

six weeks; led into creative writing; students learnt so much more than

just about gold mining.

Other immersive role plays within the

classroom:

• military school

• systems of rule - feudal

system/dictatorship/democracy

• two day Historical school

• Federal or State Government

• spy school

Gold Mining role-play Overview: Whole-class game, designed to be run over four to six weeks, running concurrently with the

regular school program.

All students in the class are assigned roles within an historic gold mining society (c. 1856).

The teacher sets up the roles for the class and ensures that all students understand the rules

and the requirements.

At certain times during the week, the teacher secretly scatters small gold-painted rocks in

various areas of the school playground, and allows the students to go ‘mining’ for a brief

period of time.

Students have an in-class economy, whereby they commence the game with a set amount of

money, have to purchase the correct equipment, licence and food to be allowed to go

mining, need to make new purchases every week, and may or may not find gold. Any gold

found can be swapped for money when the gold buyer arrives.

Students may run out of money and be unable to take an active part in the game. The teacher

needs to make sure that students understand that this is what happened on the goldfields, that

it is not about being ‘fair’ or ‘unfair’, but part of the process of gold mining.

How to start: To commence the game, the whole class views and interacts with a digital interactive

developed by The Learning Federation and Education Services Australia (2010). It is about

living on the goldfields in Ballarat in 1865.

http://www.myplace.edu.au/TLF_resources/L702/description.html

This gives a good introduction to life on the goldfields, the money of the era, and the

necessity to purchase licences, food and equipment before miners could even commence

looking for gold.

Roles: Then students are assigned different roles within the game, and given a small laminated card

with their role on it that they blutac to their desk. Differentiation includes assigning students

with gifts in different areas to particular roles, eg:

• gifted in maths - the Gold Buyer

• gifted in leadership – the Commissioner

• gifted in interpersonal skills/maths – the Shopkeepers

The hierarchy of the society is as shown below:

Teacher – Special Commissioner and Bank

Commissioner Gold Buyer

Troopers Shopkeepers

Miners

Gold Miner

Lives in a tent on the

goldfields.

Searches for gold. Must carry

licence at all times and show

commissioner or trooper upon

demand.

Commissioner

Carries and sells licences;

checks that miners are always

carrying licences;

income is licence fees and

fines.

Resources: Each student then is given a small calico

shoulder bag, where they keep all their

‘food’, equipment, licence, money and

gold for the next four to five weeks. They

are required to wear this bag at all times

at school for the duration of the game,

and if they are not wearing the bag

because of sport practices etc. it must

remain in the desk tray. They start off

with the rules of the game, a conversion

sheet, and three pounds in money (60

shillings) in their bag. The teacher

explains the rules, and practices

conversion of money, so that all students

are familiar with the money of the

goldfields.

Several roles have additional equipment

and responsibilities (explained in full in

the handout).

Gold Rush Price list for Supplies and Equipment

Flour for one week ………… 3 shillings

Tea for two weeks …………. 5 shillings

Meat for one week ………… 12 shillings

Gold mining pan …………… 5 shillings

Shovel ………………………. 5 shillings

Pick ………………………… 5 shillings

Gold mining cradle …………. 14 shillings

Tent for 2 or 3 people ............ 10 shillings

Role-play - Some

Small group:

• take specific roles within the whole-class role play (eg. Gold

Buyer, shop keepers, Gold Commissioner)

• additional responsibility that demanded higher-order thinking

skills

Role-play - Few Students who are gifted in language arts:

• lead the role-play

• design role-play opportunities

• create role-play resources

Practicalities How does this work in a regular classroom? All teachers need to

differentiate. How can we do this in a practical way?

• Make sure that it is well-planned

• Keep learning and reading - many ideas are already designed for

regular classrooms eg Independent contracts. Two to start with are

Susan Weinbrenner’s ideas in her book Teaching gifted kids in the

regular classroom and Tomlinson’s ideas and strategies for

Differentiation. http://www.caroltomlinson.com/2010SpringASCD/Rex_SAstrategies.pdf

(both references are in the handout)

• Don’t try to do/change/add everything at once; little by little, step by

step.

• Growth mindset for teachers as well as students – it’s ok to fail.

• Care passionately about the educational growth of creatively gifted

kids, and that every child learns something new every day.

Take aways

Handout has: – Poetry: Poems to read aloud

– Poetry: Register of written poetry competitions

– Poetry: Lessons and writing templates

– Performance: Contraction Surgery

– Performance: Kung-Fu punctuation

– Performance: Drama games

– Role-play: Gold Miners role-play – Explanation, Rules and

Resources

– References/ Other resources

References

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: HarperCollins.

•

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: HarperCollins.

•

• Gagné, F. (2009). Building gifts into talents: Detailed overview of the DMGT 2.0. In B. MacFarlane & T. Stambaugh, (Eds.), Leading change in

gifted education: The festschrift of Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska (pp. 61–80). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

• Guilford, J.P. (1967). Creativity: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Journal of Creative Behaviour, 1, 3–14.

•

• Nilson, C., Fetherston, C. M., McMurray, A., & Fetherston, T. (2013). Creative Arts: An Essential Element in the Teacher’s Toolkit When

Developing Critical Thinking in Children. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n7.4

•

• Russell, C. and Shepherd, J. (2010). Online role-play environments for higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology 41(6), 992–

1002.

• Smutny, J. F. (2002). Creative Strategies for Teaching Language Arts to Gifted Students (K-8). Accessed at http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-2/k-

8.htm

• Sternberg, R.J. & Lubart, T.I. (1991). An investment theory of creativity and its development. Human Development, 34, 1–31.

•

• Sternberg, R.J. & Lubart, T.I. (1995). Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity. University of Michigan: Free Press.

•

• Tomlinson, C.A. (2005). How to differentiate instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. 2nd Ed.

Alexandria, Va. : Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• Torrance, E.P. (1966). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Bensenville, Il: Scholastic Testing Service.

• Treffinger, D. J. (2009). Myth 5: Creativity Is Too Difficult to Measure. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 245-247.

•

• VanTassel-Baska, J. (2004). Creativity as an Elusive Factor in Giftedness. Update. School of Education: College of William and Mary.

•

• Wade, C. & Tavris, C. (1993). Critical and Creative Thinking. New York, NY: Harper Collins College Publishers.

Other Resources

Tomlinson’s strategies for Differentiation.

http://www.caroltomlinson.com/2010SpringASCD/Rex_SAstr

ategies.pdf