The course is comprised of three days of intensive professional development workshops at the UCD School of Education in June 2022 presented by active literacy teaching artists contracted to work with K-12 literacy, social studies, and English teachers to learn and plan for implementation of drama-based practices to enhance deep understanding of complex text. Teacher participants will come from local K-12 schools to work together and develop their skills at storytelling and comprehension/literacy instruction in line with CA Common Core Standards at their grade levels. Most participants will have had exposure to these practices either through district professional development or during their UCD credential/MA experience. Participants will deepen their appreciation of Shakespeare’s themes and text, and learn about movement, as well as language teaching from theatre professionals. Then, they will work together to plan lessons for texts appropriate to their subject and grade levels where active literacy practices can be inserted to achieve deeper understanding of text. These teaching artists will lead explorations of practical, active approaches to teaching Shakespeare in the classroom. – making inferences, analyzing characters, discerning narrative structure, developing vocabulary. Opportunities for reflection on process and discoveries for consideration about how these practices might inform their instruction will be part of each participant’s day. While Shakespeare’s plays form the basis for the program, the learning tools acquired through workshops are designed to be applied across the curriculum.
Course Code
508791