1. Writing into Drama Andy Schoenborn– Mt. Pleasant High School aschoenborn76@gmail.com

2. Contentions Writing to learn asks students to use higher order thinking skills, such as interpretation, analysis, and synthesis. Scaffolding student writing provides a framework for developing ideas toward an end product. Students who write to a specific audience through the point of view of a literary character retain deeper levels of understanding through the act of writing and role-playing. Use of imagery, music, lyrics as poetry, and writing to respond and reflect intrinsically motivates students to achieve deeper learning and understanding.

3. Supporting Research “One reason for using writing to think is precisely to bring the unconscious more to the surface, where we can ‘see what we have to say.’” – The English Teacher’s Companion (1999, 140) “To improve the teaching of writing, particularly in the context of academic tasks, is also to improve the quality of thinking required of school children.” – How Writing Shapes Thinking (1987, 3) “Teachers [sic] can encourage imagination through various applications of role playing: for developing an argument from diverse perspectives, for inventing a character and improvising action in various situations, for assuming the point of view of a literary character, and so on.” – Because Writing Matters (2006, 54) “In assignments, [intellectual work] means asking the student to construct knowledge through analysis, synthesis, and interpretation.” – Because Writing Matters (2006, 49)

4. Please consider the following: How were you taught drama in your high school English courses? Describe how your students respond when you announce that they will be reading a play during a unit. To what extent are your students able to make connections to the characters in a dramatic piece?

5. Drama is meant to be experienced… … in order for connections to be made.

6. Advice from Polonius And these few precepts in thy memory See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportion’d thought his act. 64 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 68 Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in, Bear’tthat opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; 72 Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man, 76 And they in France of the best rank and station Are most select and generous in that. Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 80 And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true.

7. Wish You Were HerePink Floyd - 1975 So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, Blue skies from pain. Can you tell a green field From a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell? And did they get you to trade Your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange A walk on part in the war For a lead role in a cage? How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls Swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year, Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here.

8. AlivePearl Jam - 1991 Son, she said, have I got a little story for you What you thought was your daddy was nothin' but a... While you were sittin' home alone at age thirteen Your real daddy was dyin', sorry you didn't see him, but I'm glad we talked... Oh I, oh, I'm still alive Hey, I, oh, I'm still alive Hey I, oh, I'm still alive Oh, she walks slowly, across a young man's room She said I'm ready...for you I can't remember anything to this very day 'Cept the look, the look... Oh, you know where, now I can't see, I just stare... I, I'm still alive Hey I, but, I'm still alive Hey I, oh, I'm still alive Hey I, I, I, I'm still alive, yeah Is something wrong, she said Well of course there is You're still alive, she said Oh, and do I deserve to be Is that the question And if so...if so...who answers...who answers... I, oh, I'm still alive Hey I, oh, I'm still alive Hey I, oh, I'm still alive Yeah I, oh, I'm still alive

9. Horatio to Hamlet Overview: Hamlet has been acting strangely since the death of his father and some of the characters are beginning to take notice. There is a rumor going around the castle that Hamlet is considering avenging his father’s death by killing his uncle, King Claudius. Some people are disgusted by what the rumors seem to say and others understand his grief in light of the circumstances. Directions: Select a character and write a letter to Hamlet through their point of view that Either persuades him to avenge his father’s death or persuades him to stop his plan of action. You will try to convince (or persuade) him through evidence and support. Character Selection Gertrude Ophelia Polonius Horatio Laertes Marcellus RosencrantzGuildenstern

10. Consider the possibilities… How might writing to learn help our students relate to: Romeo and Juliet The Crucible A Raisin in the Sun

11. Romeo and Juliet Act II, Scene 2 Romeo He jests at scars that never felt a wound. [Juliet appears above at her window.] But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Juliet Ay me! Romeo She speaks! O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art As glorious to this night, being o’er my head, Juliet O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. Audio breathes life into characters… while writing and music form connections.

12. Love StoryTaylor Swift - 2008 We were both young, when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback starts- I'm standing there, on a balcony in summer air. I see the lights; see the party, the ball gowns. I see you make your way through the crowd- You say hello, little did I know... That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles- And my daddy said "stay away from Juliet"- And I was crying on the staircase- begging you please don't go... And I said... Romeo take me somewhere, we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess, It's a love story, baby, just say yes. So I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet, because we're dead if they knew- So close your eyes... escape this town for a little while. Oh, Oh. Cause you were Romeo - I was a scarlet letter, And my daddy said "stay away from Juliet" – but you were everything to me- I was begging you, please don't go- And I said... Romeo take me somewhere, we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess. It's a love story, baby, just say yes- Romeo save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel. This love is difficult, but it's real. Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess. It's a love story, baby, just say yes. Oh, Oh. I got tired of waiting. Wondering if you were ever coming around. My faith in you was fading- When I met you on the outskirts of town. And I said... Romeo save me, I've been feeling so alone. I keep waiting, for you but you never come. Is this in my head, I don't know what to think- He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said Marry me Juliet, you'll never have to be alone. I love you, and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad -- go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby just say... yes. Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh. We were both young when I first saw you.

13. Pray Your GodsToad the Wet Sprocket - 1991 I will give the secrets you request and you will be the one to sacrifice. So lay your olive arms upon my breast and sing the poems; free the butterflies Pray your gods who ask you for your blood. For they are strong and angry jealous ones or lay upon my altar now your love. I fear my time is short, there are armies moving close; be quick, my love. I feel my body weakened by the years as people turn to gods of cruel design. Is it that they fear the pain of death or could it be they fear the joy of life? Pray your gods who hold you by your fear. For they are quick and ruthless punishers or lay upon my altar now your love. I fear my day is done, there are armies moving on; be quick, my love.

14. We’re Gonna Make ItLittle Milton - 1965 We may not have a cent to pay the rent But were gonna make it, I know we will We may have to eat beans every day But were gonna make it, I know we will And if a job is hard to find And we have to stand in the welfare line I've got your love and you know you got mine So were gonna make it, I know we will We may not have a home to call our own But were gonna make it, I know we will We may have to fight hardships alone But were gonna make it, I know we will Cause togetherness brings peace of mind We can't stay down all the time I've got your love and you know you got mine So were gonna make it, I know we will Our car may be old, our two rooms cold But were gonna make it, I know we will We may not can spare a roach a crumb But were gonna make it, I know we will And if I have to carry round a sign Sayin Help the deaf, the dumb, and the blind I got your love and you know you got mine So were gonna make it, I know we will Were gonna make it Were gonna make it, baby It might seem hard sometime But don't worry, darlin baby Were gonna keep on tryin

15. Questions, Comments, or Concerns “Writing is not simply a way for students to demonstrate what they know. It is to help them understand what they know. At its best, writing is learning.” - National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges

16. Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999. Print. Esquith, Rafe. Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Print. Gallagher, Kelly. Teaching Adolescent Writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 2006. Print. Kittle, Penny. Write Beside Them. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print. Nagin, Carl. Because Writing Matters. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print. Bibliography/Related Reading

17. I see the value, but is it legal?