Fences (2020)

Lesson 16
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ELA

Unit 10

8th Grade

Lesson 16 of 17

Objective


Perform profound excerpts from Fences, focusing on the public speaking skills of volume, pace, emotion, and accuracy, in front of the class.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Fences by August Wilson 

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Target Task


Students will perform their dialogue for the class. Classmates will grade the performance based on the rubric from the previous lesson on volume, pace, emotion, and accuracy.

Notes


Go over expectations for performers and audience members with students.

Performer Expectations

  1. Each group or person should give a one-sentence explanation of what scene they are doing before performing. Tell the audience what each performer's role is.
  2. Performances should start immediately, and no time should be wasted.
  3. If you make a mistake, you may try it again from that part, but you will not be able to do your whole scene over.
  4. The general mood and tone of your performance must reflect what is happening in the scene.
  5. You should speak loudly enough so everyone in the room can hear.

Audience Expectations

  1. All audience members are sitting up and tracking during performances.
  2. If a group makes a mistake, you should remain at a level 0 and silently support the performers.
  3. Your reactions should be appropriate for and respectful of the performance. If an actor or actress delivers a funny line, it's okay to laugh, but it's not okay to laugh if someone makes a mistake or is nervous.
  4. You should remain at a level 0 during the performance. Side comments and calling out will not be tolerated. It will only waste time and prevent us from seeing all of your great performances. We will not have time for reactions or feedback in between performances, so please keep those to yourself - we have many performances to view.

This lesson might need to be stretched into two days depending on the number of students in the class and the number of groups performing.

Common Core Standards


  • SL.8.4 — Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Next

Use evidence from the text to support their assertions in a rigorous literary discussion.

Lesson 17
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