Designing a Differentiated Lesson Plan

Recently, I developed a lesson plan for an 8th grade Theatre II class.  This particular class, referred to in other blog posts, is particularly unique in that there are two different courses being taught at the same time by the same teacher.  Each class has different content being presented: those who have taken Theatre I are rehearsing a play that will be performed in early May; those who are new to theatre and were enrolled in this course are learning the basics of theater. This lesson plan is for the group that is rehearsing the play, as that is the group the mentor teacher has asked me to work with. 

Planning for Diverse Learners

To engage diverse learners, it was important to consider the variety of needs in the classroom.  There are no ELLs in this particular class, 3 IEPs/504s and a number of early finishers. There are no identified gifted students (the school does not have a gifted program and is inherently a rigorous learning environment as an International Baccalaureate school. Students in this class have already auditioned and started rehearsing the play.  Some are still using scripts (those with more lines), while others are “off book” since they have smaller parts. At this point in the rehearsal process, student interest is very high, so the lesson needs to be geared toward maintaining that interest level and challenging the student actors to elevate their character choices. The three previously mentioned students are primarily visual and / or kinesthetic learners, so considering that when choosing a lesson on character development was important. Students have the choice to create their own background biography (Plummer, n.d.) or use a computer generator to create a bio for them. 

Differentiating Assessment

Differentiating the assessment for this lesson meant being able to provide both enrichment and accommodations for early finishers and those with an IEP or 504.  For the most part, those with special needs typically need extra time as their primary accommodation, so that is built into the due date for those students.  I did find one technology tools for creating a character profile that is easy to use and provides students with the opportunity to fill in their own options or have a random generator selection options for them that they can then change based on what they know about their character and what that character’s background should likely be (Character Biography Generator, n.d.)

Technology Use in the Lesson

As noted above, technology is included in this lesson with the Character Biography Generator (n.d.). One consideration to mention is that the generator allows students to choose more than male or female as a gender.  However, since they are completing this assignment for their assigned character in the play, this will not be an issue.  This particular tool will be most appropriate for those who have learning needs that require higher levels of support since the random generator will help get them started and they can use it multiple times.  The print resource provides a series of questions for students to consider as they create their character’s background. Both will be options for any of the students and they will pick their preference, with the written option being most appropriate for those who have larger roles and want to dive deeper into understanding who their character is, including motivations, and intentions (Plummer, n.d.).

                                                            References

 Arc Studio. (2022). How to write character backstories and why they are important. https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/how-to-write-character-backstories#:~:text=The%20backstory%20is%20everything%20that,screen%20is%20like%20a%20house


Character Biography Generator. (n.d.). https://www.character-generator.org.uk/bio/ 


Dwiggins, T. (2017). Orange is the new glass. Playscripts.


Plummer, N. (n.d.) Musical theatre character analysis. 1st Edition. Stagedoor Unlocked. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e8a140ed7ce562e250e036b/t/5e99b758ebebe248d87ac9a6/1587132252980/MT+Character+Analysis+Worksheets.pdf

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