Moving & Learning in the High School

In my classroom students never sit down the entire class time and neither do I!  Moving is a must in my classroom, not just because it's theatre but because it serves both kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learning.  We do movements to remember vocabulary, to get warmed up, to transition between topics, to get into groups, and so much more. I tell the students at the beginning of the year they cannot and will not sit down or stay silent the entire class time. Some are excited about this and others are worried. Once we get up and moving there are no complaints.

A simple way I get them up and moving is stations. Stations or corners they have to do certain activities at, write down answers or observations, and/or contemplate certain questions. Another way is a movement made up to remember a certain vocabulary word or even our vocal diction exercises. When the opportunity presents itself I let students pace, walk around, sit on the floor, lay under tables, etc. to work individually on their writing, brainstorming or whatever. It requires more monitoring on my part but gives them a change of scenery and control over their learning environment.  

In the case of checking for understanding informally, they may have to act something out, use their bodies, stand up quickly or do a gesture in order to be called on for a question. I use movements to get classrooms attention, to celebrate student achievement, and give focus to someone talking. These are simple gestures, claps, and poses but get students communicating non verbally.

For a short video of examples: Click Here

Bio:

My name is Candace Clarke and I am thrilled to be in my fourth year teaching theatre at Sunnyvale. So grateful to be apart of the Sunnyvale family. Since being at Sunnyvale the theatre department has grown and we have a theatre teacher at both the HS & MS campuses, our International Thespian Society has over 20 members, and our One Act Play last year was a Regional qualifier, and the year before received alternate to State UIL OAP.  I  work very closely with our Middle School theatre teacher, Rae Harvill, who is my curly red-headed sister!  

My favorite color is purple and I wear it everyday - don't doubt it.  My husband, Paul, is a Dallas Firefighter and we live in Dallas.  My hobbies include traveling, road trips, spending time with my husband and family, dancing, sewing, designing, and embracing awkward moments. I am a lifelong learner who strives to be involved in theatre in order to be an effective educator of theatre.  Outside the classroom I can be found serving at Life in Deep Ellum on the production team, attending musicals, teaching movement at GPAC, and reading plays!