Into the Curriculum
School Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXIV, Number 2/October 2007
Drama: Who's Your Favorite Actor?
by Patricia Franklin
Patricia Franklin is a library media specialist at Timber Creek High School in Orange County, Orlando, FL. Email: franklp@ocps.net
Library Media Skills Objectives: Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, AASL/AECT:
- Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively.
- Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently.
- Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.
Curriculum (subject area) Objectives:
- Florida Sunshine State Standards: Writing Standard 1: The student uses writing processes effectively. (LA.B.1.4)
- Writing Standard 2: The student writes to communicate ideas and information effectively. (LA.B.2.4)
- Listening, Viewing, and Speaking tandard 1: The student uses listening strategies effectively. (LA. C.1.4)
- Listening, Viewing, and Speaking Standard 2: The student uses viewing strategies effectively. (LA. C.2.4) (LA.C.3.4)
Grade Levels: 9-12 Resources:
- 1000 Years of Famous People. Kingfisher, 2002.
- Biography Today series. Omnigraphics. (Profiles of people of interest to young readers) Biography books, such as the People in the News series from Lucent Books (2006).
- Various videos
- Biography Resource Center. Gale Student Resource Center. Thomson Gale (subscription service.) http://infotrac.galegroup.com/ menu
- Warwick, David. Landmarks Son of Citation Machine. Landmark Project, 2006. http://citationmachine.net/
Instructional Roles: The Drama I teacher and the library media specialist collaborate to create a project that teaches students about the history of acting and, at the same time, teaches them to use effective research skills. The teacher introduces the project, brings the students to the library media center and assigns each student an actor to research, and instructs them in stage presence and presentation techniques. The library media specialist teaches searching the online catalog, Internet research skills (including bibliographic style), and presentation software.
Activities and Procedures for Completion: This lesson takes at least two weeks. Students are brought to the library media center by the drama teacher.
Day 1: The teacher introduces the assignment, which is to create a six-minute presentation about an actor who lived within the last 100 years. Students must follow the rubric which was created by the teacher and library media specialist. The library media specialist gives a presentation on search techniques including the difference between using Internet search engines and online subscription services. Students are then given time to use the online cataloging program to look for print material and check out books about their actor.
Day 2: Students begin computer searches. The library media specialist gives a presentation reminding students of MLA style when writing their bibliography using the website Citation Machine. Students spend the next five days in the library media center researching through print and nonprint media. Students also have access to the video collection in order to find clips of their actor to present to the class.
Day 3: After students have begun research, the library media specialist presents tips on using presentation software such as PowerPoint to students who need help. Days 4 and 5 are devoted to research and working on the project. Students are given another week to finish their project on their own. They then present their six-minute project to the class.
Assessment or Evaluation: Students have been given the Biography Project Rubric (see below) at the beginning of the project and are evaluated using this rubric. The rubric is referenced often during the lesson.
Follow-Up: Students are given extra credit if they research someone else's actor and are able to ask questions during the presentation about that actor and his works.
