Welcome to the module that will introduce you to the newly adopted Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for middle school theatre. This module will cover the basic processes and concepts taught in middle school theatre, as well as compare the original TEKS with the newly revised TEKS.
As in the earlier grades, the strands provide structure for the TEKS. Middle school theatre courses build on the standards in the elementary theatre TEKS by continuing to nurture creativity and by also offering an expectation of knowledge and skills such as audience etiquette and production elements.
In middle school, students begin moving from creative drama to formal theatre. Though the emphasis through Middle School, Theatre 1 remains on creative drama, curriculum in Middle School, Theatre 2 and 3 begins to focus on interpretation and performance. Students gain a more in-depth understanding of theatrical elements, principles, and conventions and develop their acting skills. Activities that use dramatic subtexts begin to develop more complex characterizations. Nurturing the seeds that were planted in elementary school creative drama, improvisation skills are applied to unscripted prompts.
In middle school, students begin to examine scripts, learn basic acting techniques, and explore aspects of technical theatre. Reading scripted materials, students analyze characters, study dialogue, and design stage movements to solve theatrical problems. Through research, creative thinking, problem solving, and improvisation, middle school students not only acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful in theatre, but also begin to develop the self-discipline required to accomplish long- and short-term goals.
Middle school theatre tasks:
- Analyze characters
- Study dialogue
- Design stage movement
- Solve problems
- Think creatively
- Improvise