How We Choose to Act
Every day, we choose how to act. These choices are sometimes
conscious and sometimes unconscious. People make choices of
which they are proud, and people choose to act in ways they
later regret. In this unit, you will discover that a performer makes
choices about how to act before an audience. You will be
introduced to pantomime, inflection, role playing, and other
performance skills. In addition, you will learn to read and analyze
poetry and to portray yourself and characters in individual and
group performances.
Essential Questions
1.
How does a speaker create and present an effective oral
text?
2. How do literary devices enhance a text?
TP-CASTT Analysis
Poem Title:
Author:
Title: Make a prediction. What do you think the title means before you read the poem?
Paraphrase: Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about? Rephrase difficult
sections word for word.
Connotation: Look beyond the literal meaning of key words and images to their associations.
Attitude: What is the speaker’s attitude? What is the author’s attitude? How does the author feel
about the speaker, about other characters, about the subject?
Shifts: where do the shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc., occur? Look for time and place, keywords,
punctuation, stanza division, changes in length or rhyme, and sentence structure. What is the
purpose of each shift? How do they contribute to effect and meaning?
Title: Reexamine the title. What do you think it means now in the context of the poem?
Theme: Think of the literal and metaphorical layers of the poem. Then determine the overall
theme. The theme must be written in a complete sentence.
Performing with a Purpose
Sharing information and
stories begins with oral
communication. The oral
tradition of telling and
listening to stories has its
modern expression in
drama. Actors are not the
only people, though, who
communicate orally. The
art of expressing yourself
orally is probably one of
the most important
communication skills you
can master.
Performance is a way of
honing your ability to
communicate with others
by making physical and
vocal choices to convey a
certain idea or purpose
and feeling or tone. You
already modify your voice
depending on your
purpose and audience,
and you naturally use
gestures and your face to
create a certain effect.
Oral Interpretation
Performance is simply the
art of making purposeful
and deliberate choices to
express a text. Oral
interpretation is the art
of deciding on what a
text means and then
expressing that meaning
through movement,
gesture, facial expression,
and the voice.
Inflection
Intonation
Emphasis
What you already know:
You already know how to sound sarcastic, or excited, or sad, and
you can use your face and your body to convey that tone as well
as your voice. Couple that with knowledge with a monologue
that expresses a specific tone and you can bring your audience to
laughter or to tears.
Let’s Talk (Think-Pair-Share)
1. How does a speaker create and
present an effective oral text?
2. How do literary devices enhance a
text?
What You Will be Asked to Do…..
Read the Assignment, Steps, and
Rubric: Underline or highlight the
places that mention a skill or
knowledge necessary to succeed on
the task.
The Task – Assessment 1
Your assignment is to write, revise, and present an original
monologue that demonstrates you knowledge of pantomime,
inflection, word emphasis, ways to show emotion, and the
monologue form. You will select your topic, tone, and audience.
Steps
1. Review the texts and your personal reflections from this unit
that address the concept of choice and the consequences of
choices. You will write a monologue about a time when you
made an important choice or decision. The speaker of the
monologue, however, does not have to be you; you may want to
adopt a persona. It could be someone who is affected by your
choice or even a bystander who happens to observe the choice.
Organizing
Describe a time when you made a
significant choice, and explain the
results of that choice.
Who will be the speaker of the
monologue? Why?
Who is your intended audience? How
will this audience affect what you
write?
What is the setting, and what
descriptive words will you use to help
your listeners visualize it?
What is the purpose you are trying to
communicate?
What is the tone of the message?
(tone = attitude)
What words and phrases might help
to illustrate the tone?
Drafting
Revisit the monologues we have read. Look at their structure and
format. Draft your monologue in the correct format, and
incorporate your ideas from the graphic organizer. Consult the
Scoring Guide to ensure that you are meeting the specific criteria.
When your draft is complete, read it, and clarify your ideas
before sharing it within your writing group.
Sharing and Responding
Share your monologue in your writing group, and use the
feedback to revise the following:
Clarity and coherence of ideas presented
Purpose and target audience
Consistent tone with appropriate word choice and language
use
Revising
After you have revised your draft, work with a partner to review
and edit each other’s work for grammar, punctuation, and
spelling. You might choose to use resources (i.e. dictionary,
thesaurus, grammar book, etc.) to assist you with this phase of
the writing process.
Performing
To prepare for your presentation, mark your text to identify
places where you want to include inflection, gestures,
movements, facial expressions and various tones. Use the
following guide to analyze your text and then to mark it.
Preparing
Elements to Include
How I will mark the text to
show this element:
Inflection
Raise pitch ↗
Speak louder <
Speak softer >
Pause ,
Gestures
Draw or write how to
gesture in the margins
Movement
Write down where and
how to move.
Facial Expression
Draw simple expressions in
the margins.
Tones to Emphasize
Describe the tone as a
reminder (e.g. furious,
mournful, anxious, etc.).
Underline words to say in
that tone.
Line numbers where I will
use this element and HOW
I will use the element:
Extras
Describe the props and costumes (or props to pantomime) you
plan to use at the specific points in your presentation:
Props:
Props to pantomime:
Costumes:
Rehearsal
Rehearse your monologue with a partner. Practice your
monologues several times using appropriate facial expressions,
gestures, and movements. Give each other suggestions and
constructive feedback regarding the performance and possible
props or costumes. If necessary, revise your monologues once
again based on comments from your partner and your own
reflection on your rehearsal. The complete the feedback graphic
organizer to help refine your performances for the class. Check
the box that describes your partner’s performance in each area.
Offer suggestions for each area.
Suggestions to Consider
Inflections to consider:
Gestures/Facial Expression/Movement to consider:
To clarify the choice of the words (diction) you use, try….
To achieve your purpose, try…
(see p. 312 Feedback rubric for partners)
Scoring Guide for Teacher
Scoring
Criteria
Exemplary
Proficient
Emerging
The original monologue skillfully
reveals the relationship between a
choice and the consequence(s) of that
choice by

coherently communicating with
a clear purpose to an intended
audience

accurately using monologue
structure and format

skillfully using language to
convey tone.
The original monologue reveals
a choice and the
consequence(s) of that choice
by:

Communicating with a
purpose to an intended
audience

Following monologue
structure and format

Using language to convey
tone.
The original monologue fails to
sufficiently reveal a choice and
the consequence(s) of that
choice. It may not include one
or more of the following:

A purpose or intended
audience

A monologue structure or
format

Language to convey tone.
Performance
The performance includes the
purposeful use of inflection and
volume to emphasize and reinforce
key words and ideas effectively in the
monologue.
The performance includes
appropriate use of inflection
and volume to bring attention
to key words and ideas in the
monologue.
The performance includes
limited use of inflection and
volume to reinforce key words
or ideas in the monologue.
Presentation
The performance includes
extensive use of effective
gestures, facial expressions,
movements, props, and/or
costumes to enhance the ideas
presented in the monologue.
The performance includes
adequate use of gestures,
facial expressions,
movements, props, and/or
costumes to demonstrate
the ideas presented in the
monologue.
The performance includes
minimal use of gestures,
facial expressions,
movements, props, and/or
costumes to reinforce the
ideas presented in the
monologue.
Ideas
Organization
Use of
Language
Scoring Guide
(teacher)Continued
Scoring Criteria
Reflection
Additional
Criteria
Exemplary
Proficient
The reflection clearly and
descriptively explains:
• Choices on the topic,
tone, and revisions
during the creation of
the monologue
• Perspective on the
most successful
aspects of the
performance and
those aspects he/she
wishes to improve
The reflection explains:
• Choices on the
topic, tone, and
revisions during the
creation of the
monologue
• Perspective on the
most successful
aspects of the
performance and
those aspects
he/she wishes to
improve.
Emerging
The reflection gives a
minimal response to
the writer’s choices
during the creation of
the monologue or
his/her perspective on
the aspects of
performance.
Rubric for Student Feedback
Exemplary
Proficient
Emerging
Inflection
Inflection changes to make
the purpose clear and
interesting.
Inflection changes when
appropriate.
The inflection is sometimes
unclear or flat.
Gestures
Facial Expressions
Movement
Gestures, facial expression,
and movement are
appropriate to the
monologue and enhance
the
Performance.
Gestures, facial expression,
and movement usually
occur in the monologue
when appropriate.
Gestures, facial expression,
and movement is
inconsistent or does not
vary enough to make the
performance effective.
Clarity of Words
The diction fits the tone of
the situation and makes
the performance powerful
for the audience.
The diction makes the
purpose clear to the
audience.
The diction needs more
descriptive words to
convey the emotion of the
monologues.
Achievement of
Purpose
The performance is able to
elicit the emotional
response desired from the
audience.
The performer elicits a
response from the
audience.
The intended purpose of
the monologue is unclear.