Literacy Plus: Using Theater to Drive Education

By Susie Robinson

Recognizing the intrinsic educational value of exposing young people to theater, First Stage has offered in-school Theater in Education programs for all 32 seasons of our company’s existence. As schools are forced to spend less on arts programming, First Stage cleverly blends the arts with the standard curriculum, allowing all types of learners to learn traditional academic subjects through creativity and self-expression.

For instance, Literacy Plus—now in its fifth season—represents a true collaboration between the academics and the arts by igniting elementary students’ love of reading through an eight-week residency that connects our professional Theater Productions with the English Language Arts curriculum and Common Core State Standards. Through seven in-school, arts-integrated workshops students explore books, stories, scripts, fictional works, and informational texts that are thematically related to the Theater Production they will attend.

By acting out stories from different characters’ perspectives, adapting and performing stories as plays, and participating in improvisational scenes based on literary themes, students develop and reinforce key literacy skills. For students in K4-2^nd grade, the program addresses memory/recall, alphabet, focus, movement, teamwork, and critical thinking. For students in 3^rd grade and higher, the program helps students gain knowledge in story comprehension, ability to identify story elements, narrative structure, and listening and oral language skills.

Literacy Plus’ culminating Theater Production fieldtrip amplifies student achievement through an experiential learning opportunity that directly enhances the literacy skills and curricular themes explored throughout the residency. First Stage’s theater productions are often theatrical renditions of beloved children’s books, and by featuring young performers in all of our productions, First Stage not only ensures the artistic integrity of the characters onstage but also allows young audience members to connect more deeply with stories we tell.

So far this season, First Stage has provided more than 1,000 hours of literacy programming at 15 schools for 147 classrooms—serving approximately 3,500 students. Programming will wrap up after TINKER BELL, the final theater production of our season, closes on June 2, 2019.

The program is evaluated with an Observer’s Guide developed by Reinders Research and First Stage (for grades K5-2), a post-program student writing reflection (for grades 3 and up) and a comprehensive post-program survey for all participating classroom teachers. So far, the program evaluation has demonstrated:

55% of Literacy Plus students experienced growth in key literacy and language comprehension skills (an average of the following skill achievements):

> 48% exercised critical thinking by working cooperatively and respectfully with one another to make positive choices and lead by example. They did this by acting out how one can stand up for him/herself in bullying situations, and creating tableaux to illustrate positive choices and kindness toward others. Students shared:

“We learned how to stand up for ourselves in bullying situations and make positive choices.”

“I learned how to get along with others and how to nicely stick up for others when they are getting bullied.”

> 48% developed their listening and speaking skills through learning basic technical elements that can be used in theater work, and applying the elements of dramatic structure to create a drama work. They engaged in exercises that explored the design process, the role of the director, and the rehearsal process. Students shared:

“I learned how to make a play and how to be an actor.”

“We were learning how to put on a play and to be part of a play rehearsal.”

> 51% improved their ability of finding context clues by comparing and contrasting two or more characters while drawing on specific details in the text. They did this by creating character sculptures based on text evidence, identifying physical qualities that might reveal a character’s inner traits. Students mentioned:

“I learned that as an actor, you have to really feel how the characters are feeling.”

“We learned about the characters, and now I know that people who have a foster mom or dad go through a lot.”

“I learned about the characters’ personalities and their feelings.”

> 72% strengthened their ability to understand character traits and cause and effect by describing characters in a story and explaining how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. They did this through character walk activities to embody the different characters at different points throughout the story, and altering their voice and body to expand and articulate nuances of a character. Students shared:

“The Herdmans are my favorite characters because they make changes in how they act.”

So far this season, classroom teachers have reported:

70% of participating classroom teachers observed their students achieving English Language Arts curricular goals (an average of the following observations):

> 79% noted the First Stage residency allowed their students to gain further skills in story comprehension.

> 71% noted the First Stage residency allowed their students to increase their skills in listening and oral language.

> 61% noted the First Stage residency allowed their students to acquire greater critical thinking skills.

81% of participating classroom teachers felt that their students developed 21^st Century Workforce Skills (an average of the following observations):

> 85% noted the First Stage residency helped their students develop a willingness to share creativity with others.

> 83% noted the First Stage residency helped their students build the ability to work creatively with others.

> 76% noted the First Stage residency helped their students exercise flexibility and a willingness to be helpful.

Overall, 85% participating classroom teachers felt that Literacy Plus allowed their students to engage in curricular-based lesson plans in new and creative ways; and 93% rated the program as beneficial to their students and classroom.

In addition, classroom teachers shared the following feedback:

“Literacy Plus helped my students develop communication skills, build self-confidence, develop cooperation and positive social skills.”

“Students who otherwise struggle to show their thoughts and ideas excelled during the residency. It really brought out participation from those who are normally shy and reserved.”

“I saw increased attendance— the students want to be here on First Stage days.”

“The First Stage teaching artists are amazing—they engage all of our students and hold our students accountable. I love how everyone used the same language and modeled excellence for our scholars.”

“Thank you for providing this experience with our students. I continue to be very impressed with First Stage! This program allows experiences for our students that they would not have otherwise. It fosters an appreciation and introduction to the arts!”

Using theater to drive education, Literacy Plus provides the opportunity for students to learn and embody key literacy skills through active learning, creativity, and expression. Thanks to the support of our community and generous donors, First Stage is able to bring Literacy Plus to Milwaukee classrooms at a highly subsidized rate. Thank you for helping First Stage ensure access to this beneficial program for all of our city’s young people!