The Common Core State Standards only set benchmarks for English/language arts and math, and because tests associated with the Standards are high stakes, teachers focus primarily on meeting those goals. Unfortunately, this often means that students are bound to close readings and challenging math and don't have as much time for culturally enriching experiences. However, incorporating live theater into Common Core-aligned lessons could benefit students.
Positive effects of watching shows
According to a study by Education Next, students who watch live theater have better knowledge of the play's plot, are more tolerant and are better at reading the emotions of others than peers who do not. Researchers divided students into groups: one went and saw a play performed by a professional theater troupe while another only read the play. The students were in grades 7-12, and the theatergoers were divided by age. Half of the students who attended a show saw "A Christmas Carol" while the other half watched "Hamlet."
After the plays ended, researchers asked the control and attendee groups a series of questions. The students also took the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), an assessment that discovers how well people can understand the feelings of others by looking them in the eyes. After completing the tests, researchers broke the perceived gained benefits into groups.
Knowledge: Students who watched the plays retained plot and vocabulary information better than those who only read the play or book. For instance, students who watched "Hamlet" were asked "Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?" More theatergoers than control-group students answered correctly (they are Hamlet's friends and the play's clown characters).
Tolerance: Not only did students retain knowledge about the plays, they were also more tolerant than others. In fact, students who only read the play or book were no more tolerant than those who hadn't read the play. Researchers believe these results occurred because seeing theater allows the audience to empathize with and understand characters they may otherwise not identify with.
Emotional reading: Students who watched the plays were more capable of reading others' emotions than their peers. To understand the show, the audience must be able to guess characters are thinking and feeling. They have to understand their motivations.
Fitting theater into Common Core classes
Because live theater offers such benefits, it's worth making a part of schooling. Fortunately, plays fit in well with the Common Core. Perhaps students can go see a Shakespearean play after reading it in class. They can discuss the show and compare their understanding of the play before the performance to their understanding afterward.
Teachers who want to take their students to see a play must accomplish a few things:
- Demonstrate how the show fits into the curriculum
- Create a lesson that ties the play into Common Core goals
- Devote some time to preparing for the field trip and analyzing the experience afterward
- Questions surrounding the play should be deep, supporting critical thinking and analysis
While the Common Core only offers benchmarks for certain subjects, fitting theater into aligned curricula is possible and even beneficial.
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