1. The High School for the performing and Visual Arts
All The World's A Stage
Jennifer Lankau Chase
2017 Outstanding Teacher of the Humanities Award, Humanities Texas and the National Endowment of the Humanities
2017 Kemerer Award for Outstanding Texas Social Studies Teacher, Texas Legal Digest and Texas Association of Secondary School Principals
The High School for the performing and Visual Arts
Houston ISD

3. Objectives and Goals
1. To explore new ways to increase literacy in social studies classroom using instructional materials in a unique way.
2. To identify a simulation that you can adapt for your classroom quickly. Students will not only be acting out a script, but CREATING the script as well, which includes reading, writing, and speaking.

4. Why create a script?
US.29(E)     evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author, including points of view, frames of reference, and historical context
US.29(G)    identify and support with historical evidence a point of view on a social studies issue or event
Share reasons why you think that creating a script would allow your students to work towards mastery of these standards.

5. Over 200 possible simulations or simulation games in Active Classroom

6. Reality vs. Ideal world
Some simulations are extremely lengthy and require up to two class periods and extensive background reading
In many simulations there will be "idle" students who are not engaged
If reading from a script, many will not listen to other students, but rather focus on preparing their lines.

7. How to adapt a simulation
STEP 1 After choosing a simulation, create a background reading. This should include the TIME, PLACE, and a brief SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL EVENT OR CONCEPT. I've used a simulation from Cultural Conflicts: Case Studies in a World of Change

8. HOW TO ADAPT A SIMULATION
STEP 2 Create a cast of characters (2-3 depending on your group sizes) with a brief background. Again, many simulations provide this already, you simply need to choose which characters with which you would like to focus.

9. HOW TO ADAPT A SIMULATION
STEP 3 Create a Classroom Objective One Pager (orange sheet in your folder). This has everything your students need to know to reach the shared objective with the class.

10. The ROles 
Set Designer: Your role is to design the set for your group’s play. Each play will consist of two acts, each with a different scene. How will your set design visually set the scene for your play? After you have briefly discussed the plan for your play, you will create a sketch of the scene in Act One and Act Two and provide an artist’s statement for each.

11. The Roles:
Narrator: Your role is to set the scene verbally. Each play will consist of two acts. What does the audience need to hear before the characters begin to act to understand the dialogue and purpose of the play? After you have briefly discussed the plan for your play, you will create narration that will be read to the audience before your characters begin to act. After your write your narration, provide an artist’s statement for each scene.

12. The roles
Character Development (2-3 students depending on group size): Your role is to create the dialogue (what each person will say in the play). Each play will consist of two acts with different scenes. How will your characters speak and act in the play? After you have briefly discussed the plan for your play with your group you will create the dialogue of your characters. After your write your dialogue, provide an artist’s statement for each scene.

13. Your Turn!
Find a partner (3-4 ideal, but for our purposes, 2 will work). Identify who will be the scene designer, and who will be the narrator. Briefly scan the orange information sheet. Identify from the South America: Urbanization Versus Village Life where I got the information on the orange sheet. Did I have to start from scratch?

14. Your Turn!
Lets put this into use… One of your team should take the narrator’s role and the other the Scene Designer role. Read your responsibilities at the top of the page. Share: How will creating the narration and the scene design help students with historical context, POV, and frames of reference?

15. But Wait!
How do I keep kids focused on their task? The Artist’s Statement at the bottom is your formative assessment. Students must explain in their own words how their creative product helps the audience understand the main idea of the play, AND how it helps reach the class objective.

16. The Final Product
Do they act out their play?? Only if you want them to! It can be a great extension, if time permits. But the act of creating the play achieves our purposes. Other ways to extend the lesson includes "pitching" their play to a producer – whose play would be most appealing to the public and would therefore make the most money? Whose play achieves the class goal?

17. Your Turn!
In the manila folders, there are two other types of simulations found in Active Classroom. Please choose one and briefly scan through the simulation to identify what you could use to start. Be ready to share the following: 1. Is there enough information to create a background reading? 2. Are there characters already created that I could use? What else might you need to adapt this simulation?

18. Caveats
First, do no harm. What things might we need to be aware of when creating a simulation or asking a child to recreate a scene from history? What events in history might we need to be especially careful with to ensure cultural sensitivity and protection of our children?

19. CLosing
Does your school or district have simulation materials already? Have you run across them throughout your career? Share with your neighbor any simulations you have seen or come across. Could you adapt them? Can you commit to trying this idea out and sharing your results? THANK YOU for being here!