Unit 05 · Drama, Choice & Consequence · Week 13
How does a play communicate through words, bodies, space, and silence?
This five-day sequence teaches the required concepts directly, provides a local course-created text, and supports either handwriting or typing. External tools are not required.
Weekly targets
Course-created practice text
MARA: You moved the chair. ELIAS: It was blocking the door. [Mara sets a sealed envelope where the chair had been.] MARA: Nothing was blocking the door yesterday. ELIAS: Yesterday no one was leaving. [A train sounds in the distance. Elias reaches for the envelope, then stops.] MARA: You said the station was closed. ELIAS: I said the last train had gone. [Mara looks toward the audience rather than the window.] MARA: Those are not the same sentence.
This original instructional text may be annotated, printed, performed and revised inside the course.
Learn from the original scene, connect earlier writing and dramatic techniques, and save individual student evidence. Days 61–64: formative check with 80% progression. Day 65: independent director's notebook and a human-entered 8/10 evaluation.
Prior study: Week 7: Conflict · Week 8: Information · Week 12: Performance
Open individual Day 61 studio →
Distinguish dialogue from stage directions and identify what each contributes.
Distinguish dialogue from stage directions and identify what each contributes.
Read the course-created scene below twice: first for plot, then as a performance plan. Mark spoken information, movement, silence, and facts known to the audience but not every character.
Write a 150–200 word explanation of one stage direction that changes how a line should be understood.
Open individual Day 62 studio →
Infer what each character wants and what prevents it.
Infer what each character wants and what prevents it.
Build an objective–obstacle–tactic chart. For every inference, attach a word, action, pause, entrance, or exit from the scene. Compare two plausible readings and decide which has stronger evidence.
Write a claim explaining how one character’s tactic changes during the scene.
Open individual Day 63 studio →
Explain how meaning can differ from the literal words spoken.
Explain how meaning can differ from the literal words spoken.
Annotate one exchange in three layers: literal statement, likely intention, and audience knowledge. Test whether the scene actually supports the inferred subtext.
Rewrite six lines with new stage directions that change tone without changing the dialogue; then explain the effect.
Open individual Day 64 studio →
Use position, movement, distance, and focus to express a defensible reading.
Use position, movement, distance, and focus to express a defensible reading.
Sketch two blocking plans for the same turning point. Label entrances, sight lines, distance, focal point, and one purposeful silence.
Select one plan and write a director’s note citing three details from the scene.
Open individual Day 65 studio →
Synthesize language and stagecraft in an evidence-based interpretation.
Synthesize language and stagecraft in an evidence-based interpretation.
Rehearse or table-read the scene using the selected blocking. Revise one choice after noticing a contradiction, ambiguity, or stronger possibility.
Submit the director’s notebook and a 400–550 word scene analysis.
Weekly mastery assessment
Submit the named product, the five daily responses, and a 150–250 word reflection answering the essential question. Objective completion alone does not establish mastery.
| Criterion | 2 · Secure | 1 · Developing | 0 · Insufficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interpretation is arguable and text-based | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Evidence includes dialogue and stagecraft | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Director choices have explained effects | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Alternative reading is considered | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
| Conventions and dramatic vocabulary are controlled | Specific, accurate and complete | Partly demonstrated; revision needed | Missing, unsupported or inaccurate |
Mastery: 8/10 after evaluator review. Below 8/10, revise the lowest criterion and resubmit. Submission is not the same as mastery.
□ Five daily responses
□ Principal product
□ Textual evidence
□ Revision record
□ Evaluator rubric
□ 8/10 or correction plan
Earlier notes remain in their original fields. Bring revisions and tool evidence here.