Tableau: Bringing Theater to the Classroom and With It, New Ways of Learning!
For teachers, it can often be a struggle to keep younger school kids interested in the lessons being taught. However, at the Keewaydin Elementary School in Minneapolis, they have found a way to not only keep kids interested, but also show them new and creative ways of learning!
Recently, this school launched a project called Tableau. Tableau involves incorporating theater lessons into the language arts curriculum. The theater lessons encourage the kids to visualize, use descriptive language, and put their imaginations to work. And the results have been outstanding – the students are showing better comprehension and, best of all, are having fun participating in their lessons!
This video shows Tableau at work in the classroom!
Additional Resources:
- Here is a website that tells more about Tableau.
- This website shows another way to incorporate theater into the classroom!
Topics for Discussion:
- Have you ever acted in a play or a skit? What did you learn from playing your role?
- Would you like to have Tableau in your classroom? Why or why not?
Take Action:
- Talk to your teacher about incorporating theater lessons into some of your class’ lessons!
- Visit the Arts/Literacy Project website to learn how you can support this group that wants to improve literacy through performing and visual arts!
Teacher Features:
- Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.
- Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.
