Since it's Spooky Month, students are working on Spooky Radio Plays. Last week I introduced students to the concept of listening to a theatrical production on the radio - some students were surprised by this concept and couldn't imagine having to just LISTEN to their entertainment instead of being able to WATCH it. I shared a short clip of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds as inspiration for this unit. Students are working either solo, in pairs, or small groups to write and perform their own radio plays. Most students are choosing to tell a scary story, but all stories are welcomed for this assignment. A large part of radio plays are the sound effects, so students will also become Foley artists and must provide their own sound effects to help the listeners visualize their story. Students who are working alone are able to voice all the characters themselves, or may employ family members or friends to help act. The radio plays I received last year (while students were all virtual) had a lot of parents and siblings (even cousins and grandmothers) perform and they reported back that it was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to hearing the recordings that students come up with this semester. Once the radio plays are completed, I'll ask students if they want to share their work with the class and I'll play some in the classroom and post some on their virtual art show.
