Language Arts Challenge

The Dramatic Monologue

Personal Explorations of Literature, Language and Digital Storytelling 

Submission Due Date: March 27, 2020

Table of Contents The Challenge Assumptions and Logistics Process Presentation of Learning Media Support Resources Evaluation Rubric Essential Questions Student Proficiencies Common Core Curricular Correlations (W3, W4, W5, W9, SL1, SL4, L3, L5)

Range of Activities Personal Exploration into Language, Literature or Digital Storytelling Dramatic Monologue Genre Analysis and Creation Character Creation Script Writing Digital Literacy Skills – Video – Pre-production, Production and Post-production 21st Century Skills: Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

The Challenge

This Challenge asks teams to produce two dramatic monologues about language, literature or digital storytelling. Using this confessional and intimate form of storytelling, teams are asked to explore their personal relationship to either a) characters/stories you have studied; b) words and language in your texting and writing lives; or c) digital storytelling as a means to be heard and understood. The final digital story should be around two to three minutes. 

The final outcome will feature two people – yourselves or you can cast people outside of your group – who will each deliver a monologue that represents your team’s perspective on and relationship to language, literature and/or storytelling. How you mix these two – one and then the other? intermixed?; and how you frame these two – talking directly to camera? to an imaginary or real audience? – is up to you. Welcome to The Dramatic Monologue – a beguiling and exciting form of expression. 

Deliverables include:

• Digital Story (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
• Thematic Elements (at teacher’s discretion)
• Draft Monologues (at teacher’s discretion)

Assumptions and Logistics

Time Frame– We recommend that this Meridian Stories Competition takes place inside of a three to four-week time frame.

Length– All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.

Slate– All media work must begin with a slate that provides:

1. the title of the piece;
2. the name of the school submitting;
3. the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from, related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use or reference it for educational purposes only in any all media; and
4. We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.

Submissions– Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in the Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).

Teacher Reviews– All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the media work.

Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator– While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the media. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content.  You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area, while assisting them with time management issues.

Digital Rules/Literacy– We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Resources Center section of the site for guidance.

Location– Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the story you are trying to tell.

Collaboration– We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

Process

• Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work. 

During Phase I, student teams will:

• Choose your area(s) of focus. Your choices are literature (character, narrative, genre, etc.); language (literature, poetry, texting, personal writing, pronouns, etc.); and digital storytelling (YouTube, Instagram stories, Twitter, your own portfolio, etc.). The questions you are asked to consider exploring are:
  • With which of these three areas of creative expression do you have the most compelling relationship? What is the nature of that relationship?
  • Which of these three areas has acted or can act as a catalyst for personal growth?These are very broad questions, but you want to think in terms of books and characters you have read; the words and phrases or lyrics that have captured your attention; or the videos and digital stories in which you are deeply engaged.
• Choose two areas to explore, as a team. They can be the same area or different. They can be about the same literary character or focused on two very different ideas related to language, literature and digital storytelling. There are no rules.

• This Challenge is as much as about your own personal identity as it is about the role language, storytelling and/or literature plays in that identity. As a team, your objective is to find two or three clear ideas about the topic – about the character, the decisions that character made, the story or setting, the genre of storytelling to which you are drawn, the words chosen, the text exchanges, the rhythm of the language, the style of digital storytelling, the simplicity of the imagery…there are so many pathways into this topic – that you want to explore in your dramatic monologue.
  • While there are no defined objectives to your monologue, i.e., the monologue doesn’t have to doanything, you do want the experience of viewing your dramatic monologues to result in a deeper understanding of how language/literature/digital storytelling relates to identity.
• Brainstorm two or three ideas, in each of the areas about which you would like to communicate. Or, identify the theme that you want to explore and some of the component ideas that make up that theme.
  • You don’t haveto communicate two or three separate ideas. Your dramatic monologue could simply focus on how …Harry Potter or Hermione made you see the world in a new way; one poem or lyric from a song empowered you to change something about yourself; graphic novels have opened a new understanding of story and humanity; tweeting as an art form has allowed you to be both poetic and heard; a digital story you saw on YouTube gave you a new way to express yourself. This Challenge has no hard and set rules about the content, except to stay aligned with the themes of language, literature and digital storytelling.
  • Teacher’s Option: Thematic Elements – Teachers may require that teams hand in an articulation of the themes that they will explore and the narrative elements that will make up that theme.
• By the end of Phase I, student teams should have a clear sense of the two or three main ideas that will be included in each of two dramatic monologues.

 During Phase II, student teams will:

• Investigate the Dramatic Monologue form. There are entire PhD theses about this literary form. For our purposes, there are three basic questions that we want to investigate:
  • Who is the speaker?
  • To whom is the speaker speaking?
  • What’s your story?
• Let’s start with, ‘Who is the Speaker?’ You have your content – what you want to say – but now you need to figure out, who is saying this? Is it you? Is it a persona or avatar of the team? Is it a character that you will invent? There is no right or wrong answer here. But in order for your words to be heard we, the audience, need to trust the speaker.
• Next up: To whom is the speaker speaking? Your options here include, but are not limited to:
  • An invisible live audience that we never see
  • A real live audience
  • A social media audience
  • Directly to camera (selfie-style or otherwise), with no particular indications of who is watching.
• Here’s another angle into this same question: who are you targeting (and will you call them out during your monologue)?
  • Your generation as a whole?
  • The adults of your world?
  • A niche group of like-minded peers?
  • None of the above?
• As a team, play around with these questions until you come up with the right mix of speaker and audience. Again, there are not right or wrong choices.
• What’s your story? How are you embedding your ideas into a story spoken by one person that is designed to engage, to enthrall?
• Draft your monologues, paying close attention to 1) how you’re using language to 2) craft the voice of your speaker to 3) effectively tell your story and 4) reach the target audience you have identified in 5) the setting you have created. That’s the trick of this format. This sounds like a lot. But this can be so much fun.
  • Teacher’s Option: Draft Monologues – Teachers may require that teams hand in a draft of their monologues for review and feedback.
• Based on feedback, revise your script.

During Phase III, student teams will:

• Stage your monologues. As part of your work in Phase II, you will have no doubt discussed where this will be shot and the speaker’s relationship to the camera.
  • In your thinking, discuss as a team how you plan to edit this. Will the monologue be recorded more or less in one shot, with the camera panning slowly around the speaker, punctuated by a single cut to the second monologue? Or, do you plan on presenting this in a jump-cut, jittery style where the quick editing style is half the story being told? These are just two of many options to consider. But having a discussion about your editing plans will affect how you shoot this.
• While you are figuring out the staging of this, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. The performance of these monologues is a critical part of this Challenge.
  • Pre-produce the scene:
• Scout locations for shooting (if this is being shot on location);
• Create costumes, props and other set pieces, as needed;
• Prepare the logistics for the actual shooting of the scene; and
• Rehearse the scene…one more time
• Shoot the video.
• Edit the video, adding stills and graphics as desired.
• Post-produce the video, adding music and sound effects as desired.

Presentation of Learning

Meridian Stories is a proud partner of the non-profit Share Your Learning, which is spearheading the movement of over five million students to publicly share their work as a meaningful part of their educational experience.

The workforce considers Presentational Skills to be a key asset and we encourage you to allow students to practice this skill set as often as possible. These short videos provide a great opportunity for kids to practice their public presentational skills.

According to Share Your Learning, Presentations of Learning (POL) promote…

• Student Ownership, Responsibility & Engagement. POLs can serve as a powerful rite of passage at the end of [a project]. By reflecting on their growth over time in relation to academic and character goals, grounded in evidence from their work, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. Just as an artist wants their portfolio to represent their best work, POLs encourage students to care deeply about the work they will share.
• Community Pride & Involvement. When peers, teachers and community members come together to engage with student work and provide authentic feedback, they become invested in students’ growth and serve as active contributors to the school community.
• Equity. POLs ensure that all students are seen and provide insight into what learning experiences students find most meaningful and relevant to their lives.

Meridian Stories’ own research indicates this to be a really useful exercise for one additional reason:  Students actually learn from their peers’ presentations – it is useful to hear a perspective that is not just the teacher’s.

It is with this in mind that we you encourage you to plan an event – it could be just an end-of-the-week class or an event where parents, teachers and student peers are invited – to allow the students to showcase their Meridian Stories projects. For more free resources that will support this planning, visit shareyourlearning.org.

Meridian Support Resources

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams: 1.    Meridian Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three to four minute videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production. 2.    Media Resource Collection – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity, production, game design and digital citizenry. Recommended review, as a team, for this Competition include:
Meridian Innovators and Artists	Media Resource Collection
On Scriptwriting and Comedy – Kent Pierce On Fiction Writing – Lily King On the Importance of Character in Storytelling – Scott Nash On Acting – Janet McTeer	“Creative Brainstorming Techniques” “Sound Recording Basics” “Building Characters” “Video Editing Basics”

Evaluation Rubric – Dramatic Monologues

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Dramatic Monologue 1 – Content Area	The area of focus for the first dramatic monologue is engaging, thoughtful and indicative of a focused exploration of the topic
Dramatic Monologue 2 – Content Area	The area of focus for the second dramatic monologue is engaging, thoughtful and indicative of a focused exploration of the topic
Dramatic Monologue – Genre	The dramatic monologue genre is clearly understood and executed with acuity and flair
STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
The Separate Monologues	The Monologues each tell a compelling story about the literary topic of choice
The Whole Digital Story	The mixture of the monologues together are dynamic and engaging, resulting in a singular, cohesive narrative
Audience	The piece clearly identifies an audience and this decision enhances the viewer experience
MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Acting	The acting is exciting and engaging, contributing to the scene’s success
Setting and Cinematography	The setting and use of the camera enhance the action of the scene, creating the necessary tension and tone
Editing and Music	The scene is edited cleanly and effectively   The selective use of music and sound effects enhances the tensions inherent in the scene
21ST CENTURY SKILLS COMMAND (teachers only)
Criteria	1-10
Collaborative Thinking	The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member
Creativity and Innovation	The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively
Initiative and Self-Direction	The group set attainable goals, worked independently and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project

 Essential Questions

1. What is the Dramatic Monologue literary genre?
2. What is one’s personal relationship to either literature, language or digital storytelling?
3. How does communication through a monologue shape the essence of the communication?
   1. How does one effectively express ideas through the literary filter of another’s character and voice?
4. How does performance effect the impact of the communication?
5. How has immersion in the creation of original content and the production of digital media – exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy skills – deepened the overall educational experience?
6. How has working on a team – practicing one’s collaborative skills – changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

1. The student will understand the basic components of the dramatic monologue literary form.
2. The student will have explored and articulated the impact of either literature, language or digital storytelling on their personal identity development.
3. The student will understand the novelty, as well as the strengths and weaknesses, of the monologue format. Additionally, the student, by communicating through a ‘character’ will gain a greater appreciation of the power and challenge of writing fiction.
4. The student will have a greater awareness of the dimensions that performance brings to language and communication.
5. The student will utilize key 21^st century skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy, in their process of translating literary content into a new narrative format.
6. The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important 21^st century skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

Common Core Curricular Correlations

The Dramatic Monologue Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by the Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts. Below pleasefind the standards that are addressed, either wholly or in part.

Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts Standards

Standards	8th	9th/10th	11th/12th
W3   WRITING   Text Types and Purposes	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W4   WRITING   Production and Distribution of Writing	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W5   WRITING   Production and Distribution of Writing	With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W9 WRITING Research to Build and Present Knowledge	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
SL1   SPEAKING AND LISTENING   Comprehension and Collaboration	Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one- on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL4   SPEAKING AND LISTENING   Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas	Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.	Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.	Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.
L3   LANGUAGE   Knowledge of Language	Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L5   LANGUAGE   Vocabulary Acquisition and Use	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.