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BYU Theatre Education
Movement Unit

Day 9 – Reflection

August 21, 2025 08:10 PM

by Andrew Walker

National Standards:
TH:Re7.1.I.a. Respond to what is seen, felt, and heard in a drama/theatre work to develop criteria for artistic choices.
TH:Re8.1.I.c. Justify personal aesthetics, preferences, and beliefs through participation in and observation of a drama/theatre work.

Other National Standard Met But Not Assessed:

TH:Re9.1.I.a. Examine a drama/theatre work using supporting evidence and criteria, while considering art forms, history, culture, and other disciplines.

State Standards:

Standard L1.T.R.2: Defend responses based on personal experiences when participating in or observing a drama/theatre work.
Standard L1.T.R.8: Apply appropriate theatre terminology to describe and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of own or the group’s work.

Other State Standards Met But Not Assessed:

Standard L1.T.R.4: Demonstrate the ability to receive and act upon coaching, feedback, and constructive criticism.
Standard L1.T.R.5: Examine a drama/theatre work using supporting evidence and criteria, while considering art forms, history, culture, and other disciplines.

Enduring Understandings:

  1. Students will understand that reflection is an important part of learning.
  2. Students will understand that they can assess themselves.
  3. Students will understand that they are capable.
  4. Students will understand that I want them to succeed.

Essential Questions:

  1. How do we communicate effectively?
  2. What do our bodies communicate in real life?
  3. What is the value of movement?
  4. How do we reflect?

Objective:

Students will reflect on their learning and experience through brief self-assessment and class discussions.

Materials:

1. Movement Final Discussion
2. Large empty space
3. Drama 1 Daily Question
4. Projector, Projector Screen, Laptop, HDMI Cable, and HDMI to USB-C adaptor

Instructions:
Hook 1 – Daily Question (10 minutes)

  1. Put the Drama 1 Daily Question up on the board and have the students scan the code and add their answer.
  2. Read off answers and have the student attached to each answer raise their hand and give us a brief reason why they said that.

a. Suggested Question: What’s your favorite dance move? Hook 2 – Pass on a Message! Again! (10 minutes)

1. Explain to the students that today we’re going to focus on reflection. Again, reflection is an important, but often forgotten, aspect of any creative process.

a. You need to know what went well and why so you can repeat that process, and you need to know what didn’t work and why so you can avoid that mistake in the future.

  1. Before beginning our activities today, remind students that their reflection responses are due by midnight tonight!
  2. “On the first day of this unit we played a game called, ‘Pass On A Message’, who remembers that game?”
  3. Based on class memory, it may be beneficial to explain the game again

a. It’s kind of like telephone but slightly different. So first of all, when we start we’ll have you form 3 lines all facing forward. Then I will come to the person at the back of the line and tap them on the shoulder. Then, using no words – only my body and gestures, no mouthing words or anything (also no sign language) – I will communicate a short sentence to them. Then, they will turn around, tap the person in front of them and try to communicate the same sentence, again using no words. This will continue until the person at the front of the line gets the sentence, and we’ll see what sentence each line ended up with compared to the starting

sentence”.

  1. Check For Understanding: See if the game makes sense with a quick thumbs up or

    thumbs down from the class. If there is major confusion, see what questions they have

    and clarify instructions.

  2. “We’re playing this game to see how our skills have improved from the beginning of the

    unit”

  3. After checking for understanding, have students form three lines facing forward. Then,

    go to each line one at a time and act out one of the following sentences (or something similar): – NOTE: Act out the same sentence for all three lines

    1. The moon was so bright last night.
    2. I crashed my car.
    3. I don’t like the book I was reading.

  1. A deer hit my car.
  2. I went swimming with sharks.
  3. I slept on a couch and it hurt my back.
  1. Once the sentence has gotten to the front of each of the three lines, have the front person of each line say what they think the sentence is. Compare those sentences to the starting sentence.
  2. Depending on time, maybe play a few rounds. Then once finished, have the class “puddle”.

Self-Assess on Rubric (5-10 minutes)

  1. “Now we’re going to do some self-assessment. All y’all should have your rubrics, but if you don’t, I’ll project the rubric on the board and you can just write it down on a piece of paper. I want you to take some time and give yourself a score in each area. Genuinely, what level do you think you showed your skills at?”
  2. “If you think your skills were at a different level than the grade I gave you, take a second to think about or write down why you think that might be the case and why you think you deserve a higher (or lower) score. I may not change your score, but it’s important that you come up with your own evaluation.”
  3. “You will not be turning this in, it’s just for you to know and think about. And maybe you’ll track your growth over this semester. I think that would be super awesome to do”
  4. Check for any questions. Clarify as necessary.

  5. Now give students time to self-assess.

    1. I will walk around and maybe chat with a few students as needed.

    2. If there are still students that want to talk with me but time is up, tell them I’ll talk

      with them later in class or after class.

Group Discussions (20-25 minutes)

  1. Now have students form groups of 4-5 people.

  2. “In your groups, you’re going to talk through some discussion questions. I’ll present

    them up on the screen. You’ll have one set of questions for about 10 minutes and then another set of questions for the next 10 minutes. I want y’all to discuss these questions in depth and really reflect on this unit”

  3. Now pull up the Movement Final Discussion slideshow, present the first set of questions, maybe reading them out loud?
  4. Then have students start discussing!

a. I will walk around and listen in on the discussions, making sure people are staying

on task and assessing their reflection.
5. After about 10 minutes, switch the slide to the next set of questions and announce the

change. Students should keep discussing :)
a. I will then continue to walk around and listen in

6. After about another 10 minutes, call attention back.

Class Discussion (10-15 minutes)

  1. “Now we’re going to have a big group discussion about our major takeaways. So who wants to share something one of their group members shared about any of the questions?”
  2. Have a few different students share their major takeaways.

  3. As needed, I will encourage specific groups/students to share either something I

    overheard or just something about a question.

  4. Feel out the vibe of the conversation, if needed, ask new questions and get new responses

    from the class.

If Time, Extra Activity – Woosh!/Zip Zap Zop/Whisky Mixers (10-15 minutes)

1. If there’s still time after the discussion has wrapped up, it may be beneficial to do another fun activity like Woosh!, or Zip Zap Zop, or Whiskey Mixers.

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

  1. When there’s just a few minutes left in class, wrap up the discussion/activity.
  2. Remind students their reflection responses are due tonight!
  3. Thank the students for their work!
Tags
movement