Hip Hop Musical Theatre Model Cornerstone Assessment

Title:  Building the Hip Hop Musical
Grade Level:  High School Advanced 
Authors:  Brian Jennings, Theatre Educator, with Arbender Robinson, Broadway Musical Theatre Actor
Artistic Processes:  Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting

Task Description:  Students will collaboratively develop the narrative outline for an original musical based on the life of a historical figure. Working in small groups, students will create, rehearse and perform sample numbers which fit into that narrative outline. 

Evidence of student learning:  Collaborative Music & Lyrics, Ability to contribute to Group Performance

"Building the Hip Hop Musical" demonstrates ways to measure student learning in theatre using the development of a hip hop musical concept as a tool for instruction and assessment. This Model Cornerstone Assessment (MCA) is based on a unit which was piloted in the classroom by the authors. Although in an MCA the emphasis is on the evaluation tools, an MCA does offer enough information for any teacher to create a similar unit of their own. Click on "View the full MCA" below to see strategies for embedding in instruction as a guide for re-creating this unit and assessment customized for your classroom. 

MCAs model effective assessment practice and demonstrate that teaching theatre is specific, rigorous, and measurable by sharing a glimpse into one teacher's classroom. The MCAs on this website come packaged with a suggested strategy for assessing student learning, types of evidence to collect, model rubrics, and samples of student work demonstrating their process and learning. The samples of student work illustrate the unit in action by providing a snapshot of a moment in time showing student response to instruction.

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