Shakespeare Production: High School Proficient Model Cornerstone Assessment
Title: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Performance
Grade Level: High School Proficient
Author: John Dolphin
Artistic Processes: Creating, Performing, Reflecting, Connecting
Task Description: As a class, students will decide what the most important scene is in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, revising it into a 2 to 3-minute scene written in their own words. Afterwards, each student will choose a position they want to follow to create a theatrical production of the scene. Jobs include: actor, director, set design, prop design, light/sound design, costumes, hair and makeup design, poster and playbill design. They will then work cooperatively to bring the scene to production.
Evidence of Student Learning Collected: actor and director reflections; set, prop, light/sound, costumes/hair/ makeup, poster, and playbill designs and reflections.
MCAs model effective assessment practice and demonstrate that standards-based teaching in the arts is specific rigorous by sharing a glimpse into an individual 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.
Click here to "View the full MCA" as a guide for re-creating this unit and assessment customized for your classroom.
This model cornerstone assessment was created and piloted during the 2020-2021 school year, funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
