Table Of ContentASSEMBLY PROGRAMS FOR THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The University of Southern C alifornia
In P artial Fulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Eleanor Clapp
August 1950
UMI Number: EP46232
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77m project report, written under the direction
of the candidate's adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
Date ..................................
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE DEFINITION AND EXPLORATION OF THE PROBLEM . 1
The problem ...................................................................... 1
Statement of the p ro b le m .................................... 1
Origin of the problem ............................................ 1
Organization of the p ro je c t............................... 3
Review of the lite ra tu re ...................... 4
Evaluation of dramatic m aterial chosen
for student p re s e n ta tio n ............................... 4
Social drama in education .................................... 7
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . ..................................................... 9
II SKITS FOR ELECTION RALLIES.............................................. 11
"The Best M a n " ...................................................................12
"Listen My Children" . . . . . ........................... 16
III SKITS FOR PEP RALLIES........................................................... IB
"Centraella" .................................................................. 19
"Romiet and J u l i o " ..........................................................24
"Red and White Riding Hood and the Wolf" . . 27
IV PROGRAM FOR PRESENTATION TO PARENTS............................ 34
"Gay N ineties Review "..................................................... 35
V CLASS DAY PROGRAM....................................................................56
"The F urnace".......................................................................57
BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................$9
ASSEMBLY PROGRAMS FOR THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CHAPTER I
THE DEFINITION AND EXPLORATION OF THE PROBLEM
Since the advent of the modem motion pictures, radio,
and television, the American junior high school student has
bee<xae more aware of. dramatic trends and tendencies* To keep
in step with th is growing awareness, the school curriculum
has been expanded to include courses designed to meet the
needs and in terests of these students. However, the drama
teacher has found it d iffic u lt to procure modern m aterial
for class presentation.
I. THE PROBLEM
Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of th is
project: (1) to provide modem m aterial with phrases, music,
and situations fam iliar to the average junior higji school
student; (2) to create plays which require more g irls than
boys in the class; and (3) to u tiliz e an entire class in the
♦ •
casting of one large production.
Origin of the problem. The sk its and plays presented
in th is project were w ritten for a junior high school in an
average community. There were approximately th irty -fiv e to
forty students in each drama class, and th is situation repre
sented a challenge and a problem for the teacher. I t was
2
obviously unsatisfactory to use plays or sk its that required
the activ ity of only five or six class members. This in
variably meant that the rest of the class was idle while the
instructor worked with a m inority. Since there was little
or no m aterial available th at would meet th is demand, these
original plays were created and subsequently produced. They
were designed to include at least th irty people in the actual
cast. The remaining students in the class were then given
the opportunity to d irect, prompt, or work on some other
production phase.
In a ll of the drama classes at th is junior hi$i school,
the number of g irls enrolled far surpassed the number of boys
in the same group. This situ atio n , of course, presented
another problem to the in stru cto r. Any m aterial th at was
chosen for class presentation had to include or u tiliz e more
g irls than boys. A search of current published works re
vealed that in most of the plays for use at th is grade level,
the opposite situation existed. It became necessary to take
th is problem into consideration also when the major plays
were conceived.
In the w riting of these plays, the changing times also
had to be taken into consideration. The modern student was
accustomed to a far different type of drama than that which
existed ten or fifteen years ago. Expressions, music, and
3
situations pertinent to living in th is up-to-date world had
to be employed to keep the studentsT in terest and arouse
th eir enthusiasm. It was s till desirable to choose problems
or conditions that were time honored for the themes of the
m ajority of these student productions.
Organization of the p roject. The remainder of th is
project was divided into several sections. The firs t sk its
and songs were designed for use at election ra llie s . They
served to introduce and promote enthusiasm for candidates
seeking school office. The pep ra lly sk its were w ritten to
create school sp irit and support for a th le tic teams and
contests. Before each game, a ra lly was staged to encourage
student body attendance at these school a ffa irs. The sk its
were used as motivating tools to accomplish th is goal.
It was the custom to present at least one program for
an adult audience during each school year. This program in
cluded the effo rts of both the drama and music departments.
The "Gay N ineties Review" was w ritten with th is in mind.
I t included singing, dancing, pantomime, and dramatic action.
This production was used as a money making device when
presented to parents and friends.
The class day program was dramatized en tirely by
ninth grade students and presented to the en tire student
4
body as a farew ell assembly. This sort of production has
become trad itio n al in many schools, but there is a definite
shortage of m aterial of this type.
II . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Very little m aterial has been w ritten that might be
considered pertinent or relativ e to the problem at hand.
However, a number of sources have considered the part of
drama in the educational pattern of today. A b rief sum
m arization of these references w ill be given.
Evaluation of dramatic m aterial chosen for student
presentation. Jane Moran^ frankly discussed the problem
facing the teacher who must select plays for presentation
to the public or to other students. In her opinion, the
person doing the selecting often lo st sight of the fact
th at one of the important points in play selection was the
re al worth of the m aterial. Too often the tendency would
be to choose a lig h t, w itty play that would appeal to the
humor of the audience without introducing any real problem
or co n flict. A happy solution could be reached if these
values were taken into account when available m aterials were
Jane I. Moran, "The Play is the Thing," School
A ctiv ities. 21:50-51, October, 1949*
5
reviewed. There are many plays dealing with the most humble
subjects that are well and capably w ritten. She concluded
th at methods of play choice must be revised due to the com
p etitio n offered to modern drama by radio and telev isio n .
M errill and Fleming^ put forth the idea th at play
acting reveals the innermost thoughts and dreams of an
individual through his words, tones, and movements. The
child is required to put him self into another person1s
place. Therefore, plays selected should have worth while
settin gs and characterizations since children are quick to
grasp the significance of issues they are enacting. The
authors also traced the history of the drama from its e a rli
est use up to its place in our modern civ ilizatio n and its
importance in the mental and emotional development of to
days1 children. A number of plays are included to demonstrate
various themes, incidents, and occasions. A bibliography of
suitable school plays concludes the works and should be of
in terest and benefit to teachers looking for suitable m aterial.
Winifred Ward^ has w ritten a book th at may well be of
value to any teacher of speech and drsuna. Drama affords a
2 John M errill and Martha Fleming, Plavmaking and
Plays (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930 J.
3 Winifred Ward, Plavmakin& With Children (New
York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company, In c., 1947)*
