Tag: Fifth Grade

For Coaches and Teachers, For Hosts and Facilitators, For Kids, For Parents, P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box, Resources

P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box Time: Theater Etiquette

Alison Weaverdyck

When I was a kid competing in USAT, my favorite event was always the P.A.R.T.Y. performance. I loved getting up in front of the crowd of parents and other teams to share our interpretation of the PA.R.T.Y. in a Box problem. I went on to do two professional plays as well as many school and community performances over the years and I know that I achieved some of the confidence I needed to even try out based on my time in USAT. In addition to my own acting chops, I have also been a judge for USAT performances several times and I plan to share some tips to help students do their very best at each competition. Over the next several weeks I will be giving advice about creating costumes, backdrops and props, and making performances memorable.

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From http://www.fanpop.com

But, let’s start with the basics. Getting up in front of a big group can be incredibly intimidating even if you have done it lots of times. The best way to help everyone feel comfortable and give it their all is to have a respectful audience. Many of the participants in USAT have never been to a formal performance of a play, orchestra or other event that would demand proper theater etiquette so they probably don’t even know the right way to act unless parents, coaches or facilitators tell them (and show them) how it is done.

 

1. Turn off all electronic devices. Smart phones, MP3 players, tablets and all manner of electronics have become the norm, but they have no place in a theater setting. Not only are the noises the devices themselves make distracting, but how many times have you seen parents leave their seats in the middle of a team’s performance when it isn’t their kid’s skit going on? It is distracting to the actors and to the audience members, and a gentle reminder from the host facilitator at the beginning of the performances can go a long way to keeping this from happening.

2. No talking during a performance. Unlike a real theater, the spaces like libraries, gyms and classrooms where most USAT performances take place have not been designed with noise in mind. Even a whisper in a small space can pull focus from the actors and derail their trains of thought. A policy of quiet during performances will also help ensure that teams who perform later due to their assigned letter will not have time to do additional planning and preparation during the performances of others.

3. Respect the rules about eating and drinking. In many school spaces there is no eating or drinking allowed. These rules should be respected by the coaches, teams and their family members throughout the Meet, and especially during P.A.R.T.Y. performances. Besides the potential for mess, many snacks come in noisy packaging and the unwrapping of a candy bar or crunching of potato chips can be just as distracting as talking.

4. Always applaud. We want students to gain confidence in their creative abilities and problem-solving through the course of the USAT season to promote positive risk-taking. Even performances that fall short of solving the problem, are difficult to hear or even are giggled through by the actors deserve the attention and respect of the audience. Every team should applaud and encourage the others, and in the rare case of heckling or booing this should result in a penalty against the offending team.

Unlike other types of performances, USAT teams also need to be sure to clean up after themselves. As soon as they are done with their performance they must clear the stage area and make it easy for the next team to set up. The facilitate clean-up, hosts can often arrange to have extra garbage cans brought in before the performances begin and set up near the staging area so the materials can be disposed of as soon as the students leave the stage.

Looking for more P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box tips? Check out the rest of the series: Front and Center, Make it Memorable, Backdrops Set the Scene, Costumes Make the Characters, and Props Add Pop.

For Coaches and Teachers, For Kids, For Parents, Resources, SCAMPER Technique

Getting the Most out of SCAMPER: A is for Adapt

Alison Weaverdyck

One the defining characteristics of human beings is that we are great at adapting. You can find people all over the world in different climates, using different materials to make our homes and eating different food depending on what is available. We use tools to accomplish things we cannot do with our own two hands, and machines that are far stronger than any one person could ever be. More than any other creature on Earth, we are able to adapt to new challenges, and adapt our environment to suit us. And this all possible because of our ability to think creatively.

I asked Peggy Sheldon, the founder of USAT, what she thought about the word adapt, and I really liked her answer. She told me, “It is about seeing and using the patterns in the place, space, and time and using creativity to re-imagine landscape, social, and conceptual systems.” The emphasis on pattern recognition, another thing our big human brains are extremely adept at, is a key part of adaptation. For instance, the delicious Spanish cuisine known as “tapas” did not come about spontaneously. The story goes that there once was an owner of a tavern who had a space outside for his patrons to sit. This outdoor space was in the shade of a large tree, which made it cooler and more comfortable to sit outside, but the leaves and seeds from the tree would sometimes fall into the patrons’ drinks. The patrons would get annoyed and decide to take their business elsewhere. To counteract this problem, the owner started to serve his drinks with a thin slice of Serrano ham across the mouth of the glass to act as a cover, or “tapa”, to keep the seeds out. He saw a pattern of cause (seeds) and effect (loss of business) and adapted to the problem.

As it turned out, the patrons would finish their drinks and then eat the salty ham, which in turn made them more thirsty, which then led to them ordering another round of drinks. Pretty soon, the owner was offering different kinds of salty snacks free of charge, and other people started to catch on to this ingenious idea. So now in the Southern parts of Spain you rarely order a drink without also getting a small plate of olives or some other salty snack along with it free of charge. And from there, chefs started to develop dishes that are almost exclusively served in this way, and a whole new cuisine was born and continued to spread to different countries.

Adaptation is a method of changing actions and attitudes in response to recognizing the need for that change, and this takes a flexible and creative mind. During the course of a USAT season, or even in the middle of a Mind Sprint, students may find it advantageous to adapt. A strategy that seems like a good idea “on paper” may turn out to take too much time or they lose track of the original question they are being asked to answer. The events in USAT are all timed and the season is short, so to be the most successful at Meets students need to be able to quickly evaluate if strategies work and how to change those strategies and try new things to improve. One way coaches and parents can help this process it to take some time after each Meet to talk about what worked and what didn’t work, and to brainstorm new ways to Meet those challenges should they arise again. And it important to remember that changing your mind or your strategy midstream doesn’t mean the first idea was “bad,” but perhaps with some modification you can come to the “best” conclusion.

For Coaches and Teachers, For Kids, For Parents, P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box, Resources, SCAMPER Technique

Getting the Most out of SCAMPER: C is for Combine

Alison Weaverdyck

There are few things that aren’t improved by adding chocolate. Coffee and chocolate, mint and chocolate, and my personal favorite,  a chocolately minty mocha! But blending things together can make more than just delicious caffeinated beverages, it can also be a recipe for creativity.

Where substitution is mostly focused on things and materials, combination is great way to think about manipulating ideas and bringing people together for different purposes. For instance, there is a television show on ABC called Once Upon a Time that incorporates different fairy tales and literary characters into one small town where they explore their connections in the past and how they would interact if thrown together in the present. The Avengers is a popular Marvel Comics franchise where superheroes team up to fight the forces of evil, but it is the force of their individual personalities that ends up being their biggest challenge. And last year USAT had a challenge that asked students to bring different animals together to reach a common goal.

In many ways, just being part of a team is also an exercise in combination. Some students may be stronger at math, others may excel at acting, and some may be better at thinking on their feet. Academic Triathlon is a great opportunity for students to shine in the areas in which they are already strong, and to explore new skills that they may not find as easy to harness. Being able to work together and being supportive of creative risk-taking are key parts to success during AT Meets and beyond.

“Combine” is a great tool to incorporate into P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box challenges. In addition to writing interesting stories, students are asked to quickly construct props and costumes by bringing together materials like plastic cups, paper plates and garbage bags. Time is of the essence during prep time, and practice doesn’t have to make perfect but it sure can save time. These items are a part of almost every Meet, which means it is worth the time to practice working with them and figure out cool ways to bring them together. Cardboard is an incredibly versatile substance, but the box that holds all of the other materials is rarely used as anything but a way to carry the props and costumes to the performance! Just think about the hours of fun your students could have exploring different ways to combine different materials as a way to get excited for a Meet.