Pacing around a circle of third-graders, one student pointed at
his peer and yelled
”
Elephant!
”
The student waved her arms in front of her nose to create the
trunk of an elephant while her friends on either side of her curved
their arms to make the ears.
Pacing around a circle of third-graders, one student pointed at his peer and yelled “Elephant!” The student waved her arms in front of her nose to create the trunk of an elephant while her friends on either side of her curved their arms to make the ears.
The entire classroom erupted into laughter.
The students played the game as a part of Arts Back in the Classroom, a new program being piloted by Gavilan College that teaches elementary students the value of theater and arts. Two classrooms of Ladd Lane third-graders are the first students in San Benito County to try out the four-week program.
“Exposure to the arts is crucial at that age. It can be really life-shaping in so many ways,” said John Lawton, the director of the theater arts program at Gavilan College. Lawton said he decided to create the ABC program so that more young people could be exposed to theater.
“I know that a lot of schools here really don’t have the money for the arts in education,” Lawton said. Lawton teaches the course on a volunteer basis with two other people from Gavilan.
The program teaches students the fundamentals of theater and allows them to get some hands-on experience. On Friday, the students played several acting games and learned some theater vocabulary.
“We’re going to warm up our brains, our minds and our imagination,” said volunteer Janine Mortan, who led the students in the exercises. She said actors use three tools: Their bodies, their voices and their minds.
Nine-year-old Gabriella Verdugo said she was inspired by the lesson to try out for a play or take an acting class.
“Now I know new things to do if we ever put on a play or a show,” Verdugo said.
Kristen Damm, who teaches one of the classes participating, said she was excited to have her students exposed to the program.
“I thought it would be a good activity because it’s something different and unique that I’m not able to teach,” she said. Damm added that this would give students who might not have the financial means to take part in theater the chance to gain some exposure.
“It opens up another part of their brain. Everything is so stressful with all the testing, but this enables them to do better on their tests,” Damm said.
Lawton is teaching the course with the help from another staff member at Gavilan and a student. He said he hopes to start the program as a college course so that he can get more students involved and they can receive credit for participating.
“I’d like to start the program this year so that we can expand it in the future. The point is showing that there really is a need,” Lawton said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or at [email protected].
