Worth Sharing: Role-Playing in English and History Class
How Role-Playing Levels the Playing Field in My High School English Class
“If you want to transform your English or social studies classroom into a place of deeper learning and higher engagement, consider transforming your students into other people,” writes award-winning educator David Sherrin, in an article in Chalkbeat. In Sherrin’s classes, they don’t just learn about history or read books; instead, they “become” the individuals they are studying: characters from the past or from literature.
We loved reading this article and would like to share. Sherrin’s strategy – using role-play to give the students a deeper, more “real” understanding of their subject matter – is a common element of Envision’s leadership and career programs. Benefits of this approach, as described in Sherrin’s article are:
- Greater insight into the events, experiences and messages of the subject matter
- Positive outlet for students’ energy
- All types of students can shine, as role-play helps equalize some of the socioeconomic and academic differences found in every classroom
The article includes specific examples of role-play exercises for history and literature classes.
The author, David Sherrin, teaches at Harvest Collegiate High School in New York City. He was the recipient of the 2014 Robert H. Jackson Center National Award for Teaching Justice and is the author of Judging for Themselves: Using Mock Trials to Bring Social Studies and English to Life.
Have you tried role-playing exercises in your classroom? Please share in our Comments section.