MS. FATHIMATH RASHEED is theatre teacher for students in grades 6-8 on the Monroe Campus, and this is her first year working at Linwood Monroe Arts Plus. Ms. Rasheed has been an artist in residence for the last five years, working with many different schools and communities in St. Paul. In addition, she has worked in education, playing many different mentoring roles, since she was a high school student in Dhaka, Bangladesh. While growing up, she attended international schools in four different countries.

Ms. Rasheed's mentor is Jan Mandel a SPPS theatre teacher for 30 years. Her mother's family have many educators, and her grandmother was a secondary teacher in China during WWII. Ms. Rasheed has a passion for theatre, and is committed to civic engagement and education. She is greatly influenced by the students she has taught in the last 5 years. She has traveled to 23 different countries and has lived in five of them. Ms. Rasheed is currently completing her Masters of Arts in Teaching.

The focus

of Ms. Rasheed's theatre classes is about creating original plays that reflect the voices of youth, and the diversity of our community. Students will be able to learn from professional artists in the community, view and critique their own work, and reflect on a daily basis.

Some standards students work on in theatre classes include:

• Create and Make: Create scripts, characters, and designs in a variety of theatre concepts.
• Artistic Process-Perform and Present: Perform and present in a variety of theatre contexts. Revise performance based on feedback of others, self-reflection, and artistic intent.
• Artistic Process-Respond and Critique: Analyze and interpret a variety of works in theatre such as performances and designs using established criteria.

Students in theatre will attend several field trips throughout the year, and professional actors, playwrights, and directors will also come to class and work with students.

 

 

 

Drama

is a vital and energetic part of Linwood-Monroe Arts Plus! Students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th Grade learn to create and perform original plays through improvisation.  They also explore written works such as poetry, Readers’ Theatre and scripted scenes.  Students learn to work together, creating, analyzing and revising classroom scenes.

In addition, Drama classes connect strongly with academic curricula. For example, 2nd Graders create plays based on West African Anansi Tales [Literature], 8th Graders develop scenes about Womens’ Voting Rights [Social Studies], Kindergarteners plant, harvest and sort geometric blocks on an imaginary farm [Math], and First Graders dive beneath the ocean, exploring habitats of fish and sea mammals [Science].

Performances are often shared before the entire school at our weekly Gatherings. Each year, 4th Graders produce an original Opera combining theatre, music, composition and classroom studies in a fully staged collaborative show.