Virginia SOL 12.C.2.B
The Standard
Memorize and recite an excerpt or monologue from a dramatic work portraying the emotions and motivations of the character through voice and body language that conveys the intended tone and mood of the selection.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Speaking and Presentation of Ideas
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students perform a dramatic passage from memory. They use vocal choices, facial expression, posture, and movement to show the character’s emotions, motives, tone, and mood.
What Mastery Looks Like
- The student performs the passage accurately without relying on a script. Changes in pace, volume, facial expression, posture, and gesture clearly show the character’s feelings, goals, and shifts in mood.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat memorization as the whole task and deliver every line in the same tone. They may add gestures randomly instead of linking voice and movement to the character’s goal and emotional shifts.
How to Assess It
- Have each student perform 45 seconds from memory. Use a checklist for accuracy, vocal expression, body language, and alignment with the character’s motive.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Mark a printed monologue for pauses, emphasis, movement, and facial expression, then rehearse it with a partner using a phone camera.
Write three sentences explaining what the character wants, what blocks that goal, and how two performance choices reveal both.
Run an emotion-switch rehearsal where partners call a new emotion, then discuss which choices still fit the character and scene.
Compare two filmed versions of one speech and identify how actors use pacing, posture, and gesture to shape audience response.
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Printable 12.C.2.B Worksheet
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