Puppet Show
Theresia Melania Sudarwati
'Puppet show' on Television is very common but 'Puppet show' in English performed by students of Senior High School is very uncommon. The students of SMA 11 Semarang have proved it that this activity is uncommon for them but it is possible. Last May the students of language program from SMA 11 Semarang did it in their final oral examination and last October students of class X1 from SMA 11 also proved it that they were also able to do what their seniors had done. 'Puppet show' I mention above actually is an example of authentic assessment for genre narrative, which describes the multiple forms of assessment that reflect student learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally-relevant classroom activities in the form of performance assessment( Authentic Assessment For English Language learners, p.4).In this assessment students change their tables into a small stage where they are hiding themselves while they are playing their characters or their puppets. Each character or puppet is played by a student. The number of the puppets mirrors the members of the group in the show. They have to make their own puppets according to the character described in the script. The script for 20 minutes must also be prepared by the members of the group. They may use a computer program of 'POWER POINT' to create a setting and insert music in their performance. But if they prefer a traditional one, it will always welcome. To attract the audience, the students also have to learn how to modulate their voice so that they could act as if they were real characters described in the script. In this assessment all students in their groups must be very active in selecting the story, developing the story into a script, making puppets as the characters in the script, learning how to modulate their voice, preparing setting, music, and finding all information to make their assessment be a good performance.
The puppet show I plan is an example of performance assessment because it has some characteristics of performance assessment, (adapted from Aschbacher 1991; Herman, Aschbacher, and Winters 1992):
1. Constructed Response : After deciding the title of the story, students in groups construct a response and provide an expanded response, engage in a performance, or create a product.
2. Higher-order Thinking : The students use higher levels of thinking in constructing responses to open-ended questions.
3. Authenticity: tasks are meaningful, challenging activities that mirror good instruction or other real-world contexts where the students are expected to perform.
4. Integrative: the tasks call for integration of language skills and, in some cases, for integration of knowledge and skills across content areas.
5. Process and Products: procedures and strategies for deriving the correct response are assessed as well as the product.
6. Depth versus Breadth: performance assessments provide information in depth about a student's skills or mastery. It covers more than typical of multiple-choice tests.
To aid in making the judgment accurate and reliable, a checklist is used. A scoring scale is referred to as a rubric, in which numerical values are associated with the students' performance levels, such as 1=basic, 2=proficient, 3=advanced. Students can participate in setting and using the checklist in self-assessment of their own performance.
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Sudarwati, T. M. (2006, February). Puppet show. Paper presented at the 6th
International Conference, ITB Bandung, Indonesia.
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