Morton High School - Top Hat Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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Morton Speech, Dramatics Provide Opportunities DESCRIBING HIS BREAKFAST of bacon, eggs and toast is Senior Tim Kallok. Students illustrate and explain their particular drawings to ful¬ fill chalk talk assignments given during the speech course. Extra-credit courses in speech and dramatics offered students the opportunity to communicate key ideas. Although Speech I was open to all classes, counselors primarily urged underclassmen to elect speech so they might continue with advanced courses and possibly enter debate or extemporaneous speaking. Record pantomimes, chalk talks and “heckle” speeches comprised the semes¬ ter’s work. Imitating a recording artist’s gestures and lip movements was the aim of students when pantomiming records. Grades were evaluated on the basis of facial expression, ease of gestures and the student’s knowledge of his selection. Chalk, blackboard and a student were all that were needed to create a successful chalk talk. Aspiring orators diagrammed the insides of light bulbs, of ball point pens and of kissing dolls while explaining their drawings. “Heckle” speeches were required so that students could gain experience in dealing with people who try to confuse speakers with taunts. The dramatics department presented “You Can’t Take It With You,” a three-act play by Hart and Kaufman. Dramatics students also performed in a children’s play, “The Clown Prince of Wanderlust” and three one-act plays — “Trysting Place,” “Impromptu,” “Undercurrents.” 26

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Languages Assist Students Seeking Understanding SCENES OF PARIS inspire students in their studies of French. First year French students improved their pronunci¬ ation of words and pharses by listening to dialogues on the tape recorder. After gaining a sufficient vocabulary, students translated French novels into English, starting with “Sept un Coup.” Second year students completed “Auccassin et Nicolette,” a more advanced novel. Beginning German students not only concentrated on usag e of grammar and vocabulary but also on geography and customs. Bonn, the home of Beethoven, and Cologne, the location of the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, were two of the cities studied. This year the aurol-oral method was introduced in many of the Spanish I classes. This system emphasized the hearing and speaking aspects of the language, while the use of the textbook was limited. First year students took an imaginary car trip to Mexico. All made a diary of the journey which included maps, an expense account and personal observations of the customs and scenery. Students interested in furthering their study of Latin have enrolled in a third year course to be offered next fall. Literature will be stressed, and the students will study the Roman authors Virgil and Cicero. While basic grammar and its usage are learned during the first and second years, figures of speech will be the only grammar introduced in the third year. LISTENING, IMITATING and conversing are the three steps to learning a language. Students Dennis Dawson, Norma Reitz and Warren Griggs pronounce buch, aswischer and platte, which are German vocab¬ ulary words for book, eraser and record. 28