When the English language learners in Carlos Rosello’s 9th-grade class at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice study literature, it’s total immersion: They perform scenes from the novel or play they’re reading in class. And sometimes they compose music for their performances, too.

“I use my experiences as an artist to help students learn,” says Rosello, who has taught for 20 years, the last five at El Puente. He was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in Williamsburg, where El Puente is located. He is a professional musician (electric bass guitar) who enjoys coming up with ways to engage students in the work of learning English and great literature.

This year Rosello is leading the class through a reading of the award-winning play “Anna in the Tropics,” by the Cuban writer Nilo Cruz, which centers on the lives of workers in a cigar factory in Florida in the 1920s and the lector who is employed to read to them as they work.

Rosello has the students sit in a circle. “Look at each other. You’re having a dialogue,” he says.

“My goal is to dramatize the work,” explains Rosello. “That’s how you master the language. The class writes screenplays for the works. It’s a way to have fun with language and have fun with structures.”

From the comments students have posted on the classroom walls, it’s working well. Rosello posted a question in English and Spanish: “How is it different to learn ELA (English language arts) through theater?” The students responded enthusiastically on Post-it notes in both languages:

“Because if you’re a visual learner, it’s easier.”

“We can help each other memorize our lines.”

“It’s different because in theater you have to memorize movements and words, and it makes it much easier to learn.”

Rosello is attuned to the students’ needs. “These are kids,” he says. “You can’t have them sitting down all the time.’”

When the class is distracted and restless, Rosello leads them in an exercise: One student lies on the floor and the rest of the class has to pick him or her up. In addition to making everyone focus on the task at hand, it also reconnects the students to each other as a team. “It’s a great way to break the ice, to develop trust in each other,” he says.

Another method he uses to refocus students: He has them beat out rhythmic patterns with drum sticks between reading exercises.

Art teacher Joe Matunis says Rosello recognizes the transformative power of performance. “It’s amazing to see students from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador and other places — here a few months — performing in English,” says Matunis. “Some might not be fluent, but they get to hear themselves speaking English.”

Students perform for each other, but the community is invited in, too. “The experience creates a loving, supportive community in which students’ confidence and achievement can flourish,” says Matunis.

And it’s an experience Rosello makes accessible to all students. Varuni Tiruchelvam, a special education teacher, works with Rosello in an Integrated Co-Teaching class during first period. “He’ll match techniques to their strengths,” she said. Some students will act out a role while others might create “sets” for the dramatization.

Drawing on his own memories of attending public school in the neighborhood, Rosello strongly identifies with his students and their struggles. Carmine Rosati, his band teacher at Eastern District HS (which closed in 1996), had a big impact on him, he says. “He would say, ‘Keep at it, don’t stop working on it, keep on practicing.’ I applied that to teaching and life,” Rosello says. “Just because it doesn’t come naturally, don’t give up.”

Rosello sees himself as part of a wider school community that is creating a space where everyone — staff and students alike — can flourish. “I’m surrounded by good teachers who love students and love what they do,” he says.

Tiruchelvam put it simply: “He’s bold and committed to building relationships,” she says. “He reminds me of my humanity every day.”