Time: 6-8 weeks
In this unit, students explore and express their ideas about the environment and beyond through contextual dramas. Unit activities extend the students' learning about themselves, their neighbourhood, and the world of their imaginations. Students also learn about the role of drama and dramatic artists within the community.
Teacher Note:
Unit 1 has been developed as a sample unit for Grade 1 (available on CD-ROM and on Saskatchewan Learning website).
Sample Topic: "Home is Where the Heart is"
Suggested Resources:
Starter List of Activities
Teacher Note:
The following Starter List of Activities is intended to aid the teacher in planning units. The activities are described very briefly and are just a sample of the many activities that can be developed to explore the theme or topic. The activities are presented as introductory, main, and concluding activities to facilitate planning.
1. Introductory Activities
Refer to Planning the Drama section of the curriculum guide to create a contextual drama about a fictional home, an urban neighbourhood, or a rural community.
Introduce a topic such as All About Me, My Family, or My Neighbourhood/Community. Inform students of how the Teacher in role strategy works. Ensure that all of the students understand that what the teacher says when in role is make-believe. Establish a signal to let students know when the teacher is in or out of role. For example, the teacher might wear a hat or sit in a special chair when in role. This lets the young students know when the teacher is addressing them as the teacher or pretending to be someone else.
Teacher in role
Enter in role as a parent of a very large family who is considering moving to the students' neighbourhood or community. The parent does not know very much about the neighbourhood. Ask students to tell about their own families or care providers, and describe what they like to do together at home and in the neighbourhood. Invite the students to say why their neighbourhood is an interesting place for this new family to live.
Invite the students to participate in a show and tell by bringing in items from home and explaining why these might entice new children to move to their neighbourhood or community.
Role
Enter in role once again as the parent of the large family. The parent has gone home to tell the children about the new neighbourhood, but the children (students in role) are afraid to move. The children do not want to leave their familiar neighbourhood or their friends. Encourage the students to tell why they do not want to leave their current homes.
Improvisation in pairs
Ask the class to help the parent convince her/his children to move to their neighbourhood or community.
Divide the class into two groups: A and B. The group A students work in role pretending to be the children who are afraid to move and the group B students are the children who already live in the new neighbourhood or community. The group B children try to persuade the group A children to move.
2. Main Activities
Brainstorming
Ask the students to create an imaginary neighbourhood filled with people and places. Discuss what the neighbourhood might look like. What does the neighbourhood sound like? Who lives there? What do the buildings and playgrounds look like? What do people do in the buildings? Are there parks in the neighbourhood? Are there vehicles in this neighbourhood? Are there people of varying ages?
Drawing
Show examples of a map that includes pictures of places inset along the map's roads. These pictoral maps are sometimes available at tourist centres. Have students draw their newly created neighbourhood map on a long roll of mural paper.
Draw and collage images from magazines to represent families, friends, and neighbours showing where each character lives. Play guessing games about who the people are in the neighbourhood. Decide where to place the important places in the neighbourhood. Teachers may want to tie this activity to a social studies mapping activity.
Teacher in role
Enter in role as a filmmaker who has arrived to make a film about the students' neighbourhood or community. Carry a cardboard box shaped like a video camera. Note: As this is a different role than the parent of the large family, the students learn that they and the teacher may assume several different roles within a drama.
Ask the students to sit in a circle on the floor; tell them that they were selected to be in the film because they have such an interesting neighbourhood. The filmmaker has heard that the neighbourhood has rodeo riders, teachers, mechanics, musicians, bus drivers, and many other interesting residents. Invite students to tell about some of the interesting people who live in the imaginary neighbourhood.
Interviews
In role as the filmmaker, walk around the room with the cardboard camera, and invite some of the students to introduce themselves as they are being filmed at play and at work. Ask them to describe the activities in the neighbourhood.
Divide the students into pairs and hand an empty toilet paper roll to each pair. Let the students take turns filming each other with an imaginary camera as they play and work in role. Encourage them to look at the person they are filming from different points of view (e.g., from up close, down low).
Establishing a focus
Help to establish a focus for each dramatic episode by asking “what if…?” questions: What if a mysterious family moved into the neighbourhood/ community and the family made wonderful things start to happen? What if half the neighbourhood could only come out at night and the others only in the daylight? What if we were all five centimetres tall? What if magical events started to happen in the neighbourhood? What might happen if all the animals started to talk, or the sidewalks began moving, or gardens started growing candy lollypops?
Explore some of the students' ideas in a few dramatic episodes.
3. Concluding Activities
Improvisation
Form small groups and have each group show an episode from their neighbourhood film. For example, ask one group to show a scene from the playground. Ask another group to show a scene from the school bus ride. A third group might show a scene with the mysterious family or magical event.
Reflection
Discuss the drama with the students during moments of reflection as the drama is in progress. Engaging in reflection at the conclusion of the drama may elicit ideas for topics in future dramas.
Sample Topic: "Superheroes Everywhere"
Suggested Resources:
Teacher Note:
Many young children enjoy imitating superheroes and action heroes and do so in natural play. Teachers are challenged to draw on students' life experiences and interests, which are often influenced by the media, while controlling any aggression that might arise as a result of the students' excitement and commitment to their dramatic superhero roles. Superhero play can be a wonderful outlet for students' energy and a valuable learning experience, if reflection and discussion about their drama and the influence of the media in students' lives are included. Following are hints for managing superhero play, some of which are adapted from the Media Awareness Network website at http://www.media-awareness.ca.
1. Introductory Activities Introduce the topic upon which the contextual drama will be focused. Ask the students about their favourite comic book, superhero, or action hero characters. Bring pictures into the class of fictional characters and real life heroes who have overcome obstacles in their lives. Divide the displays into fictional heroes and real life heroes. Whole group discussion Have a discussion about individual strengths that people may display when faced with a dangerous or frightening situation. Which people have to be brave when doing their jobs? Students may list firefighters, police officers, ski rescue patrollers, pilots, nurses, soldiers, and so on. Storytelling Tell the students a short story about a dangerous rescue. Ask the students if they have ever heard about people or animals involved in rescues. Talk about some problems and solutions encountered in dangerous situations and rescues. Start telling a story about an adventure and then introduce a problem or dangerous situation for the protagonist(s). For example, a group of hikers encounter a bear. Ask the students to continue the story and present possible solutions to the problem. Let the story evolve. Interviews in pairs Demonstrate to students what an interviewer does. Divide the students into pairs, and tell the students that one person is going to be interviewed by the other. Have the student who is conducting the interview hold an imaginary microphone in his/her hand. Have the students take turns asking each other a question: “Have you ever been afraid and needed to be brave?” Have each student tell the other about a time when they had to be brave, such as going to the dentist, being alone in the dark, getting lost, or learning to swim or dive. Whole group discussion Ask the students to tell about the differences between a real hero and an imaginary superhero. Have the students list some characteristics of superheroes (e.g., strong, magic powers, fast, wears a cape, does good deeds anonymously). 2. Main Activities Teacher in role/Meeting Start a contextual drama in role as the mayor, elder, or other community leader. Call together a meeting of all superheroes to assist in ridding the town of some kind of menace. For example, someone has pulled the plug in the bottom of the ocean, and they have to find it and put it back. It may be necessary to explain in the introduction what a mayor or other leader does. The threat that the superheroes have to overcome may take the shape of a menacing force represented by soap bubbles and balloons or a big black cloud.
Reflection Talk about comic book superheroes. List examples of their powers and weaknesses such as:
Brainstorming Assist students to describe superheroes created from their own imaginations. Help the students to decide on strengths and weaknesses for each new character. Strengths might include arms and legs that can extend to great lengths, the ability to hear sounds from great distances, the power to disappear and reappear at will. Weaknesses might include the superhero losing his/her superpowers if exposed to soap bubbles or rain. Parallel play Have each student decide what he or she is going to wear or do in order to change from an ordinary person to a superhero. Have students engage in parallel play to change into their imaginary costumes. Practise changing from ordinary people into superheroes. Freeze action periodically and use one of the positions to begin a dance/drama activity. Refer to the dance strand of this curriculum for help in dance making. Role Have students in role as superheroes decide what their superpowers are and how they were first discovered. Share with a friend. Teacher in role Enter in role as a townsperson with a dilemma that only the superheroes can solve. Explain the dangerous situation and ask the superheroes for their help. Mapping Create a map for the plan of action. Let the drama unfold with teacher as narrator to keep it flowing. Allow the superheroes to make plans and rehearse the actions to take to overcome the enemy or menace. Whole group meeting Help the students to problem solve what to do with the enemy or menace once captured or overcome. Reflection Discuss the pros and cons of the suggested solutions. Have the students choose which solutions are best and decide whether to explore these solutions through drama. 3. Concluding Activities Whole group discussion Talk about the TV superheroes students like to watch. What makes these superheroes interesting? Ask the students who they admire in real life. What qualities make those people a hero in the student's eyes? Talk about how regular people can be heroes. Find examples from the newspaper of people who have made important contributions to society. View and discuss examples of heroes and superheroes on video programs such as the following. In a segment entitled ‘Hercooles', from the video “Fool's Rule”, Pedro believes so strongly in his ability to win Elizabeth's heart that he turns himself and the entire student body into superheroes with a love bug called ‘Hercooles'. “A Hero Seeks Adventure” follows the fortunes of Milton, a boastful mouse, who tries to prove that he is a hero. In “Brave Irene”, the wind of a winter storm tests a young girl's courage and determination. Teachers and students may want to use these stories as starting points or inspiration for another drama.
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