ARTS EDUCATION TEACHER HANDBOOK

THEATRE ARTS :: ELEMENTARY LESSON PLANS - ISRAEL

ELEMENTARY LESSON PLANS - ISRAEL

 

Submitted by Diana L. Marshall-Shoaf

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

 

Lesson Title:

Israel
Grade Level or Course: Fourth Grade (Can be adapted for third or fifth grade)
Time Allotment:

One (35 minute) lesson introducing Israel and the Jewish faith.

One (35 minute) lesson exploring creative body movement using creative dramatic/dance movement terminology.

One (35 minute) lesson introducing the creation story from the Bible in an original (developed by teacher) script format.

One (35 minute) lesson improvising (acting out) with movement and vocalization the narrated creation story from the Bible.*

*Note: This lesson could be rehearsed to develop a more formal presentation piece to be shared with other students.
Targeted Goals and Objectives from the 2000 North Carolina Arts Education Standard Course of Study and Grade Level Competencies, K-12:

2.01 Develop skills to identify characters and cast roles from a variety of texts that reflect upon heritage, culture and history.

2.02 Utilize vocal expression to explore thoughts and feelings of real and non-real characters.

2.05 Create dramatizations based on texts.

2.06 Demonstrate ideas and emotions through gestures and movement.

2.07 Assume the role of a variety of real and non-real characters.

2.08 Refine improvisational skills through dramatic

2.09 Define the significance of the beginning, middle and end of a story or play.

3.01 Participate in making artistic choices in a small group.

3.02 Employ the basic concepts of time, space, and action in the dramatic process

3.05 Respond to and build upon ideas of others on stage.

6.01 Incorporate music, sound, movement, dance, and design into the dramatic process.

7.01 Build skills to critique self and others in a respectful and constructive manner.

7.04 Listen to constructive criticism and react in a positive way.
Targeted Goals and Objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and Grade Level Competencies, K-12 for other content areas:

Dance - Fourth Grade:

1.01  Exhibit kinesthetic awareness: control, concentration, focus, and clarity of movement.

Music - Fourth Grade:

6.04 Identify visually and aurally a variety of instruments, including many orchestra and band instruments, and instruments from various cultures.

6.06 Respond through purposeful movement to selected prominent music characteristics or to specific music events while listening to music.

6.07 Show respect while listening to and analyzing music.

9.04 Identify and describe roles of musicians in various music settings and cultures.

9.05 Show respect for music from various cultures and historical periods.

English Language Arts - Fourth Grade:

2.02 Interact with the text before, during and after reading, listening and viewing by:
  • Setting a purpose using prior knowledge and text information.
  • Making predictions.
  • Formulating questions.
  • Locating relevant information
  • Making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.
Guidance - Fourth Grade:

1.01  Demonstrate pride in work and in achievement.

1.02  Justify mistakes as essential to the learning process.

1.03  Practice attitudes and behaviors which lead to successful learning.

1.04  Demonstrate time management and task management skills.

1.05  Verify responsibility for actions.

1.06  Demonstrate the ability to work independently, as well as the ability to work cooperatively with other students.

1.08 Communicate knowledge with classmates and adults.

2.01 Demonstrate critical thinking skills.

Social Studies - Fourth Grade:

1.02 Describe the origins and characteristics of major groups that settled in North Carolina and assess their influence on North Carolina customs.
Lesson Objective(s):

As a part of their study of Israel, students will develop confidence, individually and cooperatively, with creative movement; using their bodies to dramatically create the non-living elements of the Biblical creation story.
Materials/Equipment Needed:

Resources from the media center or internet for culture introduction information, CD player, CD of instrumental mood music for use with exploratory movement lesson, CD of instrumental music from Israel for use with creation story movement lesson; visual aids of clouds, planets, gas formations, etc. to help students visualize use of body in space for imaginary movement, sheer colored fabric strips to support creative movement for final lesson or use in a performance venue (material is optional but can be a motivating prop for the students' creative movement), hand drum for class control
Lesson Procedure:

Lesson 1
  1. Inform students that they will have an opportunity to do an improvisation of a creation story after an introduction to the culture from which the story is derived. The assessment on the social studies portion could be a selected response developed by the teacher from the instructional information presented to the students.

  2. Resources for cultural information presented will be developed by the individual teacher from internet or media center resources.� Suggested text resource: Israel, The Cultures of the World Series available through Borders Book or local libraries.
Lesson 2
  1. Provide students with examples of teacher modeled creative movement to instrumental music.

  2. Allow students to explore use of creative movement in an open space; individually, with a partner, and/or in small groups.

  3. Introduce creative dramatic/dance terminology to enhance quality of student movement: slow/fast, large/small, open/closed, flowing/staccato, etc.

  4. Conduct discussion of vocabulary words that describe the movement qualities of fire, clouds, rain, gases, planets, etc.

  5. Allow students to explore with body movement and sound the agreed upon vocabulary.
Lesson 3
  1. Read through of the original creation story script adapted from Genesis and provided by the teacher.

  2. Conduct discussion of the movement opportunities inherent in the text.
Lesson 4
  1. As teacher (or student) narrates the creation story from the script, students explore the movement inherent in the story with their bodies and vocalization.

  2. Provide opportunities to repeat sections and/or to add the dance fabric to enhance the lesson.

  3. Further rehearse and define the creative movement of the group to the rhythm of the narration, if the students are to present the work as process performance to other students as audience.
Assessment:

Diagnostic - multiple choice quiz based on social studies information presented about Israel.

Summative - Performance, Conversation, Observation

Student Performance could be video taped for classroom viewing and group assessment.

A rubric could be developed by the teacher, or the students and teacher, to evaluate the quality of the movement.
Special Considerations:

This lesson could lead to a similar lesson developed about a Moslem country. The creation story applied to the Islamic religion. Comparisons and contrasts discussed about the Christian and Islamic religious beliefs.

 

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