Lesson Title:
Writing a Scene with NC History |
Grade Level or Course:
Fourth Grade |
Time Allotment:
One (45-60 minute) Introduction,
discussion on American Revolution, & assigning scenes Two to three (45-60
minute) Lessons for practice and performance |
Targeted Goals and Objectives
from the 2000 North Carolina Arts Education Standard Course of
Study and Grade Level Competencies, K-12:
1.01 Participate in small group
playwriting.
1.02 Create and enact short stories,
poetry or personal experiences about North Carolina.
1.05 Utilize playwriting skills
to indicate the sequence of events.
1.07 Apply playwriting skills by
writing monologues, dialogues and short scenes.
2.01 Develop skills to identify
characters and cast roles from a variety of texts that reflect upon
heritage, culture and history.
2.03 Participate in dramatic activities
that deal with conflict and emotions.
2.04 Create characters and events
to use in the dramatic process.
2.05 Create dramatizations based
on texts.
2.07 Assume the role of a variety
of real and non-real characters.
3.01 Participate in making artistic
choices in a small group.
4.02 Demonstrate responsible behavior
such as sharing, flexibility, negotiating and teamwork.
4.03 Make decisions and accept responsibilities
in the dramatic process.
4.05 Compromise with peers in small
group decision making about artistic choices.
4.09 Recognize ways to display characters'
thought processes.
4.10 Use rehearsal time effectively
to brainstorm, experiment, plan and rehearse.
5.01 Express through characterization
meaning inferred from a text.
5.06 Investigate text to determine
Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
5.07 Reference forms of literature
other than scripts to support dramatic presentations. |
Lesson Objective(s):
Following along with their study of North Carolina, fourth graders will
create a short scene based on a NC history event. Students will improvise
a scene based on the event, improvise the creation, perform the scene for
the class, and write the script. If possible, the scripts can be typed using
word processing. Students will use a rubric for group evaluation. A separate
rubric will be used for the evaluation of the script and the performance. |
Materials/Equipment Needed:
Fourth grade Social Studies textbook
for each student, clipboard, Building the Story worksheet, notebook
paper, pencils, chair or blocks for scene work, rubric for group
work, rubric for performance, rubric for script, access to computers,
colonial costumes (optional) |
Lesson Procedure:
Lesson 1: - Remind them of how we've been acting
out stories, including beginning, middle, end, and character, setting, problem.
Introduce to the students that they will be acting out a true story. Since
they are studying North Carolina in fourth grade, they will be acting out
a scene based on an event for NC history. The scenes will be from the American
Revolution time period. Before introducing the scenes that they will volunteer
for, begin with a basic discussion of the time period. We discussed why
Britain wanted to colonize, why the colonies wanted freedom from England,
who the loyalist and the patriots were, etc.
- Introduce the scenes
from the textbook that they can volunteer for with a general overview. (Choose
scenes from your textbook with a definable problem that will useful for
dramatic interpretation. Using the fourth grade social studies textbook
for Wake County Schools, I chose the Lost Colony, Culpepper's Rebellion,
the Edenton Tea Party, and the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.) Ask for
volunteers for each scene and then send them off to a separate area in the
room with their group members. The size of the groups will vary based on
the scenes.
- Pass out the Group Work Rubric, Script Rubric,
and Performance Rubric and discuss how each one will be used to grade
their work.
Lesson 2: - In their groups,
they will first read silently their assigned historical event in the textbook.
Remind them of the Group Work Rubric they will use to evaluate their work.
Next as a group, give them three minutes to discuss the event defining all
the characters, the setting (location and time period), the objective of
the main characters, and the problem. We have defined the objective as what
a character wants and a problem as what gets in the way. Then, give them
another three minutes to brainstorm how they could act out the event. (For
example, can you act out the whole event or just part of it? Where will
you begin before the event happens or in the middle of the event? Which
characters will you need? If you have to add characters, who could they
be?) Finally, give them the Building a Story Worksheet and a clipboard
to record all of their decisions. See attached Building a Story Worksheet.
-
Now, give each group five minutes to cast their parts. Working on group
compromise and decision making skills (Objective 4.01. 4.02, 4.03), they
have three options in making a decision: Give up what you want, Share, or
the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors".
- Next, give them five
minutes to create their first five lines of dialogue that tells the audience
who they are, where they are, and what they want. Give them some blank paper
for their clipboard and ask for a volunteer to write the dialogue in correct
script format. Remind them that this is a rough draft of their script. They
will be making lots of additions and corrections as they go, so they will
need to write in pencil and have an eraser. (Sometimes they will just start
talking instead of including important information, so this step seems to
help. For example, in this script from the Lost Colony, this scene would
not be very clear if the underlined information was not included:
Sailor: Land ho! Land ho! Captain White, I believe we've reached
it / Roanoke Island.
White: Finally, we've reached our new home. I hope some of Sir Walter
Raleigh's houses are still standing. - Ask each group to stay
seated and just share their first five lines of dialogue.� As a class, evaluate
if the scene clearly communicates whom the characters are, where they are,
what they want, and what gets in the way.� If they need to include more
information, the class can help with their ideas for other dialogue.
- After they have the beginning first five lines, they may work
on their own finishing the rest of the scene. They should have a few students
willing to take turns writing the dialogue as they practice. Remind them
to use their worksheet and the textbook to include all the important historical
facts.
*If you have the space and are comfortable with the noise level, let them
stand and move in their group area to improvise and practice the rest of
their scene. If you have access to them, offer chairs, desks, and blocks
to aid them in creating the setting. For those who are not used to a lot
of movement, group the students at desks and tables and allow them to stand
up and practice only after the script is written down.
Lesson
3:- Give each group about five minutes for a "warm-up"
practice of their scene.
- Have each group perform their historical
scene for the class. Offer colonial costumes for their performance, if you
have access to them.
- After each scene, have the audience share
something from the scene that they liked and a suggestion they would make.
Also, use the Performance Rubric to evaluate the scene.
- Have the
students write a reflection paragraph of what they learned and experienced
in their folders.
|
Assessment:
The students group work will be self-evaluated and teacher-evaluated using
the Group Work Rubric on an individual basis. A group grade will be given
for both the script and the performance using a rubric. The Reflection paragraph
can also be used as an evaluation tool. |
Special Considerations:
This lesson assumes that students have a working drama vocabulary, including
dialogue, monologue, and objective and the basics of story building including,
beginning, middle, end, character, setting, problem. They must have practice
improvising the dialogue from a story or text. They should also have extensive
experience at working together as a group including the necessary skills
of decision-making and compromising in order to cast parts and plan the
scene. They must also know how to record their dialogue in a script format.
Teaching script formatting can be included in this lesson, but it will require
another class time and should be included before the students begin their
practicing.
You can do this lesson with no background in script writing, but the students
must be given enough time to practice their lines and the sequence. They
may also want to write down their lines in order to remember them, but do
not be concerned that their writing is in script format. |
