Halloween Night : Performing Arts Lesson Plan Name: Kristi Shintani Grade: 4 Date: October 23, 2013 Duration: 60-90 minutes Materials Needed: 1.) Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray 2.) Voice Cards (assignment of volume and context see attached form) 3.) Scene Cards (see attached form) 4.) Reflection Handout (See attached form) Space Set- up: The desks will have to be moved to the sides of the room to make space in the center of the classroom. Since the student s desks are split up into 4 groups, I will have each group move their desks one at a time to a designated area in the classroom. The chairs will be arranged in a circle in the center of the classroom. Plans for Videotaping: I will bring a video camera from home to use for my lesson. My mentor teacher or field supervisor will help with the videotaping; a tripod is needed. Context for Learning: From my context for learning survey, I learned that I have a few students who like drama and like to perform in front of others. A majority of the students like to act and do fun activities, but are too shy to perform in front of their classmates. I am going to teach the drama elements, VIBES, to encourage students to try new things. I will also be taking notice of their interests to make the activities more engaging. I will also be sensitive to those who are too shy to perform; I want all the students to feel safe in the classroom. Background/Previous Lessons: My lesson will be an introductory lesson. The students have not been exposed to this type of arts in school. The only performing arts they encounter is learning to dance and sing chants from their Hawaiian studies teacher. Performing Arts Content Area: (pick one) Dance Music Drama HELDS Creative Domain Integrated Content Area: (pick one if an Integrated Lesson) Language Arts Math Science Social Studies Health Visual Arts Other: Academic Vocabulary related to the Performing Arts strategy: (List and define the words using kid friendly language.) Tableau: A tableau is a freeze frame used to tell a story. Actors use their bodies and imaginations to Show their ideas or impersonate a certain character. Projection: Projection is the strength of speaking or singing where the voice is used loudly and clearly. Vocal Expression: The expression of emotions through voice. Performing arts strategy, elements, skill, or knowledge: I expect the students to learn the elements of
drama, VIBES (voice, imagination, body, ensemble, and story). I plan to integrate this lesson with a language arts lesson as well. This is useful to know because the students can learn different ways to use their voices and bodies; as well as different ways to express themselves. It will also encourage them to be excited about reading, since I am reading them a Halloween story. The students will also become more comfortable around each other. Big idea, understanding, and/or essential question: The purpose of this lesson is to understand the elements of drama and the different ways they can use these techniques to express themselves. Most importantly, I want to students to learn to be comfortable in their own skin and to not be ashamed of who they are. How can you use the elements of drama in your everyday life? Standard/Benchmark Specific content area standard/benchmark performance task gives students opportunity to demonstrate knowledge to meet the benchmark FA. 4.3.1 Interpret a character s external motivations. The student portrays a character s external motivations through voice, dialogue, and body Actions. FA. 4.3.2 Use the voice to express emotion. The student uses emphasis, pace, pitch and volume to show the emotions of a character as part Of a dramatic scene (e.g. anger, happiness, sadness, excitement). SL. 4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one- on- one, in groups, and teacher Led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics or texts, building on each others ideas, and Expressing their own clarity. GLO #1: Self Directed learner GLO #2: Community Contributor GLO #5: Effective Communicator Assessment Formative assessments applied appropriately throughout lesson Summative assessment includes checklist or rubric Task: I will have each group perform their tableau to assess whether they are or are not successful in recreating a familiar story. After all groups have performed, I will have a short whole group discussion about what we just learned. When the discussion is over, I will hand out a reflection worksheet where I will assess likes and dislikes and what they took away from the lesson. ASSESSMENT TOOLS Formative Assessment: I will be doing a short discussion and a reflection to see what the students have learned.
Evaluation Checklist (data tool): Student can use their voice at different volumes and emotions Students can use imagination in a pantomime Students can interpret a story through a tableau Students can describe ways to use the elements of drama in everyday life Activities/Instructional Strategies 15 minutes Introduction: I will have the students sit in a circle in the center of the classroom. I will introduce the lesson: Hi class! Today I will be introducing the elements of drama. Does anyone have any experience with drama? They answer. Why do you think it is important we learn about drama? Suppose you don t want to be a big movie star or actress, how will these drama skills help you in life? We will discuss more about this after the lesson. I understand that you are not the best actor, I am not the best actor myself! But it is important that we learn about drama because believe it or not, we use drama in our everyday lives. For example, I know A LOT of you play sports! When you want the ball from your teammate, you yell their name really loud! Guess what? Voice is an element of drama. It is important we learn drama because it teaches us different ways to express ourselves and use our bodies. So everyone, lets give it try. Then I will tell the students what I will be teaching: I am going to teach you the elements of drama! I will write the acronym on the board. V stands for voice, I means imagination, b means body, e is ensemble and s is story. I am going to teach you this because it is important that you know the different ways you can use your body and voice to express yourselves. 30 45 minutes 2. Main Lesson First, I will introduce Voice (10 minutes). Introduce vocabulary words: Projection and Vocal Expression. I will have them split up into five groups of five and have them say a word (as a group) at different volumes (soft, medium, loud) and with different emotions (cold, scared, tired). 1.) HI Loud Happy 2.) Bye - Soft Sad 3.) Friend - Medium (normal) Tired 4.) School SUPER quiet Surprised 5.) Loud Loudest you can Angry Next I will introduce Imagination (10 minute miracle). I will do the magic box activity. The activity we are going to do next will be in pairs. We are going to use our imagination to see what is in each other s magic boxes. I will demonstrate what is in my box: fishing pole, water and a telephone. I will
split them up into pairs where they will share three things that they put into their magic boxes. No talking! I will introduce a tableau (5 minutes): So a tableau is a freeze frame that tells a story. Do a demonstration. Ask for volunteers to do a baseball game scene. Choose 3 students to be the umpire, batter, and the pitcher. Explain that the actors cannot move and cannot talk. They use their body and facial expression to show us which character they are portraying. So in groups, you are going to work together to recreate a story that I am going to read to you. You are going to use your imagination and emotion to make a freeze frame that will tell us a story. Read the story, Halloween Night. (5 minutes). Group the students in 5 groups of 5 students and give them a postcard with a scene on it. On each postcard, I listed a line from the story. Your job is to create a tableau with your group members of the scene I gave you. I will be walking around to help you if you need it. Give them 10-15 minutes to prepare their freeze frame. 1.) Group 1: Stiff- legged Zombies awoke from the dead, as moth eaten mummies arose from their beds. 2.) Group 2: The pumpkins all grinned with ghoulish delight, as little green creepies made treats for the night (goblins). 3.) Group 3: A vampire, a mummy, a yellow- eyed cat, a fairy, a ghoul and plump little rat. 4.) Group 4: But what they saw on that shadowy night, made each little trickster shiver with fright. 5.) Group 5: From the ten little tricksters came ten little shrieks, and away they all ran down the cobblestone street. Have everyone perform his or her tableau (2 minutes). After the performance, have the students sit back in a circle and begin the short discussion. Remind them of the elements of drama and what they took away from this lesson. 1.) Why is learning to express ideas and feelings with your voice important in life? 2.) How does imagination help us to create good pantomimes? 3.) How can learning about drama help you in your life? 15 minutes 3. Closure: After the activities are finished, I will pass out a short reflection for the students to fill out (see attached form). I will ask the questions: What did you learn from this lesson? How will you apply it to your everyday life? What did you like and dislike about this lesson? Draw or write how you felt performing your tableau. Would you like to learn more about drama? Differentiation Plan Differentiate the learning environment, content, process, or performance task for individuals or small groups (e.g., accelerated, ELL/MLL students). Identify the type of need (e.g., ELL/MLL, accelerated students, reading needs, 504 List the type of differentiation (learning environment, content, process, or performance task) and tell how
students, struggling learners, enrichment) ELL/MLL Struggling Learners you will differentiate NEP: provide clear instructions. Display instructions on the board for visual assistance. Have the three students be in the same group. Provide extra assistance with their group. Have them verbally answer their worksheet questions. FEP: provide clear instructions. Display instructions on the board for visual assistance. Mentor Teacher or Educational Assistant will be available to help with their group.
Performing Arts Lesson: Elements of Drama Reflection 1.) What did you learn from this lesson? 2.) How will you apply this to your everyday life? 3.) What did you like AND dislike about this lesson? 4.) Draw or write about one of the tableau you ve seen. Explain how you know what character the actors were portraying. 5.) Would you like to know more about drama? Why or why not?
Performing Arts Rubric GLO #1: Self-Directed Learner GLO #2: Community Contributor GLO #5: Effective communicator Benchmark 1 (Well below) I can act like a certaincharacter using my voice, words, and body actions. (FA. 4.3.1 Interpret a Character s external Movements. A student portrays a Characters external Motivations through Voice, dialogue, and Body actions.) I can use my voice at different volumes and with different emotions. FA. 4.3.2 Use the voice to express emotion. The student uses Emphasis, pace, pitch and volume to show the emotions of a character as a part of a dramatic scene. I can effectively participate in different types of discussions and with different people. SL. 4.1 Engage Effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on Grade 4 topics and texts, building on each other s ideas, and expressing their own clarity. - Group members do not use body movements at all - Group members do not work together to portray their character - Students tableau does not portray an accurate representation of the character - Student is not engaged in the activity and does not speak assigned words - Student cannot express correct emotion - Student cannot use their voice at different volumes - Student does not participate in discussion - Student argues with classmate in a negative way - Student communicates in a disrespectful way by saying put downs and negative comments 2 (Developing proficiency) - Group members only use ONE part of their body to create actions - Only 1 or 2 people are contributing to the assignment - Students tableau does a mediocre job of portraying character - Student mouths the words and does not use expression - Students can recognize emotions but cannot express them -Student does a mediocre job of using their voice at different volumes - Student is listening to the discussion - Student can communicate thoughts but may need help with clarification - Student is disrespectful to the thoughts of the other students and the teacher 3 (Meets expectation) - Group members use half of their body to create expressive actions - Group members work together in a cooperative fashion - Student s tableau represents the character - Student participates in the activity and uses expression - Students express the correct emotion - Student can use their voice at different volumes with some help needed - Student contributes to the discussion by saying 1 or 2 things - Student can communicate thoughts in a positive way but may need clarification -Student is respectful and understanding to his/her classmates and the teacher 4 (Exceeds expectation) - Group members use their entire bodies to create expressive actions - All group members contribute ideas and express all the GLO s - Student s tableau accurately represents the character - Student is fully engaged in the activity by reading the assigned words with great expression - Student expresses correct emotion - Student can accurately use their voice at different volumes - Student is fully engaged in the discussion - Student can communicate thoughts in a clear and positive way - Student is respectful and understanding to his/her classmates and the teacher
Student Assessment Checklist NAME Use voice at different volumes & emotions Use imagination in a pantomime Interpret a story through a tableau
Volume Cards HI Volume: LOUD Emotion: HAPPY BYE Volume: SOFT Emotion: SAD FRIEND Volume: Medium (normal) Emotion: Tired SCHOOL Volume: SUPER SOFT Emotion: SURPRISED LOUD Volume: LOUDEST YOU CAN! Emotion: ANGRY
Scene Cards Group 1: Stiffed legged zombies awoke from the dead, as moth eaten mummies arose from their beds. Group 2: The pumpkins all grinned with ghoulish delight, as little green creepies (goblins) made treats for the night. Group 3: A vampire, a mummy, a yellow-eyed cat, a fairy, a ghoul and a plump little rat. Group 4: But what they saw on that shadowy night, made each little trickster shiver with fright. Group 5: From the ten little tricksters came ten little shrieks, and away they all ran down the cobblestone street.
Final Performing Arts Lesson Reflection Questions 1. What happened in my lesson? a) What went well during the instruction? What did not go as well during instruction? I think that overall, my lesson went smoothly. The students were really engaged in my activities; I was surprised at the level of participation I received! A majority of my students are extremely shy, so I was shocked to see that a lot of them volunteered to act in front of the others. The students were more excited than I anticipated, so I did not have their focus for as long as I thought I would. During the instructional time (where I had discussions or explanations), the students were too excited about the activity they did or were going to do that I did not have a lot of time to teach (without having to stop and redirect their attention). b) What adaptations or modification did I make to my plan while teaching? I did not have too many adaptations; I mostly stuck to my lesson plan. But I did notice that when I split them into groups during the first activity (voice), a lot of them were arguing with each other. So during the tableau activity, instead of keeping them in the same groups, I had to switch the groups up to prevent fighting. When I was walking around to each group during work time, I noticed a lot of them needed didn t have a plan ready in 10 minutes, so I had to extend the time limit for these groups. c) What ideas do you have to improve your lesson or address problems? One change I would make is to have individual assignments for each student in a tableau group. As I was walking around, I heard one student say, I wanted to be a pumpkin! and another student say, I don t want to be the witch! So to prevent these arguments, I would randomly assign each student a part in the tableau so they cannot fight over which character to portray. I also noticed a lot of questions about what to do for the handout reflection I gave. Next time I would go over what each question meant and what I expect. I also noticed some questions about the new terms I taught. For example, What was a tableau again? Next time I would display a power point or a paper on the ELMO, with the terms and definitions that I introduced so they won t forget. 2. What evidence can I show about the learning of three contrasting students? Collect samples of their work and score the work according to the assessment criteria in your lesson plan. Be sure to copy your rubric or checklist to score each student Student samples are attached at the end Student #1: Let s call her S. a) Describe what each of the three students learned as a result of instruction. In the reflection handout, I asked the question, What did you learn from this lesson? Student S responded by writing, What I learned from this lesson was the Elements of Drama. I used my voice, imagination, body and story. I was impressed that she wrote this because we learned so many new words and activities. She was able to write down what I discussed and which elements we used. b) Discuss the learning needs for each of the three students. Use data to discuss your next steps for each student based on their individual needs. Based on my prior knowledge of student S, I knew she was very shy. I mentioned in my earlier assignment that she speaks so softly that I need to put my ear by her
mouth to hear her. So I need to provide a safe learning environment for her so that she can open up and not be afraid to be herself. I think I did a good job of providing a safe classroom because she volunteered to demonstrate the baseball game tableau. As next steps for her, I would encourage her to do different activities and encourage her to try her best. c) How effective was your assessment plan for getting information about the students learning? I think my assessment plan was really effective for getting information about student S. As you can see, I selected meets expectations instead of exceeds expectations for standard SL.4.1 because she only contributed 1 or 2 things in the discussion. I know she is very quiet and is hard to hear over other students, so I think having a worksheet and checklist was more effective than a discussion assessment. She was able to write down everything she wanted too and she able to say her own opinions without worrying what her classmates would think. I also noticed that she wants to learn more about drama. So in next lessons, I will try to integrate to teach her more. Student #2: Let s call him J. a.) Describe what each of the three students learned as a result of instruction. Based on my question, What did you learn from this lesson? Student J responded by saying, I learned that we need drama in are life. This was the main takeaway I wanted students to learn: that drama is critical in our lives. So I was proud that student J wrote this. He could have expanded more and wrote more details but I know he does not like to write or do assignments. b.) Discuss the learning needs for each of the three students. Use data to discuss your next steps for each student based on their individual needs. Student J is very outgoing and loves to talk. I had some difficulty teaching when he was talking to the students around him. But his data was very interesting to read. While I was watching my video, student J was very excited. He asked me if we could perform and do the pantomime in the middle of the circle. But on his worksheet he wrote, I did not like that we had to go up and act. And I like that we played magic box. Based on what he said, I concluded that he does not like it when he has to act a certain character (tableau); he prefers to choose what he acts out (like in magic box). So as next steps, I will do more activities where he has the freedom to choose what he wants to do so that he will become more comfortable. When he learns to be comfortable, maybe he will like acting out a character in front of everyone. c.) How effective was your assessment plan for getting information about the students learning? I think my assessment plan was okay in assessing student J. Based on what I learned from my previous lessons, I know he loves to talk and have fun, but when it comes to academics, he can have some difficulty. So I feel like a discussion would be better suited to get information from student J than a handout. I could have gotten better answers from this student. Student #3: Let s call her A.
a.) Describe what each of the three students learned as a result of instruction. Based on my question, What did you learn from this lesson? Student A answered, I learned from this lesson is the Elements of Drama! I also learned what VIBES means. It means Voice, Imagination, Body and Story. I was happy that this was her takeaway because it was the main portion of my lesson. She left out ensemble but I could have done better to explain what that was. b.) Describe the learning needs for each of the three students. Use data to discuss your next steps for each student based on their individual needs. Student A takes on a very strong leadership role. She likes to be in charge and tell people what to do. When she was telling her group partners which parts they have to play, I heard one group member argue back and say he didn t want that part. So I would try different activities where she can play lead roles, as well as supporting roles. Based on previous lessons, I noticed she was very outgoing and eager to perform. So I would create activities for her to blossom and encourage her to learn more and improve her acting skills. As next steps, I would introduce harder acting techniques. She can learn different acting skills and have more opportunities to perform. c.) How effective was your assessment plan for getting information about the student s learning? I think my assessment plan was effective for getting information about student A. She is outgoing but also takes great pride in her work. She writes slowly so she can think about exactly what she wants to say. So I think having the discussion was effective but I think the handout was just as effective as well. 3. What three (3) best practices did I use or wish I had used (e.g. create a safe learning environment.) Give supporting evidence from watching your video. Note: this does not refer to B.E.S.T. practices of dance but the best practices for teaching arts. 1. Best practice #1: Build a safe creative environment I ve been working on building a safe learning environment since my first lesson with this class. All throughout my lesson, I made sure to call on different people so that everyone would get a fair chance to talk. When I was watching my video, I noticed myself saying, Good job to some students while working in groups. This is important because as teachers, we need to encourage students and let them know we are recognizing their hard work. 2. Best practice #2: Practice and use management tools. I felt like this was the best practice that I improved on. I took note from my first lesson that the kids will be excited, so I need to step up my classroom management and learn to project my voice. I noticed that in my video I did just that. I learned to project my voice and practiced my attention getter, 1, 2, 3, all eyes on me! I also said, Okay! Voices off! I am really proud that I am doing better with classroom management. I also decided to write this one because I feel like I could improve. I noticed my expectations and rules could have been clearer, so I feel like I also really need to improve on this best practice. 3. Best practice #9: Scaffolding I feel like I could have kept scaffolding in mind. I was too nervous about the
Formal observation that sometimes the student s needs slipped my mind. For example, going into more depth about vocabulary for the children in special education. But I do feel like my 10-minute miracles were a good, simple strategy to teach for an introductory lesson. Next time I will learn to take a deep breath and take a look at everything I need for the classroom. 4. What was the impact of my lesson on diverse learners (ELL/MLL or SPED or Gifted or Multiple Intelligences or combination.) My lesson went great for all my diverse learners! I made prior rearrangements for the students in SPED to stay in the classroom so that they could experience my lesson. I thought my Halloween lesson was perfect for them! It was awesome that all my diverse learners knew about Halloween and the creatures that are associated with the holiday because it made it easier for them to be apart of the activity. It was fascinating too because the SPED students are away for a majority of the day, so it was nice to see them interacting with their classmates. I got to see a new side of the ELL students as well. Because my tableaus didn t use voice, I saw them using their bodies to communicate with me instead. I saw all of my students laughing and enjoying the activities. I knew I made an impact on them because the day after my lesson, I heard one of the ELL students talking about it. He came up to me after recess that day and said, Thank you for teaching me yesterday! It was fun! It was really heartwarming. 5. In what ways did your lesson support Common Core Standards for Language Arts or for Math? Be specific. You may discuss the potential for addressing Common Core. My lesson supported the common core standards for language arts. Since I read a story to them, I was able to assess their reading comprehension and understanding when I had them do the tableaus. I also was able to assess their speaking and language common core standards (SL.4.1). Which states that students can engage in discussions about fourth grade topics and texts. During my discussions, I was able to see what students will say about my lesson. I was also able to assess their writing. As directions for the worksheet, I told them they had to write in complete sentences. By reading their papers, I was also to see their use of conventions and Standard English rules (L.4.1 and L.4.2). Since my handout was more of an opinionated paper, I could assess if they actually could write their opinions down on paper, addressing common core standard W.4.1. 6. What have I learned about my own teaching strengths and what is my personal goal for professional growth in performing arts education? I learned a lot about myself from my first actual lesson. I learned that I have the confidence and courage to get up in front of those 26 faces and do my lesson. I learned that they are just kids, I have nothing to be afraid of. I learned that I could dig deep and find my own teaching voice. I noticed in my video that I yelled quite a few times, which is so unlike me because I hardly raise my voice. Sometimes I feel like I will not be a good teacher, but I realize that it is just the beginning. I have so much more to learn! Its okay to make mistakes and its okay to lose track of where you are in the lesson plan, you just have to learn from your experience. My mentor teacher said she was really proud of me because she noticed great improvement from my first activity (context for learning). She was happy that I took her advice and showed her what more I can do. My personal goal for professional growth is learning to a role model in the performing arts. I am shy, I am not the best actor, and I m not that expressive,
but I want to learn to change that. Kids love it when teachers are fun and expressive! I want to be a role model, someone who is not afraid to dance, sing, or act in front of students. This will be important because if I can learn to do this, my students will see that it is okay to be like this as well. We can do and learn so much in the performing arts.
Student Sample 1: S
Student Sample 1: S Rubric
Student Sample 2: J
Student Sample 2: J Rubric
Student Sample 3: A
Student Sample 3: A Rubric