TIME: 60 minute sessions
MATERIALS
Pictures retrieved from The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Abiyoyo Returns by Pete Seeger and Paul DuBois Jacobs
Xeroxed pages listed in the lesson plan
Students checklists (see Independent Practice)
Teacher rubric (see attached)
INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:
The teacher will display a picture using the projector with the document reader. This scene should depict lots of action and the possibility of imagining sounds from the visual. (I chose the book The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant.) Students will describe the visual aspects of the picture. Students will then close their eyes and visualize sounds they might possibly hear in the scene. They will take turns acting out a sound they have imagined. Next, the teacher will instruct the students to view the same picture, close their eyes and make a mental movie of the actions characters in the picture might be doing. Again, students will take turns role playing possible character actions for peers to make a prediction or connection to the picture.
ACTIVITY:
Teaching/ Modeling: The teacher will introduce the story Abiyoyo Returns. This is the sequel to Abiyoyo, which was read to the students in a previous lesson used to incorporate visual arts. The students will view the cover, then close their eyes forming a mental picture, with a focus on the sounds and actions of the characters presented on the cover. As a group, students will demonstrate the mental pictures and sounds they have created in their minds. Students will listen to the story read aloud by the teacher making these mental images throughout the story.
Guided Practice: The teacher will stop at various points in the story allowing children to verbalize their interpretation of sounds and actions on the page. (Pages 1-2, 3-4, 15-16, 19-20, 23-24, 31-32, 33-34) Smells may also be incorporated into their interpretations of the text.
HOTS questions may include:
Why do you believe that?
How do you know?
What do you base your interpretation on?
Independent Practice: The teacher will distribute a checklist to each student. The class will discuss each directive with the teacher clarifying as needed.
Checklist:
Work with your group cooperatively
Discuss the picture – focus on sounds and actions
Take turns – each person picks a sound and action to act out
Practice role-playing
Students will be divided into groups of three. Each group will receive a copy of one of the pages discussed earlier during guided practice. Students will work cooperatively to act out their visual text. The teacher should stress to the students the need to consider visual, sound, and the actions of the characters when developing their reenactment. Before presentations begin, the teacher will collect all pictures from the groups and display them on the board in random order. Groups will dramatize their interpretations one at a time for the rest of the class to speculate which scene they may be characterizing. After each group’s dramatization, peers will orally critic the performance.
Closure: Together, the class will interpret the last scene in the book. The focus will be on
interpreting and creating a dance for Abiyoyo.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
The teacher will evaluate groups using a rubric
Responses of Interpretation to Visual Text
ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:
Theatre Arts:
TH-CE-E2: Interact in group situations and show differentiation of roles through experimentation and role play
TH-CE-E3: Exhibit physical and emotional dimensions of characterization through experimentation and role playing
COMPREHENSIVE
CURRICULUM, GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Grade Level Expectations
GLE: English Language Arts
GLE # 45, 46, 48, 55, 56: The learner will assume various roles and exhibit the following behaviors while involved in a group discussion: take turns, respect the ideas and opinions of others, offer opinions and face
speakers.
(ELA-1-E5) Reading, comprehending, and responding to written, spoken and visual texts in extended passages
(ELA-4-E1) Giving and rehearsed and unrehearsed presentations
(ELA-4-E2) Giving and following directions/procedures
(ELA-4-E7) Participating in a variety of roles in group discussions
Standards and Benchmarks
Content Standard:
#2 – Acting by assuming roles and interacting in improvisations
MODIFICATIONS | ACCOMODATIONS:
Students will be grouped heterogeneously based on academic levels. The teacher will also take into consideration shy versus verbal characteristics of the students when placing students into their respective groups.
VARIATIONS | ENHANCEMENTS:
Cultural: The flood in the story may be compared to the flooding in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina.
Integration: Writing – Students write about the role-playing experience. The teacher conducts a Whole Language Experience with the whole class.
Reading -- The teacher can focus on cause and effect relationships. Students can add speech bubbles to provide dialogue for the characters. The students can sequence pictures on the board to retell the story.
Social Living -- A lesson on floods and the building of a dam can be discussed.
Science – The teacher can present a lesson on sounds
TEACHER'S REFLECTION:
I was a little apprehensive concerning the deliverance of this lesson in a first grade classroom. Students are seldom required to think creatively in the area of movement. The first half of the lesson set the stage, guiding students to focus on the actions and sounds within the story. A checklist was given to each student providing them with the guidelines necessary for cooperatively working in groups.
Students were placed in heterogeneous groups and each group was given a scene to act out. Visiting each team, I was able to view the various roles each student played. I observed students referring to their checklists occasionally to reaffirm their objective within the assignment. All groups worked cooperatively, and were motivated and engaged in learning. This was also apparent when each group gave their performance. Surprisingly the student audience was able to identify each scene acted out.
The lesson presentation and the time allotted were adequate for students to internalize this concept. I believe that if the students were presented with more lessons of this type, they would learn to become even more creative and relaxed to perform among their peers.
TO DOWNLOAD STUDENT "ACT IT OUT" CHECKLIST, PLEASE CLICK HERE
GALLERY
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