Drama and Social Studies
Grade 7: Geography - Physical Changes in Patterns
Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters
Drama Strategy/Convection Used:
- Movement Sequences: Students will position their body in sequences from 1-7 to portray their emotions in a narrative about a volcano eruption read by the teacher.
- Voice Over Narration: As the teacher narrates the story, the students will freely make actions, taking the role of the character.
- Role on the Wall: Using an outline drawing of the planet, students will reflect on how the Earth looks on the outside, and how it could feel on the inside.
- News Reporting: Students will explore a variety of natural disasters that have occured over time. Once they have explored the natural disasters, students will think about the emotions and feelings earth may have felt during that time. In pairs, the students will reenact a news reporter scene: one student being the reporter and the other being the earth and discussing how their experience and feelings as the earth during these disasters.
- Hot Seating: After the students have explored the news reporting in pairs, the class will come back together where the teacher will act as the show host, selecting students at random to come up and improvise responses to questions about the natural disasters.
- Tableaux: Students will explore natural disasters in a before, during and after stage using motionless figures.
- Freeze Frame: Students will express a natural disaster (hurricane, volcano, earthquake etc.) that took place through a three stage still images representing 30 minutes before the natural disaster took place, what happened during and after the event.
Guiding Theory:
Rudolph Laban’s Movement Theory:
Laban’s theory looks at “movement as a two-way language process through which the body could communicate by giving and receiving messages”. He believed that the way a person moved represented their beliefs and what was going on in their inner world. In this theory, human movement is analyzed through four major categories: Body, Effort, Space and Relationship.
In this activity that can be done spread over time, students will convey messages about climate changes and different types of natural disasters by using body movements to freely express themselves as well as movement sequences to depict emotion through a narrated story about a volcano eruption (climate change) [Body]. Students will create their own ongoing flow of movement as a warm up to express their energy, inner emotions, and strength [Effort]. Students will decide their own direction of their movement, pathways they choose to take based on the narration, and their proximity of other students around them [Space]. Students will watch a video about how Earth feels about our human actions then reflect through the drama strategy of Role on the Wall by exploring their emotional connection as a group from the video, and discussing internal feelings Earth might feel and how we view Earth from the outside [Relationship].
After this, students will get into pairs to discuss different types of natural disasters. With the natural disaster given, they will each role play and take on the character of the News Reporter, as well as, the Earth [Relationship]. The News Reporter will interview the Earth to see how it feels in the given natural disaster. Each group will present what they have come up with to the class. Then, students will be invited to come back together as a class, and sit in a semicircle. The teacher will be the show host for the Hot Spot Activity, and will question students chosen randomly about different types of natural disasters. Each student will be required to role play as the Earth, and express their emotions and feelings internally about what it felt like to experience the traumas.
Lastly, students will create still images expressing what people would be doing 30 minutes prior to a natural disaster that took place (earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, and/or hurricane), the moment the natural disaster hits, and six hours after the natural disaster took place. Students will be grouped 3 pairs (6 students collaborating together) expressing their three stage tableaux/still images. This activity can be extended where students can work on spotlight freeze frames, where the teacher can choose to bring one scene alive as an improvisation and the audience can comment on how the characters felt during the natural disaster taking place (feelings of fear, confusion, and/or anxiety etc.) and how effective the tableux were in conveying a realistic situation.
Integrated Curriculum Areas:
Students will apply the Creative Process to help build on their capacity for artistic expression and representation. Through creating and presenting art work using various forms, students will express and communicate their creative insights through the integration of language arts and social studies.
Students will apply the Creative Process to help build on their capacity for artistic expression and representation. Through creating and presenting art work using various forms, students will express and communicate their creative insights through the integration of language arts and social studies.
The Arts - Drama:
Overall Expectation:
B1. Creating and Presenting: apply the creative process to process drama and the development of drama works, using the elements and conventions of drama to communicate feelings, ideas, and multiple perspectives
Specific Expectation:
B1.1 Engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining multiple perspectives related to current issues, themes, and relationships from a wide variety of sources and diverse communities
B1.1 Engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining multiple perspectives related to current issues, themes, and relationships from a wide variety of sources and diverse communities
Geography: Physical Patterns in a Changing World
Overall Expectation:
A3. Demonstrate an understanding of significant patterns in Earth’s physical features and of some natural processes and human activities that create and change those features
Overall Expectation:
A3. Demonstrate an understanding of significant patterns in Earth’s physical features and of some natural processes and human activities that create and change those features
Specific Expectation:
A3.7 Describe some key natural processes and other factors, including human activities that create and change climate patterns
A3.7 Describe some key natural processes and other factors, including human activities that create and change climate patterns
Language Arts: Oral Communication
Overall Expectation:
2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes
2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes
Specific Expectation:
2.3 Communicate orally in a clear, coherent manner, using a structure and style appropriate to both the topic and the intended audience
2.3 Communicate orally in a clear, coherent manner, using a structure and style appropriate to both the topic and the intended audience
2.6 Identify a variety of non-verbal cues, including facial expression, gestures, and eye contact, and use them in oral communications, appropriately and with sensitivity towards cultural differences, to help convey their meaning
Short description of the literary source of inspiration:
- Education in and Through Drama Section 5 (Word Doc from Resources)
We were inspired to create our first activity called “Movement Sequences and Voice Over Narration” from a sample lesson in this resource. Using the number sequences 1-7, students can express their emotions with their bodies through the narrative being read out loud. This resource also included a drama strategy called voice over narration where the class takes on the role of a character as the story is being told.
Modifications/Accommodation:
- Making the task simpler for younger students. For example, primary students could focus on one particular natural event/disaster and use body movements to describe how that natural disaster occurs.
- Students could also focus on only one movement (instead of four) and illustrate the movement by using the space around them (move in different directions and levels).
- Students can be provided with a short summary of the causes of a natural disaster and the impacts this disaster has on the environment; or they could be given additional time to do research to gain more information on the natural disaster they are exploring.
- Students can also be provided with visuals (pictures, diagrams, videos) of natural disasters.
ACTIVITY:
Activity #1: Movement Sequences and Voiceover Narration (5-8 mins)
• Ask students to create a neutral position: call it a 4.
• Explore position 7 (biggest), then find 5 and 6.
• Explore position 1 (smallest), then find 2 and 3.
• Now move from position 1, all the way to 7
• How would a character stand who is feeling like a 1, like a 7?
• Discuss emotions associated with being a 1 or a 7
• Explore position 7 (biggest), then find 5 and 6.
• Explore position 1 (smallest), then find 2 and 3.
• Now move from position 1, all the way to 7
• How would a character stand who is feeling like a 1, like a 7?
• Discuss emotions associated with being a 1 or a 7
Teacher will read the narrative, and students will move and make their own actions assuming the role of the main character. They will also form number positions with their bodies when told to.
You are so excited because you are on vacation in beautiful Hawaii. Pretend you are feeling like a 4 and go for a stroll on the warm beach. It is getting extremely hot on the beach, you are sweating profusely. You wipe the sweat off of your forehead, and decide to walk to the shop to get some water. Suddenly, you feel the ground shake. Pretend you are feeling like a 1 as the ground shakes beneath you. You start to panic because you have no idea what is going on. You see people all around you starting to run into a cluster. Pretend you are feeling like a 5 and begin to run towards the crowd of people. You look back, and realize the volcano exploded! You feel the hot lava touching your bare feet. Pretend you are feeling like a 7 as you are trying to tiptoe through the burning lava. How could this happen? Everyone was so happy and now people are in a panic. Now move from position 1 all the way to 7 to show the mixed emotions of the people.
Extension for this Activity: Students can write their own narrative on a different natural disaster/climate change.
Activity #2: Students will watch a short video on how Earth would treat humans the way we treat Earth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49w7GHVYoI0
Activity #3: Reflect through Role on the Wall
Reflecting on the video shown, students will come up with words or phrases to describe how planet Earth looks on the outside, and then how it feels on the inside. Taking on the role of Earth, students will express thoughts and feelings about the planet. Teacher will draw an outline of Earth on the board and fill it out as students share their ideas.
Activity #4: News Reporter (10 mins)
For the News Reporter Activity, have your students get into pairs. In pairs, they will explore different types of natural disasters. Once the students have paired off, each group will receive a vocabulary card.
Once the students have received their card that explains their type of natural disaster, the students will discuss how they think the Earth felt on the inside emotionally in regards to their specific disaster received. After the students have discussed their thoughts and opinions, each student will take turns role playing as the News Reporter and as the Earth. The student will switch after a few minutes. The students will present 30 seconds of role playing in their pairs to the class.
Extension for this activity: Students can identify a natural disaster that has happened around the world that represents the type of natural disaster they received. For example, a hurricane; they could identify Hurricane Katrina. Once identified, they can create a script and practice over time. They can present it formally in front of the class, or video tape themselves for a media literacy component.
Activity #5: Hot Seating (5-10 mins)
The Hot Seat activity connects to the News Reporter Activity. After the students have explored how Earth might feel in the inside emotionally, in reference to different types of natural disasters the class will come together as a whole, and sit in a semicircle. The teacher will be at the front and will act as the News Reporter who will then select students at random and ask them questions. Each student will be required to take on the role of “Earth”. Some of the questions asked can include:
“That hurricane seemed to hit the town pretty hard, how were you feeling in that moment? What did you feel like you had to do?”
“That was quite the flood! What did you do to stay above water and keep calm throughout the process of getting rid of some of the water and getting land back?”
“That was an insane drought, how did you survive it? Were you scared?”
Extension for this activity: Students can also role play how other living things might have felt in the situation. For example: humans, animals, plants, the water, etc.
Activity #6: Natural Disasters Tableaux (8-10 mins)
Before, During and After a Disaster
Students work in groups of five to six to create three Tableaux/Still Image to show:
- What people may have been doing 30 minutes before the hurricane hit (suggestions: on the highway in a traffic jam, visiting friends or family, having dinner in a fancy restaurant, etc.)
- The moment the hurricane hits - convey panic, fear, anxiety, confusion.
- Six hours after the hurricane hits - who has survived? What has been destroyed or damaged?
- Spotlight freeze frames
- Teacher can choose to bring one scene alive as an improvisation
- Audience should comment on how effective the tableaux were in conveying how the characters felt and what situation they were in. Were the improvisations believable?
Comments
Post a Comment