Drama Sample 4: Grade 6

Topic:

Prescribed Learning Outcomes:

Exploration and Imagination

• demonstrate social and group skills in dramatic work
• demonstrate the ability to collaborate when combining ideas in dramatic work

Drama Skills

• identify attitudes and beliefs of characters for application in dramatic work
• select design elements to create environments to enhance dramatic work

Overview

Planning for Assessment and Evaluation

• The teacher asked students to sit in a circle and explained that the class was going to create a play about a wonderful world. Each student was asked to suggest ideas about things that would be part of a wonderful world. Their ideas included:
  • fairness
  • water and rain
  • sunshine
  • air
  • music
  • beaches
  • food
  • dance
  • friends

• The teacher asked the class to identify essential items. Students chose sunshine, water and rain, air, and food.
• In response to a series of prompts and questions from the teacher, the class discussed the elements of the play. They agreed on the following decisions:
  • They would create their own planet as the setting, so that they could include interesting creatures and music.
  • They would create an environment that included masks, music, fog, rocks, plants and trees, and dancing.
  • The source of conflict would be lack of water.

• The teacher asked students to form groups. The groups split into pairs to talk about possible plot lines. The pairs reported back to their groups. As each pair reported, the teacher recorded the main ideas and interesting details. Each group then selected the ideas that seemed most interesting. When all groups had reported, the class worked together to develop a storyline. Through discussion and negotiation, students agreed on a storyline that incorporated many of the group ideas as well as some new ideas that developed during their discussion. The storyline went as follows:

       Happy creatures, the Ringons, live in a wonderful world full of kindness, beautiful flowers, trees, plants, and sunlight. There is a great earthquake. Strange creatures, the Fungoids (dark, fungus-like), arrive from under the surface of the planet and take control of the only river. The plants and trees begin to wilt. The people become ill and begin to squabble.
       The Ringons decide to go to war against the Fungoids, but a wise old Ringon suggests that they talk to the Fungoids and try to reach a peaceful solution. The Ringons meet with the Fungoids and agree to help them return to their own world if they give up control of the river. The Ringons and Fungoids exchange articles they like from one another's cultures (scarves and medallions). The Fungoids go home. Everyone is happy.

• Over the next two weeks, students created the masks, rocks, costume pieces, and props they needed. They also spent some time each day in activities that included small-group discussions, developing partner dialogues in role, practising alternative versions of specific events, sketching key events in the storyline, discussing details of each event, and miming actions of some of the characters.
• As students practised, the teacher frequently drew their attention to assessment by asking questions. (e.g., What key features would make the drama effective? What skills and behaviours should each student demonstrate?) Students agreed on the criteria that would be used to assess their work, and the teacher posted these on a classroom chart.
• After rehearsal, students presented their play to other intermediate students in the school.

Defining the Criteria

• contributes ideas
• uses appropriate movement, gesture, and voice to create a character
• creates a usable, comfortable, and communicative mask
• communicates effectively with other actors and the audience
• encouraging and respectful in interactions with others

Assessing and Evaluating Student Performance

Category	Not Evident	Satisfactory	Good	Outstanding
Ideas	No contribution evident.	Contributes ideas that the group can consider.	Offers interesting ideas; may use the ideas of others.	Offers unusually creative ideas; builds on the ideas of others.
Role	Does not create a role different from self.	Creates a role different from self.	Creates a believable, imaginative role with expressive movement, gesture, and voice.	Creates a memorable, exciting role with very expressive movement, gesture, and voice.
Mask	Mask is unusable or does not communicate mood or role.	Creates a usable, comfortable, and communicative mask.	Creates an interesting, comfortable, and communicative mask.	Creates a very interesting, comfortable, and extremely communicative mask.
Communication	Little interaction evident.	Communicates with other actors and the audience.	Communicates with the audience in an involving manner.	Communicates with the audience in an exciting manner.
Attitude Toward Others	No evidence of acceptance or respect.	Accepts and respects others.	Openly accepting and respectful of others.	Is supportive, accepting, and very respectful of others.

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