Learning Goals

Buts d'apprentissage

Drama

 I can:
  • engage in the creative process, and use the elements of drama to create scenes that communicate feelings, ideas and stories
  • share my feelings, ideas and understandings based on experiencing and observing drama
  • explore diverse drama forms such as chants and salutations, to understand different times, places and communities

L'art dramatique

 Je peux :

  • m'engager dans un processus créatif et utiliser les éléments de l'art dramatique pour créer des scènes qui communiquent des sentiments, des idées et des histoires
  • partager mes sentiments, mes idées et ma compréhension à partir de l'expérience et de l'observation de l'art dramatique
  • explorer diverses formes dramatiques, telles que les chants et les salutations, pour comprendre différentes époques, différents lieux et différentes communautés

Dance

I can: 
  • use the elements of dance to create phrases that communicate my feeling and ideas towards trees
  • reflect on and respond to my experiences as a dancer and audience member

La danse

Je peux :

  • utiliser les éléments de la danse pour créer des phrases qui communiquent mes sentiments et mes idées sur les arbres
  • réfléchir et réagir à mes expériences en tant que danseur et spectateur

Language

I can: 
  • listen to my peers and teacher to understand
  • speak clearly to communicate with different audiences
  • read and understand a variety of texts

Littératie

Je peux :

  • écouter mes camarades et l'enseignant.e pour comprendre
  • parler clairement pour communiquer avec différents publics
  • lire et comprendre une variété de textes

Science

 I can: 
  • understand the relationship of plants and humans
  • understand differences and similarities between plants, and how they relate to their environment explain how plant grow and change

Les sciences

Je peux :

  • comprendre la relation entre les plantes et les humains
  • comprendre les différences et les similitudes entre les plantes et leur relation avec leur environnement expliquer comment les plantes poussent et se transforment

Materials

PDF#8 Audience Checklist // Liste de contrôle du public
PDF#10 Journal Reflection Rubric // Grille d'évaluation du journal
PDF#11 Ensemble Drama and Dance Rubric // Grille d'évaluation de la troupe de drame ou danse

 

Approximately 10 minutes

Minds On // Esprit en marche

Notes/Assessment

This lesson is an optional extension for classrooms that wish to wrap up the entire unit with an ensemble experience. This ensemble drama is an effective and artistic way to review and celebrate all of the learning. Furthermore, sharing with an audience completes the full cycle of the creative process and extends the important lessons about our trees to a broader audience. Influencing others is an important aspect of critical literacy. 

Whole Group > Sharing Journal Responses

Invite some students to share their Lesson 9 consolidation reflections to set the tone for the call to action. 

Whole Group > A Call to Action

Engage the students in a discussion about Cultivating Change and how Wangari did this in Kenya. Remind the students that Wangari appreciated what trees provided for her and for others in Kenya. She tried to establish a fair relationship with the trees by protecting and nurturing them. When she encountered a problem, she looked within herself for a solution. She taught the women in Kenya about taking care of trees and how to plant. By teaching them about trees, the women of Kenya were able to teach others how to nurture and protect them. CL To educate others is to make them feel powerful in their ability to create a positive change. This is what cultivating change means: to educate others in order to promote growth and improve their lives. In order for us to continue in Wangari's footsteps, and to honour the teachings of the First Nations and Metis peoples, we too need to teach others what we have just learned about the importance of caring for trees and about the power that is within us, in our own two hands to cultivate change.
Explain that the class is going to work as an ensemble (which means working together) to put all of their learning together and present it to an audience in order to educate through drama and dance. Define ensemble drama as collection of scenes that contribute to an overall performance involving all students.
Differentiation (DI) 
Some students may be partnered with learning/creation buddies.
Students can independently take action to educate and influence others to take action. 

Groups of students can be predetermined so that there is a buddy system established.
Approximately 2 hours

Action!

Notes/Assessment

Whole Group > Ensemble Drama and Dance

Review the drama/dance work that the class has created and with the help of the students create a sequence of scenes for an ensemble performance that will be performed to another grade 2 or 3 class. Students can select the scenes that they would like to be involved in. The teacher may want to have a predetermined number of groups for each scene. The following is a sample sequence based on this unit. For the ensemble performance, each scene could be introduced with a caption that is projected onto a screen or presented by an actor.
Scene 1 Caption: Seed movement and Poem to a Seed
  • Individually, dispersed around the stage, have students present their seed movements while the narrator reads the description of  its growth.
Scene 2 Caption: Parts of the Tree and Chant
  • In parts of the tree groups (e.g., roots, trunk, branches), students present their parts of the tree. The entire class, in one large group, comes together to recite as a class "We are the tree" chant.
Scene 3 Caption: Trees and their Relationships: What is fair? What is unfair?
  • In a choral reading, a small group of students, in partners, read aloud part of the two voice poem about animals or the sky and show their tableaux.
  • The entire class, in pairs, performs their tableaux crossover demonstrating the relationship between humans and trees.
Scene 4 Caption: Wangari Maathai-Mama Miti
  • Selected students, as storytellers tell the audience Wangari's story.
  • Each student takes turns telling a part of her story: Wangari in Kenya, studying biology, returning to Kenya, taking action, etc.
  • As each student tells the story, a group of students can devise an improvised tableaux - one person begins by moving into a frozen position. Each group member studies that image and one at a time, and adds to the image to reflect the aspect of the story being told.
Scene 5 Caption: Voices of the Women
  • Selected students read short excerpts from their writing in role either as the women or as Wangari while the rest of the students quietly chant: "Thayu myumbu, Peace my People" in the background.
  • Elaborate on the context and purpose for why we chose women: to understand that there is a fair relationship - she helped them and they helped her.
Scene 6 Caption: Wangari's Teachings: Planting Dance
  • Selected students perform Wangari's Planting Dance.
  • Narrator ends with the quote from Wangari, "Never underestimate what a million hands can do."
Scene 7 Caption: Salutation to the Tree
  • Students perform the salutation
  • Students teach the salutation to the audience
  • All students perform together
Rehearse the full sequence numerous times until the piece is ready for an audience. Emphasize that this performance is intended to teach others information about trees and to make them care about trees as much as we do, so it is necessary to polish and refine until our message is strong and clear.
Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Reviewing learning in Dance, Drama and Critical Literacy from throughout the unit will help students to move forward with new skills and knowledge.

As the students rehearse their scenes, provide constructive criticism and positive reinforcement to help them along.

Share and discuss the final Rubrics with the class to help inform their creations and journals.

Assessment as Learning (AaL)
Students can self assess using journal prompts.
Use PDF#8 Audience Checklist // Liste de contrôle du public for visiting audience members to assess their learning.
Have the students collect the Audience Checklists to analyse feedback from audience participants.
Assessment of Learning
Evaluate each student using PDF#11 Ensemble Drama and Dance Rubric // Grille d'évaluation de la troupe de drame ou danse.
Use PDF#10 Journal Reflection Rubric // Grille d'évaluation du journal to respond to the journals.
 
Notes
Choose a strong reader with the capacity to project his or her voice as the narrator introducing the scene. If possible, have the student memorize the text.
Devise the Beginning and Ending for the whole-class composition, giving consideration to entrances and exits. Some ideas are:
  • opening and closing in a whole-group still image
  • beginning and ending with song
Create Simple Transitions: Focus on how to link the groups' pieces. Here are a few suggestions:
  • use stillness or pauses
  • a change of music
  • a clapping rhythm
  • a chantlights off and on
  • eye contact with the audience
Play music as this is being rehearsed.
Approximately 25 minutes

Consolidation

Notes/Assessment

Individual > Reflection //
Individuel > Réflexion

Have students think about the process work involved in drama and dance. Have them reflect on their learning as drama and dance learners in their Tree Journal.
 
Demandez aux élèves de réfléchir au processus de travail qu'impliquent le théâtre et la danse. Demandez-leur de réfléchir à leur apprentissage du théâtre et de la danse dans leur Journal de l'arbre.
 
Prompt: CL How is it different to show your learning through drama and dance? What are you most proud of in your drama and dance work? What do you need to work on?
 
Invitation : CL En quoi est-ce différent de montrer son apprentissage par le biais du théâtre et de la danse ? De quoi êtes-vous le plus fier dans votre travail de théâtre et de danse ? Sur quoi devez-vous travailler ?
 
Have the audience complete a checklist indicating their level of understanding of trees and what they can do (see PDF#8 Audience Checklist // Liste de contrôle du public). Collect these handouts and as a class, and reflect on their performance goal: to teach others through drama and dance about taking care, nurturing and protecting trees. Was their performance successful? What could they improve on?
 
Demandez aux spectateurs de remplir une liste de contrôle indiquant leur niveau de compréhension des arbres et ce qu'ils peuvent faire (voir PDF 22 : Liste de contrôle pour le public). Rassemblez ces documents et réfléchissez avec la classe à l'objectif de leur spectacle : enseigner aux autres, par le biais du théâtre et de la danse, à prendre soin des arbres, à les nourrir et à les protéger. Leur spectacle a-t-il été un succès ? Quels sont les points à améliorer ?

Look over the audience checklists and assess whether their ensemble drama and dance did in fact teach the audience something. Assessing the audience responses, as well as their own self-reflections will indicate how powerful drama and dance are for reaching out to others and creating positive change.

Examinez les listes de contrôle du public et évaluez si leur théâtre et leur danse d'ensemble ont effectivement permis d'enseigner quelque chose au public. L'évaluation des réactions du public, ainsi que leur propre réflexion, montreront à quel point le théâtre et la danse sont des outils puissants pour atteindre les autres et créer un changement positif.

Determine a next step, collectively, to continue to have a positive environmental influence in the school, e.g. invite students to introduce the Tree Charter of Rights to another class and recruit their support and commitment.