Lesson 5 - Growing Up - Changing Worlds

Drama

 B1.1 Creating and Presenting: engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining multiple perspectives and possible outcomes related to complex issues, themes, and relationships from a wide variety of sources and diverse communities.

Drama

 I can:

• use drama to  examine the complexity of  R's situation
• construct meaning from the drama work and connect the theme to the theme of depression and emotional imbalance

Dance

 A1.2 Creating and Presenting: use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes of social justice and/or environmental health

Dance

 I can:

• use the elements of dance to convey a movement message about how R's emotional journey has developed since childhood

Language

 1.2 Oral Communication: demonstrate an understanding of appropriate listening behaviour by adapting active listening strategies to suit a wide variety of situations, including work in groups

2.1 Writing: write complex texts of a variety of lengths using a wide range of forms

Language

 I can:

• use active listening to work effectively with my peers
• write in role and in my learning log to demonstrate my ability to communicate my perspectives and what I have learned through text

BLM #9: Self-Portrait
BLM #10: Role Play Rubric (use as a self assessment here and as an evaluation in Lesson 6)
BLM #13: Writing in Role Rubric
Appendix #3: Writing in Role RAFT Structure

Whole Group > Discussion

Read and display the following statement:

“Growing up is never easy.  You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come....we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come"  ~The Wonder Years 

Invite students to share aloud, with the group, their impressions of this quote and to think about the words from the perspective of R. Prompt: What might her hopes and fears be at this time in her life?

Individual > Writing in Role > Growing Up > RAFT

Review the RAFT structure (Appendix #3) with students before they begin. Invite them to write in role from one of the following characters/perspectives using the prompts provided below:

A) R from the perspective of one of R's childhood drawings.
Prompt: "When I grow up I want to....."
(invite students to create/include her drawing as part of the piece)

B) R from the perspective of her self-portrait entitled Escape (see BLM #9)
Prompt:  "I used to dream of flying but now...."
Self-portrait - R, 13 title: ESCAPE BLM #9: Self-Portrait

C) Rs mother, father or close friend - a series of text messages she/he sends to R's phone. She/he is worried and wants to reassure her

D) School agenda -write the text entitled 'How To Survive Middle School -10 Tips To Stay On Top Of It All'

Give students 10 minutes to write.

Whole group > Inner/Outer Circle > Voice Collage

Invite those who selected B) and wrote as R, as represented in the self-portrait, Escape, to gather in a circle, sitting on chairs, with their writing. Have the rest of the class gather around the chairs, forming an outer circle, with their writing based on her childhood drawing. Ask other students to mix themselves into this formation. Ask students to identify one line or moment from their writing that they would like to share.

Using a signal (such as a tap on the shoulder). Invite students to share their writing, overlapping the voices and perspectives to create an interesting voice collage.

Partner > Preparing Scenes > Building from the Writing in Role > Past and Present

Invite students to form partners from the previous activity. A will take on the role of R at a time in her life when she was still dreaming of flying. B will take on the role of the character in her current state of mind. Emphasize that this scene is a young R. speaking to an older R; in essence this is a conversation with herself. She is looking for an answer within herself and reflecting on how she has changed.

Post the following prompts as scene starters and invite students to generate additional first lines to be added to the chart.

Prompts (first line of prepared improvisations):

How could you let things go this far?
Remember when you felt on top of the world?
Where can you/I get help?
Why have you not asked for help?
I feel like no one understands me.
Why are you so afraid to tell people how you really feel?
Why do you care?

Invite students first to generate other questions or prompts that they might want to ask and add them to the list.

Allow time for students to devise a short scene. Allow time for improvisation, so that students can generate authentic material. Invite each pair to decide on the physical relationship between them, e.g.  they may choose to stand back to back, one sitting and one standing behind, etc.

Circulate as the students are improvising and identify strong scenes. Ask these students to share their scenes with the class. Invite responses from the class. Prompt: What new insights do you have about R?  Have these scenes in any way challenged societal assumptions or beliefs about people who are depressed or feeling down?

Partners > The Space Between

Instruct students, in their same pairs playing the character in both contexts, to create a physical image that shows the relationship between the two (i.e., reaching out to each other, far apart, one higher or lower, one facing away etc.) and then ask them to think about a word that would describe the space between them (e.g., fear, loss, change etc.)

Invite the group to freeze in their partner images and on a signal (drum beat, clap etc.) have them say their word.

Small Groups > Mid-Point Conference With Students

Invite students to sit with you in small groups of 3-4 to review BLM #10: Role Play Rubric and have them indicate (by circling) what level they see themselves at in each of the achievement chart categories, with respect to Role Playing and Building Character.

Critical Literacy Focus (CL)

Writing in role reinforces role-play and provides opportunities to explore diverse points of view  in order to understand a situation.  Both role-play and writing in role help students to experiment with identity and representation of characters and agents

Notes

Review the writing in role RAFT structure (Appendix #3) before students begin. Post as an anchor chart.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Refer to BLM #13: Writing in Role Rubric to review expectations for writing task.
Invite class discussion and provide feedback on the effectiveness of both their writing and voice collage sharing.

Assessment as/for Learning (AfL/AaL)

Use BLM #10: Role Play Rubric to conference with students in small groups. Allow students to self assess their skills and encourage peer feedback and discussion.

Differentiated Instruction (DI)

Use the RAFT Structure  to provide choice and ensure a range of perspectives for the writing in role activity. Some students may suggest an alternate role or audience for their writing.

Tips and Considerations

Interview a student in role to help them generate ideas for their writing if they are stuck.

Some writers may benefit from a writing buddy or scribe to record their ideas.

Hyperlinks

Painting by  Michelle Doerner
Permission given by this artist for use in this unit. Please see her work at http://www.michelledoerner.com/

Encourage students to use the elements of dance as they create their images. (levels, body shapes, facings, use of space etc.)

Individual > Learning Log

Instruct students to respond to two of the following questions.

Learning Log Prompts:

1. In your opinion what and/or who has the biggest impact on how someone feels about themselves (self-esteem and self-confidence)?
2. How does reflecting on our past help us to better understand our future?
3. How do our 'inner thoughts' impact on how we cope with day to day challenges?
4. What are two strategies you might use to help yourself if you feel overwhelmed by your feelings and emotions?
5. What role does society play in relation to our emotional well-being?

Collect student learning logs and review for level of personal engagement and understanding.