Learning Goals

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • B1.2 demonstrate an understanding of the element of role by selectively using a few other elements of drama (e.g., time and place; relationship; focus and emphasis) to build belief in a role and establish its dramatic context
  • B1.3 plan and shape the direction of the drama or role play by posing questions and working with others to find solutions, both in and out of role
  • B2.2 explain, using drama terminology, how elements and drama conventions are used to communicate intended messages in their own and others’ drama works
Materials
Terminology

Minds On

Pairs > Miming a familiar activity

  • Divide students into pairs.
  • Tell them that they will be miming an activity that they are very familiar with and their partner is going to have to copy every move that they make.
  • Brainstorm a list of potential activities. (E.g., brushing teeth, tying their shoes, getting dressed, packing their lunch or their backpack, doing the dishes).

Explain what the term mime means. Model two examples of how to mime brushing your teeth

First, mime a poor example - no precise movements or indication of an object’s size, shape or weight, events out of sequence. Next, mime a more precise example - establish setting, be consistent about where objects come from/how far apart they are from each other, alter hand shape and grip to indicate the shape, width and weight of the different objects you use etc.

Teacher Prompt: Which one was more clear? Why?

Record the characteristics that they give you on chart paper or a shared digital text to act as success criteria see Mime Success Criteria for a sample list of criteria.

  • Have pairs decide who will be A and who will be B.
  • Tell students to pick what action they will mime.
  • Standing back to back, give them a chance to do a run through of their mime to work out the elements/sequence.
  • Next, have them turn around to face each other.
  • Partner A will start and partner B will follow. When the mime is complete, partner B will try to guess what the action was.
  • Then, partner B will mime and partner A will follow

Teacher Prompt: What did your partner do to make their actions easy to understand/hard to understand? Add any new observations to the list of success criteria.

Action

Whole group > Discussion-Strategies for Creating Welcoming Environments

Write down two different environments on chart paper or a shared digital text. Use PDF #3 Creating Welcoming Environments Brainstorming Template as a guide. For example a school and the community library.

For each of the environments, list two ways that the following types of community members might feel welcomed in those spaces:

  1. community members in crutches or wheelchairs
  2. community members who are learning to speak English as another language
  3. community members who do not know where to find information (daily schedule, recess time, lunch room, bathroom)

Small group > Devising Welcoming Strategies

Tell students that they will be using mime to create examples of the things that you might do to make their assigned community member feel welcomed in their assigned space. Each group will have a narrator who will describe what is happening while the other group members act out what is being described.

Divide students into groups of 4 and assign each group a different learning environment and community member. Have them work in different places in the room.

  • Group 1 - Class/school member on crutches
  • Group 2 - Class/school member learning English
  • Group 3 - Class/school member can't find information
  • Group 4 - Public library member on crutches
  • Group 5 - Public library member learning English
  • Group 6 - Public library member can't find information
  • If you have more than 24 students, the remaining group(s) can pick their own environment and member

Post the mime success criteria so that it is visible. Circulate as groups rehearse to make sure their welcome tactics match the community member’s need and that the actors are timing their actions to go along with the narrator’s description.

Teacher tip: As they devise their welcoming strategies, try to make them about features that are in the environment rather than defaulting to having the actors be ‘helpers’. This may create a paternalistic message that frames the community members as being helpless or needy. The goal is that the welcoming strategy allows them to interact in a way where they can maintain their independence/agency.

Whole Group > Sharing and Feedback

Call the students to the performance/sharing space. Have each group share their work and wait for their feedback when their performance ends. Refer students to the mime success criteria and ask for volunteers to praise two aspects of the work that relate to the success criteria. Have one student offer an area in which they might improve.

Provide feedback about their feedback to ensure that it is grounded in the criteria and uses “I statements”. Add any new criteria that emerges that was not on your current list that helps explain what made the work effective.

Consolidation

Whole Group > Reflection Discussion

Take out the Frayer model template that you have been working on.

Key questions for discussion
  • What did we learn about how to make a welcoming environment from today’s work?
  • What can be barriers to feeling welcome?
  • How might feeling unwelcome at school affect a student’s success?
  • What might happen to a community member’s mental health if they feel unwelcomed?

Update Frayer model chart by adding the new ideas that were shared.

Assessment for Learning/Assessment as Learning (AfL/AaL)