Learning Goals

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

  • demonstrate an understanding of the origins and development of drama and theatre arts and their influence on past and present societies
  • identify ways in which dramatic exploration contributes to their understanding of diverse cultures and traditions
  • select and use appropriate forms (e.g., gesture, choral speaking) to suit specific purposes in drama works
  • identify and use a variety of techniques to influence the audience in specific ways
Materials
  • Facts about habitual practices and their relation to Greek drama, such as stage practices (sometimes referred to as rituals; see Appendix 6)
  • Music

Minds On

Whole Class > Yes, Let’s! 

  • Students walk around the space and teacher calls out “Let’s + a habitual practice” such as “Let’s mow the lawn!”  Students call out “Yes, Let’s” and begin doing the activity until a new activity is introduced.

Whole Class > Discussion

  •  Introduce the concept of the habitual practice linking it to ancient practices such as May Day, religious practices, etc. Introduce some facts about habitual practices and their relation to Greek drama, such as stage practices. Give examples of habitual practices, such as dramatic and dance practices such as rain dances.

Key Questions:

  • What is a habitual practice? (a ceremony, something that happens at regular intervals, a special occasion)
  • What types of habitual practices exist? (religious, cultural, age-specific, daily)
  • Why do we use habitual practices to celebrate events in our society? Why are habitual practices important in our society?
  • Do you have your own habitual practices? Family practices? Cultural practices?
  • What kinds of stories do habitual practices often tell?
  • What do habitual practices tell us about our society?

Action

Teacher Note
  • The intention of this activity is to help students understand the ways that meaning is encoded in action, not to have students enact practices outside of their identities in superficial ways.
  • Many habitual practices are informed by the repetition of events in nature that communicate changing seasons or to mark the passage of time. Habitual practices can include daily routines that keep us safe and healthy, in the same ways that stewardship for the land keeps us safe and healthy. They are expressions of shared experience.
  • Students should be encouraged to select habitual practices that reflect their own communities and identities.
  • For classes where students may be at risk of generating stereotypical representations of religious or 'cultural' practices, alternative activities might include:
    • Alien Greetings with a debrief discussion about how "cultural" habitual practices are codified into a common behaviour. Students could be guided to connect their improvised gesture/sound as a symbol of a community value.
    • First Tasks as a Community from the Building a Community resource, where students think about the values of two fictional communities and then generate a celebration that reflects those values.
    • Abstract Noun Charades: provide students with conceptual, symbolic, or personified abstract nouns like destiny, time, chaos, tradition, Mother Nature,  imagination, justice, etc. and play a game of charades. This could then be repeated as an entry into the final activity using the four seasons.

Small Groups > Physicalizing Habitual Practices

  •  Students form small groups and are given a category of habitual practices, such as religion, culture, rites of passage, daily routines, etc.
  • Ask them to create an example of this habitual practice for the class, such as brushing one’s teeth, sitting down to a Jewish Seder, celebrating a “Sweet 16” birthday, etc.

See Teacher Note.

Extension Activity
  • Discuss how these specific examples could be shown in a less realistic and more symbolic way, through movement, chants, etc.
  • If time allows, students can alter their scenes to make them less realistic.

Consolidation

Small Groups > Season Presentations Using Voice and Movement

  • Split students into four groups and assign each one of the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall).
  • Each group brainstorms habitual practices or events that take place at this time of year. (Example: spring might include rain, budding flowers, birds returning from migration, etc.) 
  • Students create a presentation that shows these events or practices through movement and vocal techniques.
  • Present students with accompanying music to play during their presentation.
  • Present season performances to the class.
Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Suggestions:

  • Use anecdotal records about stages of the creative process and/or characterization as students generate their presentation
  • Exit cards about the relationship between Greek habitual practices (rituals) and theatre
Assessment as Learning (AaL)

Suggestions:

  • Co-construct success criteria with students (based on choral speaking techniques, tableau, gesture, improvisation, or any elements students have learned about in class that they might use in their presentations)
  • Encourage students to use established success criteria as a reference while creating their presentations
  • Exit cards about the relationship between Greek habitual practices (rituals) and theatre
Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Suggestions: